Working with experienced hands, Kate struck her flint, lit her kindling, and blew softly but insistently on the budding flame. After a few errant attempts (it was windy on the office building's roof, after all), she struck up a blaze, sighing in relief as yellow and orange flame flickered to life against a pink and purple sky.
"Still got it," Kate joked, leaning back, arms outstretched.
Yelena cocked an eyebrow from her post at the edge of the roof, binoculars in hand. Despite the fact that they had already cleared the entire block and thoroughly swept the office building they currently camped on top of, Yelena kept her senses piques, muscles tensed. Letting her guard down was a lot a luxury she could afford.
She would not have a repeat of the last town they went through, when the Diner Debacle happened, as Kate called it. Though everything had worked out, it was a close call- too close. One wrong move in that cramped diner kitchen, one missed round, and she would have been a Lurker's dinner. She simply could not allow that. Not when she had given so much to make this trip happen.
Selfishly, Yelena also came to a realization as the two stumbled out of the diner that day, shaking and bloodied. Yelena came within a bite mark of losing her companion. If Yelena had miscalculated an attack by even a half inch, she would have ended up on her own, leading her to confront the fact that she was in no way ready for that possibility.
Even when her parents had died, even when she bounced from home to broken home as a child, even when the world went to hell, she had Natasha. And then, when she lost Natasha, she had Widows around, several dozen surrogate sisters. There was never a night she had to sleep without someone watching her back, never a meal she had to enjoy alone. There was always someone to talk to, joke with, cry on.
Now, all that stood between Yelena and the ringing silence of solitude was Kate Bishop. Yelena could not face the abyss of loneliness, where in the quiet she could confront every sin she had ever committed, every hardship she had ever endured. No, that just would not do.
How did Kate do it for so long? What horrible things must have happened in Boston to make the archer abandon humanity altogether? Yelena could not fathom going a week alone, much less years. It was confounding.
In any case, Yelena was a soldier. When tasked with a mission and working toward a clear endgame, she reached her objectives without fail. Now, her mission was to make it to South Carolina, find Natasha, and keep Kate Bishop safe along the way. She had never failed in the past, and she sure as hell would not fail now.
Granted, the Widow did not simply keep Kate around for the purpose of disquieting fear or a chivalrous sense of duty. No, she genuinely liked the girl. Not just in a pragmatic manner for her ingenuity, her skill, or her adept fire building, but Yelena appreciated her humor, her trustworthiness, her all around goodness. Yelena had plucked Kate out of her treehouse, wrangling her into a perilous cross country road trip, and yet Kate was still gracious, still kind, still steady.
The conclusions calmed Yelena's racing heart momentarily. She had a goal, she had a plan, and now she had a partner. Glancing over to Kate, she realized what a blessing she truly was. She had a rare combination of qualities- female, capable, and trustworthy. Kate Bishop was Yelena's best shot; she would reach her destination with Kate at her side, or probably not at all.
"You good?" Kate asked, watching as Yelena scowled at the town below. "Can you even see anything?"
"No. And I'm fine," she replied, finally turning. "A little on edge, I guess. I just feel like we should have seen other people by now."
"Hm. Well, I'm glad we haven't."
Yelena sighed, annoyed at the lack of visibility as the sun set. She pocketed her binoculars, sitting across from Kate at the campfire. "This is nothing to you, huh? You were in the woods for what, three years? How'd you go that long on your own?"
Kate shrugged. "I'm not sure. I never really stopped to think, I guess. I was just so focused on surviving. But... knowing that I was completely on my own was comforting back then."
"I don't think I could ever take solitude for comfort."
"Well, I never thought I would be able to take companionship for comfort again, but here we are."
Yelena hummed, allowing some of the tension to drain from her fatigued muscles. She rolled her neck, stretched out her back, and laid her pack down, though she did not let her pistol rest more than a few inches out of reach.
"You gotta relax, Yelena," Kate said softly. "It's okay. We're fine."
"Thinking like that is what will get you killed," she snapped, teeth bared before she deflated. "Sorry. I don't mean to be so... testy."
"It's the apocalypse, I think you're excused. But... what are you so afraid of?"
Jaw set, Yelena studied her face, sighing. "A lot of things."
Kate frowned but remained silent. The intensity in the other woman was akin to that of the raging fire- so bright and kinetic that Kate could not help but experience it. The archer felt all of her stress, all of her anxiety, and most of all she felt the fear.
With tired eyes, Kate looked from Yelena's furrowed brows to the bruised hand that idly traced the handle of the cold silver pistol. Kate once again studied her patches, mesmerized by the rows of hourglasses. She was taken by the sheer passion of the other woman, the way she literally wore her heart on her sleeve and the stunning level of commitment she displayed in a world like this. Just from the few weeks of knowing her, and her parting words in the diner, Kate could see she loved hard and protected with reckless abandon.
It was impressive, really, that Yelena was willing to bear the responsibility of caring. Though Kate thought it cocky of her to believe she could protect anyone she deemed worthy, she could not deny that the righteousness and confidence in her quest was enthralling.
How would it feel to have such purpose? What was it like to live for someone besides oneself? Was it terrifying to live so brashly?
Kate spent three years of her life avoiding questions like that. All that mattered in the forest was survival- pure, primal instincts. She relied on no one but herself, and while the lack of strings was freeing, it felt at best, lonely, and at worst, pointless. Who was it all for? What kept her going?
"Well, anyway..." said the archer with a soft shake of her head. "I've got a confession to make."
"Hm?"
"I've been thinking about those popcorn kernels for a week." She smiled playfully, firelight glinting off of her teeth. "What do you think?"
Some levity returned to Yelena's face, and an eyebrow shot up in challenge. "Really? Tonight?"
"No time like the present."
With a small chuckle, Yelena sat up, rummaging through her pack to find the thermos she stuffed with kernels. She rolled it over to Kate, who greedily unscrewed the top, mouth nearly watering at the prospect of warm, savory popcorn. The archer knew perfectly well that this batch would be stale at best, but perhaps childhood memories of movie theater snacks could generate the olfactory sensation in its stead.
"Do you remember the last movie you ever saw in a theater?" Kate wondered aloud, already rigging the thermos to rest over the fire.
"I'm not sure," Yelena said, sitting cross legged now. "I didn't go to the movies much. When I did, I would hop around to different theaters and stay all day."
"Eight years ago..." Kate hummed, lips pursed in thought. "What was that, 2017?." She grimaced deeply, but laughed through it. "Jesus Christ, I think the last movie I saw in a theater was Boss Baby."
In the roasting thermos, the first few corn kernels began to pop. The sudden crack startled Yelena, who jumped ever so slightly.
Taking a breath, the Widow laughed amicably. "I'm sorry that was your last cinematic experience."
"Eh, it's okay. I was never much of a movie person anyway. They're too long and predictable most of the time. What I do miss, though," she smiled sadly, "is music."
"Yeah?" Yelena asked, lips twitching into a grin. "The Widows had a record player. I do miss that."
"It's sad how art was like, the first thing to go when everything went crazy. No time for literature or painting when it's life and death."
"Were you an artist?"
"Would have liked to be."
"Oh, I've been meaning to ask," Yelena started, eyes flitting to the thermos as pops sounded off like holiday fireworks. "What's the deal with all of those books?"
"My books?"
"Yeah. When you only had a few moments to pack, you made sure to bring them."
"Hm." Kate pulled her pack in front of her, settling it between her outstretched legs as she searched for her treasured novels. "I've got a few... Call of the Wild, Peter Pan, Tom Sawyer. A lot of stuff that I read in school at the time."
"Have you gotten through them all?"
"I think so..." Kate dug deeper into her bag, fishing until she pulled out a rough, waterlogged copy of Ernest Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises. "Never finished this one, though. Never started it, actually. It's my dad's, and... I don't know. Just haven't gotten around to it."
Yelena nodded solemnly. "Well... we're probably gonna have a lot of boring nights like this, so..."
"So...?"
"Maybe we could read it. Um, together. Or something."
Surprised, Kate cocked her head with curiosity. "You wanna read a book with me?"
"Don't make it weird."
"I'm making it very weird. In a good way. That's... sweet."
Awkwardly, Yelena rubbed the back of her neck, pivoting her attention back to the popcorn. "Yeah, it's just- you know, um... I don't actually think I can read very well."
"That's fine, I'll read it to you. We can work on that, if you want." Kate softened at the vulnerability in Yelena's voice, searching through the embarrassment in the other woman's face. "You never learned in school?"
"I skipped a lot back then. By the time I got to middle school I was so embarrassed by it that I stopped trying altogether. And the Widow compound wasn't exactly conducive to learning and growth."
"I see." Kate inched closer, sitting cross legged next to Yelena. In one hand, she held tight to the tattered novel, and in the other, she carefully retrieved the thermos, dropping it reflexively as it scalded. "Ow, fuck. I'll read until we run out of popcorn, deal?"
Yelena caught the thermos before it clattered to the pavement, keeping her sheepish eyes on the canister as she nodded. She set it between them, hands wringing nervously. Endeared, Kate opened the book to the first page, reading well into the evening, and long after the two's popcorn supply ran dry.
After several chapters, Yelena yawned, and took it as sign to pack it in for the night. She gathered the thermos and Kate's books back into their respective packs, then set out a blanket for each of them. Next to her, Kate scribbled furiously on her map, trying to cram in her calculations before the fire burned down too dim.
"What are you doing now, Einstein?" Yelena asked, laying on her side, one elbow propped behind her head.
"Trying to track our route so far." Kate's tongue stuck out in concentration. "Finding the most efficient way from here to South Carolina."
"ETA?"
"At our current pace, four weeks, give or take."
"Damn."
Folding her map, Kate studied Yelena's face, her consternated features periodically brightened by the flickering fire. "Not worried, are you?"
Yelena met Kate's eyes for a brief moment before returning her gaze to the coals. "I'm just eager, I guess. Haven't seen her in two years, so a month should be no problem. But, still... a lot can happen in a month."
"Two years?" Kate asked, a bit surprised. "I didn't realize it had been that long."
"It feels like longer."
"What's she like?"
"My sister?"
Kate nodded, pulling her legs up to her chest and resting her head on her knees. "Yeah. She must be pretty damn special for you to travel the entire east coast to find her."
"She's brave, she's kind, she's... all that matters." Her eyes were like coals, hot and burning. "I would travel anywhere to find her again. I would swim across the Atlantic for her. She gave me everything- made me into what I am. I'm not gonna give up."
Kate just nodded, wishing she had even a quarter of the purpose and the passion Yelena did. "Then what?"
"What do you mean?"
"We find her, and then what after that?"
"Hm." Yelena frowned. "Guess I haven't thought that far ahead. Who knows, maybe Natasha has somewhere to stay down there. I'm sure you'd be welcome too, if that's what you're worried about."
Cracking a small smile, Kate shook her head lightly. "That's not what I'm worried about. But it is nice to know I won't be kicked to the curb after traveling cross country with you."
"I wouldn't do that to you," Yelena mumbled, eyes growing heavy despite her attempts to blink away the fatigue.
"Why don't you get some rest? I'll take the first watch" Kate offered, and at Yelena's raised eyebrows, she continued, "I mean it this time. You're tired, I got this."
With another deep, languid yawn, Yelena resigned herself to her fate. Kate's expression was genuine, her eyes unwavering. The Widow nodded, bringing her blanket up to her chest. Pulling one arm free of the blanket, she took hold of her trusty pistol, hand loosely resting on the grip.
Kate unsheathed her own knife, whittling off more fuel for the dying fire. Seeing Yelena so tense, still so coiled and vigilant as she laid to rest, Kate rummaged in her jacket pocket, pulling out the two little cars she swiped from the antique shop.
"I almost forgot," Kate whispered, crawling over to a sleepy Yelena. "I got you something."
Cracking open a curious eye, Yelena asked, "What?"
With riveting gentleness, Kate placed a hand over Yelena's, pulling it from the gun and replacing it with the tiny purple car. "It's a little dumb, but... I thought it was cute. You don't have to be so ready all the time. I'm here too. You don't always have to hold the gun."
Yelena searched for a response, but the combination of fatigue and the warmth from her blanket, the simmering fire, and Kate's eyes quickly lulled her into a soft and peaceful sleep.
With a small, satisfied smile, Kate sat back on her heels, continuing her whittling to pass the time. After a few hours she allowed the fire to fizzle out, and subconsciously scooted closer to the blonde as she snored softly.
Chin resting on her knees, Kate delicately tugged Yelena's blanket up to fully cover her chest, and the girl rolled over in response, curling in on herself with the car still clutched in hand.
The archer stayed this way until the sun rose, watching over the blonde with admiring eyes. Though her fire had burnt out on this cold December night, for once in her life, Kate Bishop was warm.
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I feel like the main push and pull between these two is Yelena's fear of being alone and Kate's yearning for purpose and fruitful relationship in a world where that feels unlikely. It's like the inevitable vs the impossible.
I'm sorry it took so long to update. I struggled with how this chapter would go but I think I ended up with an end product I'm happy with.
I hope you're enjoying this so far! I know I am.