Chapter 18 already that's crazy!!! Finally introducing Yelena to Animal Crossing because I decided she would go insane over it de nada :)))
Content warnings: Natasha
"You sound like an Animal Crossing villager."
Yelena pauses what she's doing immediately and whips her head around to look at Kate, her expression scrutinizing. "I sound like what?"
She had finished her shower and put on some light makeup and sweats before laying on the floor and snuggling with the dogs, cradling their heads in her hands and talking to them softly in the cutest Russian puppy voice that Kate had ever heard. While it was absolutely adorable and she could die happy if Yelena stabbed her and talked to her like that as she bled out, it was also scarily accurate when compared to the Animalese the villages spoke in Animal Crossing. She couldn't just not point it out.
"You sound like an Animal Crossing villager," Kate says again, laughing to herself. Yelena's frown deepens, and Kate feels a strike of horror when she sees confusion on her friend's face.
"What is... an 'Animal Crossing villager'?"
"No."
"'No' what?"
"Tell me you're joking."
"Kate Bishop, what in the shit are you talking about?"
"This is a tragedy."
Yelena stands in a huff and strides to Kate, grabbing her biceps. "You're making me worried, Kate Bishop. What are you talking about?"
Kate's jaw is slack. "You don't know what Animal Crossing is."
"Kate Bishop."
"Yelena."
"Kate Bishop. What is Animal Crossing?"
"This is horrible."
Yelena looks beyond unimpressed. "Kate, I'm about to pack up my clothes and my dog and leave. What the fuck are you talking about?"
Kate suddenly spins around and grabs her boots and coat and throws them on. "Grab some shoes, Yelena. We're going on a field trip."
Yelena folds her arms over her chest. "I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what an Animal Crossing is, Kate Bishop."
Kate's grin is almost feral. "The best fucking thing ever created on the face of the Earth, that's what. Just you wait, beautiful. I'm about to change your life."
————
Luckily, Yelena makes no protests once they're in their Uber and she's able to press her face to the car window to watch the city pass them by as they drive. Kate watches her with a fond smile after asking the driver to take them to the nearest Nintendo store.
It's a beautiful January day, with a light layering of snow and the clouds threatening more where the cold sunlight isn't streaming through them. Yelena sighs wistfully, watching it all with a bright interest. Even without Christmas, New York City had a magic to it. Maybe it was completely different to a resident native like Kate, but Yelena was glad she could appreciate the mystery and grandeur of it all.
"Where exactly are we going again, Kate Bishop?" she asks after about ten minutes, finally removing her cheek from the cold glass. Kate looks up from her phone and smiles mischievously.
"The wonderful world of Nintendo, milady."
Yelena only sighs and accepts that her friend is going to keep being cheesy and elusive. She wonders if Lucky acts this way with Fanny.
"Do you have any idea how long you're gonna be in New York for?" Kate suddenly says, pursing her lips and tucking her device away.
Yelena feels a jolt of concern. "Probably a couple of weeks. Is that okay?"
"Oh, yeah! Yeah no, that's totally fine. I was just curious." Kate goes back to her phone and Yelena goes back to her window, and they both worry about what the other thinks of the whole situation.
————
"I do not understand, Kate Bishop. I have access to technology much more intricate than this."
Kate tuts and taps Yelena's nose, holding up the two Nintendo Switch OLED's that she was getting ready to purchase. "That's not the spirit of Nintendo, Yelena. Now come on, pick out some Joy-Cons with me."
"What is a Joy-Con?"
The archer's face is almost maniacal, like she already knows that she's won. "They're a fun way to customize these fantastic consoles."
Yelena's interest is reluctantly piqued. "Customize...?"
Kate tugs her around the crowded Nintendo store and finds a shopping basket to put the two boxes in before leading them to a glass display case, pointing at several other boxes displaying different colored controllers. Yelena looks them all over for a moment before pointing accusingly into the display.
"Why are the cute light purple and pink ones both left-handed, Kate Bishop? What if someone wanted to use both at the same time?"
Kate nods solemnly and places a hand over her heart. "Because Nintendo hates us."
The assassin's pout is downright murderous. "I will just kill this Nintendo, then."
Her friend barks out a laugh. "As much as I wish that would solve our problems, we can't go around offing people."
Yelena purses her lips and grumbles, spitting a Russian curse under her breath. "Stupid American laws."
"Isn't murder illegal in most places...?"
"Hush, Kate Bishop."
"Yes ma'am."
Yelena grouches about the color combinations while they continue to browse, much to Kate's entertainment. She gets distracted several times by Pokémon plushies and different brightly colored posters, and it's practically impossible to remove her from the Avengers section once she finds figurines of all the heroes.
"Kate Bishop, look! It's Clint Barton!"
Kate grins and squats down next to her, admiring the action figures. She knows she already has most of them in a box at the penthouse somewhere, but it's fun to see them still being enjoyed by younger kids. "Indeed it is," she says, looking over the packaged, pocket sized Avengers.
"Clint Barton, Space God, Green Guardian, Bug-Man, Goldilocks, American Dream, Spider-Boy, Walking Tin Can, Prosthetic Anger Issues, Sideburns," Yelena mutters, going over all of the figurines and naming them herself. Kate watches amusedly. "Sentient Toaster, Overlarge Housecat, Egotistical Pharmacist, Hottest Woman Alive, Captain B- oh." Yelena's voice suddenly falls flat, and Kate whips her head over to look at her friend so fast that she whacks it into a shelf.
"What is it?"
Yelena's hand rests on a certain box. "Natasha."
Kate's stomach drops. "Oh."
The assassin gently takes the box off of the shelf and presses her fingers lightly against the clear plastic, ears ringing. Natasha's face stares back up at her, the likeness that was somehow captured with a painted piece of plastic beyond mesmerizing. "Natasha," she mutters gently, heart swelling. The eyes, the hair, the mouth. Her Natasha.
Her sister.
Yelena sits there for a long moment, just staring and breathing and missing, hands trembling slightly when Kate puts a gentle arm around her shoulder. "Do you want to get it?" the archer asks, so soft and tender that Yelena might break down right then and there.
She nods silently, her throat thick and aching when she tries to swallow the tears down. Natasha, Natasha, Natasha.
Kate helps her stand up slowly and keeps a steady arm wrapped firmly around her waist as she leads Yelena around the store so the blonde can just look down at the figure in her hands. She picks out a couple sets of Joy-Cons, a few games, (including Animal Crossing, of course) and something else that catches her eye for Yelena before proceeding to check-out and completely ignoring the price as it racks up.
When they get back into a different Uber, she makes sure Yelena is buckled in by a window and then sits in the middle seat to hold the smaller woman against her, fingers stroking slowly through her golden hair. The assassin melts into her side, cheek on Kate's shoulder and eyes on her sister.
Oh, Natasha.
It always came back to Natasha, didn't it?
Writing this is keeping me sane- does that make sense? I went through a breakup several months ago and this is a really good distraction. I adore them. I think Yelena saying fuck is really funny.
Translations: none
Kate Bishop counter: 10
QOTD: What's your favorite video game?
This chapter's meme(s):
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