Kate Bishop found herself kicking the door open to her New York City loft simply because she had run out of hands. She was being pulled through the door by a very excited Lucky while trying to balance their dinner, a large pizza, in her other hand. "Shit," she said to nobody as the door slammed off of the wall behind it, "sorry! Shit!" She called out when she heard a grumble come from next door. She let go of Lucky's leash and he swept through the loft for the first time since the accident. Stumbling over her feet while trying to quietly shut the door, she placed the pizza on the counter and turned around when her dog started barking happily. Kate quickly shed her overcoat and hung it on the back of the door. After a day full of traveling, she just wanted to relax with her dog in her sweats, eat junk food and watch trashy reality tv. "Not too shabby," she finally looked around taking in the work that had been done in their absence. Kate had hired a few contractors to fix up her place while she was spending Christmas at the Barton farm. There was almost no signs that the place had been in utter shambles after their run in with the tracksuit mafia. Sure, she had to buy new furniture for the living room and all of the windows had to be replaced. There was also the fact that most of the flooring and walls needed fixed from the fire as well but Kate nodded looking around, "good as new." She considered moving into her mother's penthouse but didn't want to be associated with the emotions currently attached to her mother so the only solution was to fix up the loft. Luckily she had some friends at Bishop Security that were able to unlock her spending accounts in the absence of her mother.
It was January 2nd, she had stayed at the Barton's farm for New Years because they offered and she currently had nobody in the city. Well that wasn't necessarily true. There were her school friends and she supposed she still had Jack but with her mom in prison, she didn't have much going for her. Kate jumped at the chance to spend the extra time with Clint and his family. The kids loved her and Laura was more than welcoming. Clint even came around and practiced shooting with her and Lila a few afternoons. She took out her phone and shot a quick text to Laura to let her know that she and Lucky had arrived home safely.
Kate (5:28pm): Lucky and I just got home. Thank you again for welcoming your home to us for the holiday. It really meant a lot to me.
Laura (5:35pm): You are welcome here anytime. I'm sure even my husband would agree, you are a part of the family now. The kids are already asking when you and Lucky will be back.
Kate (5:37pm): aww. We will be back soon.
Laura (5:39pm): perfect. Did they fix everything up at your loft?
Kate (5:45pm): they sure did. *She attached a few pictures of her newly renovated place complete with Lucky lounging on the sofa.
Laura (5:48pm): it looks beautiful. They did a great job. I'll let the two of you get settled. Call or text me anytime.
Kate (5:50pm): thanks, Laura.
She smiled down at her phone before throwing it on the counter and opening the pizza. "Hungry?" She took out a couple of plates and put two pieces of pepperoni pizza on both. Lucky got up and trotted over, waiting expectantly for Kate to put the plate on the ground for him. "Here you go," she gave him his pieces and filled up his water bowl before walking over and sitting at the table with her own plate. "What do you want to watch tonight?" She asked her dog then smiled when he looked up at her. Sure he was only looking for more pizza but she liked to think that he was considering his televisions options. She thought about texting Greer and Franny to see if they wanted to come hang out but she didn't want to have to explain everything that she had been through the last couple weeks. She wasn't quite ready for that yet. Kate finished her slices and walked back over to the pizza box. Lucky whined and she relented, "fine," she laughed and took out another slice for him before moving the box into the fridge. "I need to go buy you some real dog food tomorrow. You can't survive on pizza alone. I don't want PETA showing up here and arresting me for animal abuse," she watched him happily eat his food. "Come on," she walked over to the couch knowing he would follow her. "So," she picked up the remote and turned on her television quickly selecting Netflix, "what sort of trash do you want to watch tonight?" She asked him for the second time before selecting one of those ridiculous dating competitions and relaxing against the back of the couch. Lucky jumped up next to her and laid down, resting his head in her lap. Kate started absentmindedly petting her dog, drifting off into a quiet late afternoon nap.
*
"It's almost as if she wants to get killed," Yelena Belova rolled her eyes as she shimmed the window open to the bedroom window of Kate's loft. "No security at all," she shook her head. "So disappointing," she made a note to get stronger locks for the brunette. She moved through the top floor of the loft in complete silence. Being a black widow had its perks. Yelena could sneak around undetected though she was certain if she were making noise, Kate would still be oblivious to her presence. Looking over the railing she saw the brunette sitting up on the couch, asleep with her dog next to her. Lucky looked up when he saw movement upstairs and Yelena waited with baited breath for him to bark. No bark came so she quietly made her way down the stairs. Lucky came bounding over, staring at her. She squatted down in front of him and started petting him, giving him silent praise. "Not much of a threat is she," Yelena whispered to the dog before kissing his head and letting him run off. She watched him ascend the stairs and plop down on the big bed. The widow straightened up and walked over to the couch, standing over the sleeping brunette. "Kate Bishop," she called in a sing-song voice while lightly kicking her foot with the toe of her boot. "Rise and shine, little hawk." Yelena watched and waited as the brunette's eyes fluttered open slowly and confusion filled her features as she reached out for her dog first before even noticing the woman standing in front of her. "Anyone could waltz in here and murder you. You should be lucky, it's only me."
"Yelena?" The sleep filled voice asked as she ran her hands over her face. "What? How? Why?"
"Those are all very good questions," she shrugged her head to one side. "Pick one and ask it."
"How did you get into my apartment?"
"Through the window," she pointed upstairs to the window she had left open when she crawled through it. "Are you not excited to see me?"
Kate looked at the woman standing in front of her. The last time Yelena was in her apartment she had feared that this very dangerous woman wanted to kill her only to find out she had made macaroni and wanted to have a girls' night. It was one of the strangest encounters Kate had ever had though it wasn't completely unenjoyable until she found out that Yelena was sent to murder Clint. Obviously that didn't happen and her mentor had gone into very minimal details about what transpired between the two of them at Rockefeller Center during that fight. "You didn't kill Clint," was the only thing she could think to say. "I'm assuming that means you aren't here to kill me either. Well maybe you are. I seem to have made quite a few enemies in the past two weeks. Are you here to kill me?"
"No," Yelena's lips thinned.
"Because why would you wake me up to kill me, right?"
"Exactly. You'd have been dead immediately and I would've taken your dog."
"What?"
"He's a very sweet boy. Reminds me of my Fanny," Yelena called the dog back with a whistle and watched as Lucky came running back down the stairs, running right into her open arms.
"Your what?"
"You must be hard of hearing, Kate Bishop. Always asking for me to repeat myself," she sighed. "So annoying. My dog. Fanny."
"Oh," realization dawned on the brunette. "Fanny is your dog. Not your umm," she gave a side smile, "your actually fanny."
Yelena furrowed her eyebrows, "no. Though my ass is spectacular, I was referring to my dog."
"Right," Kate cleared her throat, not letting her mind wander to the assassin's ass. "So what are you doing here?"
"You invited me for a drink? Yes?" Kate just stared at the Widow waiting for her to continue. "During our fight. You said we should go out for drinks. Well, I'm here now. Drinks. Let's go."
"For drinks," Kate repeated.
"This is what you are wearing?" She looked Kate up and down. She was wearing a pair of grey sweatpants and a very old and worn Avengers hoodie. Her hair was falling out of its ponytail and her eye make up was smudged from her nap.
"I wasn't expecting company," Kate took a look at her outfit and then at Yelena who was wearing a pair of black jeans and that yellow checkered coat. She couldn't see what was underneath but Kate was sure it was leagues above her current status. "Can I take a rain check?"
"What is this rain check?" Yelena was trying not to let her frustrations show.
"Can we do this another night?" Kate gave her a small smile. "I just got back into town. I'm not the best company right now."
"You invited me for drinks. I am not picky. Is there vodka here?" She started walking around Kate's apartment towards the kitchen area, opening all of the cabinets until she found what she was looking for. "Aha!" She pulled out a bottle of grey goose. "Not my usual but we can work with this." She took a note of the other alcohol in the cabinet and went to see if she had mixers in the fridge. "Straight vodka?" She looked over at Kate who had a grimace on her face. "Okay," she went to the door and grabbed Lucky's leash. "I will take this dog for a walk and stop at the corner store. You can prepare to entertain me when I get back. Yes?" Kate couldn't do anything but nod her head, staring at the woman giving commands like it was her job. Was giving commands part of her job? What even was her job now? The brunette had so many questions. "Get out of your head, Kate Bishop," she bent over and clipped the leash to Lucky's collar. "Don't get lost in there," she smirked and used her index finger to point to her own head. "We'll be back."
With that Yelena turned and left the loft with Lucky leading the way. "What the hell was that?" Kate said after a few minutes spent staring at the closed door. Her bladder reminded her in no uncertain terms that she was woken up from a nap so she made her way to the downstairs bathroom and emptied her bladder accordingly. After washing her hands, she quickly washed her face and brushed her teeth. "Why am I bothering?" She asked nobody as she put on a quick base layer of foundation and a simple eye liner. Kate took a step back and cringed. Her avenger sweatshirt had seen better days and she was already dreading Yelena's comments when they would come. She ran up the stairs real fast and put on a pair of dark wash jeans and a purple v-neck shirt. "Good enough," she quickly tidied up though there wasn't much of a mess. "What if she just wanted to steal my dog?" She checked her phone for messages though she didn't think Yelena would text her to tell her she was making off with Lucky. When she heard the front door open, she went back downstairs, "you came back."
"Kate Bishop, you sound surprised. Did you think I was going to steal your pup?" She unclipped Lucky and he ran over to his mom. She started rifling through a couple of grocery bags that she had brought in with her. The domesticity of the action caused Kate to take pause. "The Avengers sweatshirt not working out for you anymore?" Yelena didn't even have to turn around, Kate could hear the amused tone pouring out of the other woman. "Still with the purple," she shrugged and turned around, unbuttoning her coat. "It suits you."
Under her coat she was only wearing a cream colored tank top. "It's like 10 degrees outside," Kate's foot in mouth disease caught up to her while she took in the muscular form in front of her.
Yelena noticed Kate staring but didn't comment, she merely shrugged, "I'm Russian. This is like spring for us."
She could definitely kill me, Kate thought looking at the small yet fierce body of the woman currently rummaging for a couple of glasses.
"You have one fork but twenty cups and glasses. This makes no sense, Kate Bishop," she gestured to the top cabinet. "Why does one person only need one fork but all of these glasses? How many mouths do you have?"
"You don't have to keep using my full name. We fully established that you know way more about me than is actually necessary," Kate walked over into the other woman's space and pulled out two glass tumblers. She thrusted them into Yelena's face up palms. "You are very short," again her mouth speaking before her brain could stop her.
"Kate Bishop just jumps right over the tongue. Also, this is not new information. I was short when I kicked your ass the other night as well," Yelena rolled her eyes and pushed past the brunette back to where she was making the drinks. Kate stared at the blonde like she had two heads. "What?" She asked not looking up, pouring a liberal helping of vodka in both of the glasses.
"Jumps right over the tongue?" Kate let a little laugh escape.
"That is the phrase? Yes?" She looked over her shoulder and Kate immediately suppressed her laugh.
"Not quite. I think you meant it just rolls right off of your tongue but I liked yours better," Kate admitted.
"Americans and their colloquialisms," she shook her head and added the kahlua.
"Sure you can't use normal American phrases but the term colloquialisms jumps right over your tongue," Kate really needed to get her mouth to stop her from saying everything that popped into her head. She saw the blonde raise and eyebrow but she didn't say anything. "White Russians?"
"Yes," Yelena added the cream and passed one drink over to Kate before putting the cream back into the fridge. "It's a good drink," she turned around and leaned against the counter, taking a drink.
"Mm," Kate agreed, sipping her own beverage. "I've never had one before."
"What?" Yelena seemed to come alive with that admission. "Kate Bishop, you have not lived. White Russians are a staple."
"Add it to my menu," Kate chuckled while taking another drink.
"White Russians, Black Russians," Yelena shrugged.
"How many Russians are there?"
"Brown Russians, Red Russians, Blue Russian," Yelena walked over towards the couch. "You will have to try them all. This is not an option."
"I'm game to try all the Russians. Maybe not all in one day or you might actually kill me," Kate followed and sat on the far end of the couch, giving Yelena plenty of room.
"I have no intentions to kill you," Yelena just smirked. "You should know this by now. Did you not spend the holidays with Barton? Surely he had something to say about me. Not all good I presume."
"I did and he didn't," Kate took another sip before putting her drink down on the coffee table and handing a coaster to her companion but Yelena just shook her head and held onto her drink. "He told me you seemed to have a change of heart during the fight," she side eyed Yelena to see if she would confirm but her face gave nothing away. "He told me a little bit about Natasha and what happened that day," she saw a sadness creep over the blonde's face at the mention of her sister. "And he told me a little about the Red Room but he didn't know much." She took a breath the continued, "mostly we just did Christmas stuff and hung out as a family. It was a nice break from reality for a few days."
"You were gone, 9 days," Yelena said matter of factly.
Kate didn't know whether she should feel flattered that Yelena seemed to be keeping tabs on her or frightened that this trained killer knew so much about her. She settled somewhere in between the two feelings, "how did you know I was back?"
"I know a lot about you, Kate Bishop," she reiterated her words from their first meeting.
"Yes, I know but it's not like we are friends on Facebook or texting buddies," yet, she added the latest word to herself.
"You are very nosey. I come the day after our fight to check in on you. I read about your mother. Very brave to take on Kingpin all by yourself. It was a Holiday for you. Russian Christmas hasn't come quite yet," she shrugged. "I thought you might benefit from someone sharing the same space as you," she voice tapered to almost a whisper. "So I come but you aren't here. Then I come the next day. Still aren't here. The third day, I talked to the construction workers. Very nice. They did a good job here. Very funny."
"You hung out with the contractors? How did you get in? Through the window?"
"No," Yelena didn't look amused. "Don't be ridiculous. I came in through the front door. I told the man downstairs that I was your friend and he buzzed me in. Security is very lax around here. You should be more careful about that," she sounded so nonchalant that Kate couldn't help feeling a sense of endearment towards her. "They also didn't know when you'd be back. They only said you had it in as a rush job."
"But how did you know I came back today?"
"So impatient," Yelena shook her head, "I'm getting to that part. I was called away. Had something to take care of out of the city," she saw Kate start to open her mouth but stopped her with a dismissive wave. "You don't get to know everything. I was gone for the last few days. Business. I had a friend check in. She told me there were lights on today so I came back and to my luck and surprise here you are, ready for that drink after all these days of waiting."
Kate absorbed all of the new information and like always said the first thing that popped in her brain, "did your friend come to my apartment as well?"
"No," Yelena rolled her eyes. "She is very professional."
Kate was still feeling something between flattery and fear but leaning more towards the happy feelings. It made her curious more than anything. Curious about Yelena checking up on her. The blonde had been wondering about her since hearing about what went down with her mother. She still couldn't believe she was sitting in her apartment with a Black Widow widow sharing a drink. It had truly been a whirlwind of a couple of weeks. She picked up the remote and handed it to Yelena, "want to watch some tv?"
Yelena threw back the rest of her drink, "want another?" She asked, pointing to Kate's glass. The brunette shrugged and down the rest of her drink before offering a what the hell and handing her glass to the blonde. "You pick the show. I'll make the drinks. Can I have some of that pizza in the fridge?"
"Yeah," Kate smiled. "Help yourself."
Yelena returned a few moments later with two drinks and a couple of slices of pizza on a plate. She pulled another plate out from underneath the stack and handed it to Kate. "Eat," she waited for Kate to take some of the pizza. "Cold pizza is superior," she waited for the brunette to take a bite before reaching into her jeans pocket and pulling out a miniature bottle of Tabasco. "It's even better with a little hot sauce," she held out the bottle. "Want some?"
"You carry mini Tabascos with you?" Kate shook her head at the offer.
"Hot sauce is very important. You never know when a situation might arise when you need to accentuate a dining experience," she said while placing a liberal amount onto her designated pieces of pizza. "Mmm," she practically moaned when she took her first bite. "New Yorkers know how to make some good pizza," she said with her mouth full.
"We do. It's one of our claims to fame," Kate answered while resuming play on the Bachelor.
"This never made sense to me," Yelena pointed at the tv. "Why would all these women go on this show to throw themselves at some man. There is no romance. There is no intimacy. It's all for money. No love. Stupid people," she took a sip from her second drink.
"You aren't wrong but it's fun to watch," Kate shrugged, sitting back against the couch and tucking her feet underneath her body.
"You have a very strange idea of entertainment, Kate Bishop," Yelena settled back into her seat and happily ate her pizza slices that were drenched in hot sauce.
The two women fell into comfortable conversation surrounding the crappy reality tv show they were watching, more drinks were had and they managed to finish the pizza, including another slice for Lucky. He had made his way into the couch between the ladies. Yelena reached down and turned off the television, "so tell me, what is next for you, Kate Bishop?"
"Oh. Hmm," Kate was thrown off by the personal nature of the question. "I haven't really given it too much thought."
"You have options? No?" Yelena turned on her hip so she was facing the other girl on the couch. "You could finish school. Dual degrees right?" Kate nodded, "then there is heading Bishop Security. They will most likely need you there. Head Bishop now," she smirked at the girl. "Oh there is always becoming an Avenger," she tried her hardest to keep the mocking tone out of her voice but the eye roll gave her away. "What do you want?"
"I suppose I'll finish school. I can do that online. And sort everything out at work. It's going to be a nightmare without Mom but there are a bunch of capable people there."
"You are also capable," Yelena shrugged, she noticed the brunette trying not to blush.
"And as far as the Avenger stuff," Kate cooled her blush, finishing the last sip of her fourth drink. "It's not like Clint handed me Nick Fury's email before I left. I have the feeling it's one of those 'don't call us, we'll call you" type of jobs. I won't be holding my breath waiting for anyone to contact me."
"They would be lucky to have you, little hawk. Quite talented."
"What about you?"
Yelena furrowed her eyebrows, "what about me?"
"Any chance you are going to take over as the new Black Widow?"
Yelena started laughing, a full belly laugh which reached its way up to her eyes. Clearly she found that idea funny, "that is the funniest, Kate Bishop. Me? Be an Avenger? That is hilarious."
"They would be lucky to have you."
"Yes," she was still laughing. "They would," the laughter stopped. "I would never work for the people responsible for Natasha's death. Absolutely not."
"Come on," she urged. "Once I get Fury's email we could be like the next Hawkeye and Black Widow."
"Cute," Yelena's eyebrows went up, "but nyet. Never."
"Okay," Kate had only spent a few short hours with the assassin but knew her time for pressing the issue was coming to an end. "So what is next for you then?"
Yelena sighed and rested her head on the sofa, looking up at the ceiling. "Finally. For the first time in my life, I have the ability to make all these choices for myself. There's so much I want to do. To see," she offered a half smile. "I don't know where to begin."
"If you need help..." Yelena just nodded. "I feel like this is a risky question."
"But you are going to ask it anyway. Go on."
"Contract killings. Are you still going to do that?"
Yelena just shrugged one shoulder, "if I choose to then I will. I won't say it's my preferred path but it is an easy one. I've been conditioned my whole life for that line of work."
"But like you said... you can make your own choices now. Live the life you want."
"Little Hawk," she shook her head. "I'm not destined for greatness like you. Whatever happens to me is because I deserve it. I'm not a charitable or good person. The blood flows deep in my wake."
"Everyone has a redemption arc, Yelena."
Yelena let a little laugh escape her nose, refusing eye contact, "you are too good for this world, Kate Bishop. Don't lose yourself when the options become too much." Kate was about to ask about the cryptic advice when Yelena stretched and stood up. "It's late. I've worn out my welcome I'm sure. I'll be going now. Thank you for the girls' night, truly."
"Do you want to do it again?"
Yelena smiled and helped Kate take the glasses and plates to the sink, "I have to go out of town for a while. I'm not sure how long."
"That's the most straight forward rejection I've ever received," Kate's laugh was self-deprecating.
"I'm not rejecting you," she turned, facing the younger woman. She looked up, letting herself stare into Kate's blue eyes, studying her face, committing it to memory. She wasn't sure what she was feeling but she enjoyed her time with the archer this evening. "I have business outside of America. I'll be back. I feel like I'm not finished here in New York. Plus I haven't even had a chance to see all those sites you recommended to me at our last girls' night."
"I'd love to show you the city," Kate smiled.
"Don't do anything too stupid while I'm gone, yes?"
"How do I contact you?" Kate asked when Yelena put her coat on and opened the door.
"I'll be in touch, Kate Bishop," with that the assassin left through the front door, closing it behind her.