Chapter Text
Kate feels as though her mind is collapsing in on her, suffocating on the guilt and anger and grief pulsing through her veins, with only one person tracing the depths of her brain.
Her mother. Eleanor Bishop. The woman who caused indescribable destruction. The woman who poisoned Kate’s life where every corner she walked into now was tinged with her mother’s crimes. The woman who had deemed any means suitable if it ensued she retained the result she needed despite the damage she imbued.
But however much Kate tried to forget, she was also the woman who had made her soft, warm pancakes glistening with maple syrup when she had a bad day. The same woman that held her while she cried after a breakup as a teenager and ate cookies and cream ice cream with her as they binge watched comfort movies together.
So when she had been drowning herself in said thoughts, caging herself in her bed while her mind remained in firm knots for weeks, someone rang her doorbell.
No. It wasn’t Yelena. Of course, it wouldn’t be. What was she even thinking?
“Surprise!” Three girls shouted in unison.
“Jesus. Hi. Emily! Lacy! Jen!” She gives them half hearted side hugs and offers a smile that looks more like a grimace.
They look at her apartment, with takeout boxes piling up in her kitchen and weeks of unwashed dishes lounging in her sink, and the countless clothes scattered across the room that looked out onto the landscape of New York at night from her floor-to ceiling windows that stretched out across her living room - or what was left of her living room at least.
“It’s like-” Kate looks at her phone in her hand, “Eight. What are you guys doing here?”
“We figured we’d let you mope the sad away, but it’s been a while-” Jen replied talking quickly.
“So… we figured we’d take you out! Have a night of fun y’know?” Emily added, a grin spreading eagerly.
“If you want to. We just wanted to try cheer you up.” Lacy said gently, offering her a kind smile, “We know it’s been hard.”
“Maybe you’ll even get laid!” Emily teased.
Kate decided saying no would be too much of an effort rather than just giving in, maybe she could come up with an excuse half way through and just take an urberhome. Reluctantly, she agrees and says she’ll go throw some clothes on and comes out a few minutes later with a dark purple tank top, some baggy jeans and some eyeliner.
“Ayyy! That’s our girl.” Jen cheers.
It takes around fifteen minutes to get there in Emily’s shiny red new porsche to arrive at this bar that just opened up. When they get inside, it doesn’t take long before her friends are doing shots.
“To Kate and a new start!” Jen says stumbling, raising a glass. And it takes less before they start mingling, leaving Kate and her untouched glass of whatever alchohol Lacy had ordered for her in attempt to get her to loosen up. And it wasn’t that their efforts went unnoticed. God, no. Kate loved her friends dearly. She had met them in freshman year of college, at just some house party, when her life was so simple, and her biggest dilemna was handing in an english lit essay on time. And now their lives were so… nice, empty of an abyss of complications that revolved around Kate’s life. They did not, could not, understand that for Kate it wasn’t just that her ‘mum went to jail’. She was now linked to crimes beyond her scope of mind.
This is when Kate decides to take a drink of whatever her friends gave her. And another. And another. Until, she was too drunk to mutter any coherent sentances.
“Kate Bishop!”
She whipped her head around to see none other than… Yelena. Yelena with her long soft blonde locks in a loose plait falling down her back, smirking at her. In front of her. less than a meter away, with a black leather jacket draped on her shoulder.
“Are you real?”
At this, Yelena frowns as Kate pokes at her arm, “I think so?” She says in her thick russian accent, glancing at the taller brunette girl.
“How are you here?”
“I put a tracker on your phone last christmas.” Yelena states very seriously, “Just in case you were to rouse any trouble.”
“Well. I haven’t. Just here, having fun, getting a drink!” Kate beams at her while holding another glass in her hand.
Yelena snorts at this, “A drink? More like a dozen. How many have you had?”
“Like five? Or was it six? I’m not suuuuure.” She puts her arms around Yelena’s neck, swaying to the loud music as Yelena freezes and pushes her arms off, “What are you doing?” She mutters, a slight tone of amusement in her voice but no emotion displayed on her face apart from avid annoyance.
“What if someone was to try and assasinate you right now? And you were too intoxicated to form words.”
“Wow. Says the assasin!”
“Yes. What if I was here to kill you? What would you do? Pour a glass of vodka on me and embrace me while I was digging a knife into your side?”
“Sure. You can do anything you want to me, Yeleeeena.” Kate says, slurring her words slightly.
“Kate. We are going. You are going to go home, and sleep this off so you can be fully conscious when Fisk calls you tomorrow.”
“What.” Kate stops in her tracks, “How-”
“He is going to threaten you to back down as witness in your mother’s trial. You are going to say yes and we are going to kill him. By we, I do not mean you and I. He is a very dangerous man. He is planning on your death as punishment to your mother.”
“What.”
“He is going to threaten you to-”
“No, I-I heard you. How do you know this?”
“It does not matter. You are going to go home right now. Sleep off this idiocy and wake up with a clear mind to-”
“I don’t want to be alone.” Kate says with a slight tremble in her words.
“Kate Bishop. How old are you,” She exclaims in disbelief, “You are twenty two years old. You are not a child.”
“Please.”
“Jesus.” Yelena looks exasperated with a trace of concern hinted in her voice, “Fine.”
“Thank you.” Kate looks relieved as she cups Yelena’s cheek, smiling absently as Yelena flushes and rougly pushes her hand off. Kate mutters “I’ll uhm… call an uber.”, digging in her hand bag, digging to find her phone
“No need. I have transportation.”
“You have a car?” Kate gapes.
“No.” She only gets a snapped response as she is being lead to the parking lot and given a black helmet that looks like it’s been through battle - which Kate thinks, it probably has, knowing Yelena.
“Is this yours?” Kate, again, gapes. But this time at Yelena’s motorbike, tracing her hands on the leather seat.
“Yes. Come on. I am taking you home.” Yelena says climbing onto the bike already.
“I live on-”
“Yes Kate. 480 Park Avenue. Did the alcohol wipe your memory? I am a super spy. Do you think I can not find your new address? That is like warm up.” Yelena says slightly irriatedly but still a pinch of humour in her voice.
“Oh. Yes. I forgot.” Kate gets onto the motorcycle unsteadily, nearly tripping over her feet, causing a muffled chuckle from the shorter blonde woman.
“Are you ready?” Yelena turns back to look at Kate as she sits with her hands behind her, leaning backwards, “You are going to fall off like that. Do you possess any common sense? I have no money to be sued for your unnessesary death.”
At this, Kate has a confused glint in her eye and Yelena sighs, “You are going to want to hold on.”
Tentatively, Kate wraps her arms around Yelena’s waist as she starts the engine. When it starts moving, Kate feels like she is almost flying, feeling the cold night breeze in her face as her phone, buzzing in her pocket is forgotten, and all she feels is the gentle wind whistling in her face and Yelena beneath her hands. The scenery whizzes past them, a blur of glowing buildings, yellow cabs moving fast, leaving bright lines of light down avenues. As they past a bridge, the river reflects the city lights like a mirror, sparkling in the soft shine of the moon. It feels all too much like a dream.
Yelena is tense under her, unreadable as she drives through the buzzing traffic while Kate leans her head forward on Yelena’s shoulder. Slowly, her eyes close. Just a little.
“Kate Bishop. Wake up. We are here.”
She groggily opens her eyes as Yelena steps gracefully off her bike in front of Kate’s apartment building.
“Hmm fancy.” As Kate is still, getting off the bike, Yelena is already walking towards the entrance.
“Good evening, Miss Bishop.” The doorman greets Kate’s disgruntled appearance, offering him a slight smile and a polite hello, following Yelena.
“9th floor, right?” Yelena already presses the button in the lift, without waiting for a reply because, of course, she already knew.
Just then, Kate’s phone rings again.
“You should pick that up. Whoever it is has been ringing for the past ten minutes while you were asleep.”
“I was not asleep!” Kate exclaims, “Just… resting my eyes.” Her head pounds as the giddiness of the drinks has slightly worn her off.
As she opens her phone, she sees ten or so missed calls and countless messeges from her friends.
“Hello?”
“Oh my god. Kate! Where did you go? We were worried sick” Lacy’s voice projects through her phone speakers pressed against her ear as Kate replies, “Sorry, I… met someone. They’re at mine, right now.”
Yelena raises her eyebrows at this while Lacy’s excited voice says, “I guess Emily’s manifestation worked. Anyways, enjoy your night with mystery person!” Kate could almost see her winking at her as she grimaced.
“Yeah thanks. Tell Emily and Jen not to worry.”
“Will do.” And with that, she ends the phone call as the lift pings, signalling they’ve reached her floor.
“So I’m ‘someone’?” Yelena looks smug at Kate, teasing her as Kate wants to bury her head in her hands, “They’ve been on my back for ages about moping about alone. At least this will get them off my back about it.”
“Hm. Okay.”
When they get inside Kate’s apartment, Lucky comes trotting towards them, wagging his tail happily. Yelena crouches and smiles at the happy dog that resembles so much of the girl standing next to her. Kate looks mildly embarrassed at the mess although Yelena doesn’t bat an eye to the mess, seemingly too distracted by her dog but then heads straight for the kitchen.
“Do you uhm… want a drink or like a snack?” Kate offers rubbing her eyes, watching Yelena rumage around.
“Aha!” She grins triumphantly at Kate as she opens her cutlery draw, “You have four forks! Wow! Massive upgrade.”
Kate laughs slightly, finally looking closer at Yelena. She’s wearing a fitted grey tank top with black jeans and doc marten boots with a black leather jacket. Kate can’t help but notice how good she looks.
“You are staring.” Yelena again, smirks at her, “What?”
“I-” Kate’s brain pauses as she thinks of something witty to say but nothing surfaces, “You’re hot.” She blurts out.
“Hm. You’re not too bad yourself, Kate Bishop.” Yelena hesitates, still unreadable, watching the blush spreading across Kate’s cheeks, “Go sleep. Tomorow will be long.”
“Yes. You can take the guest room? Do you have clothes? I can lend you a hoodie? Sorry. Uhm. Yes, I’ll leave you alone now. Goodnight, Yelena.”
In response, Yelena only looks amused, “Goodnight, Kate Bishop.” She says quietly, smiling affectionately to herself.
But when she says this, Kate is already in her room, laying sprawled out in her bed. And within minutes, she’s snoring.