Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

↳Chapter One

Yelena is eleven-years-old when she feels her entire world change. Her chest burns along with her left wrist as black ink imprints on her skin. Katherine Bishop. The name wraps around her wrist like a bracelet. Her soulmate’s name. She takes a look in the mirror to see that beneath her collarbone is marked. Wings beneath it a date. 12-11-02. Her soulmate’s birth date. Those two things are not the only thing that marked her having a soulmate. Her eyes. Her left eye no longer was the color of hazel-green but of stormy-blue. 

That night she went to her parents. Her mother had explained to her about the soulmarks, soulbond, and soulmate. Her mother had explained that not everyone is lucky to have one. Not everyone who has a soulmate matches. Some can be soulmates with someone but aren't a pair and that someone else is their soulmate. Or that someone can have multiple soulmates. 

After that conversation with her mama, she went to her older sister, Natasha. Her sister has a soulmate, she had overheard her telling their mama prior to her getting her soul marks. Natasha didn’t seem very happy about it. She had been rather reluctant about sharing her soulmate but eventually she had told them about her. It was sad. It made Yelena never want to feel what her sister felt when her soulmate had lost their parents. For the first time since Natasha had turned ten that she slept in their parents’ bed. Yelena joined them not wanting to miss out on cuddles. It felt nice to Yelena and she hoped that her good feelings would transfer to her soulmate as well. 

Yelena is thirteen-years-old when she first feels Katherine Bishop’s pain. The echo of it anyway. It’s an odd sensation to feel one’s pain knowing that it is not her who is hurt but that her soulmate is. For a moment she had forgotten about that. She was confused as to what caused the pain she was suddenly feeling until she remembered about her soulmate. But then she had been separated from her family and taken to the Red Room. Ever since then she cut herself off to the bond, closing it so that Katherine Bishop  could not feel any of her pain and vice versa. Her marks are covered by her own making. She didn’t understand why the Red Room had let the girls keep their soul marks until she realized that the reason why was an incentive for the widows to do their best. Her mama had once told her that some soulmates are so connected to each other that if one dies, the other dies as well. They are unable to live without each other. She realized that the Red Room knew that too and was using it to their advantage. There were widows who were soulmates and were forced to kill one another. Love is a weakness. Yelena more than ever is grateful that her soulmate is far far away from her. She can never hurt her if she can’t see or is near her. It made blocking the bond easier to know that she is sparring her soulmate the pain that she is enduring and because of her, Yelena becomes the world’s greatest child assassin. No one will ever hurt her soulmate.  

Yelena is twenty-seven-years-old when she meets her soulmate on a rooftop in New York, a couple days away from Christmas as she tries to kill Clint Barton. 

She straps a wire on the girl making sure that she’s safe before throwing her over the room. In their close proximity, she feels the fear coming from her soulmate’s side of the bond. She feels the other half of her heart racing with fear and adrenaline. She takes a deep breath to relax and clear her mind as she watches Barton cut the wire holding her soulmate. It takes everything in her not to run over to save her even though in her mind, she knows that Katherine Bishop is safe. Barton would never harm the girl. So she fights the other competition she did not expect to have. Katherine Bishop is utterly annoying as the girl continues to get in her way of her mark. Her soulmate is aiming an arrow at her head and for a moment Yelena wonders if the girl before her realized that her left eye changed color mid-fight. She glares at her, slowly shaking her head at the archer. She watches the way the girl lowers her bow in defeat, confusion written all over her face as she shoots her grappling hook on the ground before swan diving off the room. Her heart races. Katherine Bishop . 

She makes her way back to the hotel she’s currently staying in for the time being and does a deep dive on her soulmate. She finds her on the front page of the archery team for Columbia University. There’s a picture of the archery team and in the front and center holding a trophy is Katherine Bishop who prefers to be called Kate Bishop . She tries out the name. It’s strange to her, unfamiliar. She is used to calling her soulmate by her full name but if her soulmate prefers to be called Kate Bishop then she will respect that. Learning about Kate Bishop becomes a very deep rabbit hole, she finds herself in. 

After finding the address of Kate Bishop’s apartment—not that it was very hard given that it was on the news—she makes her way there and waits for the girl. When an hour passes by, she realizes that Kate Bishop will take a while so she makes herself useful after taking a look around the place. It’s not as bad as she thought the place would be, burnt and all. With a little bit of restoring and cleaning, the place could become a home again or maybe it’s still a home for her soulmate anyways she wouldn’t know. She rummages through her cupboard to see if the archer has any food that survived the fire. She claps her hand when she finds a kraft mac n cheese, her favorite food of all times. She starts making it and by the time it’s done, Kate Bishop finally returns. She finds herself catching a bottle of hot sauce that’s thrown in self-defense by the archer. 

“ Hi,” Yelena draws out the word, enjoying the way Kate Bishop flounders around her and finds her funny. “ Sit, eat please. My daddy says it’s good for you.” She tells her, sitting down across from the archer. She is not amused nor impressed to learn that her soulmate only owns one fork. It is weird. Who only has one fork? She learns that her soulmate is way too confident but that is not so bad. They talk a bit and it is great. Her first proper conversation with her soulmate though it is not how she expected to be. Kate Bishop is very funny. Her heart beats matching Kate Bishop’s like it always has since the day the brunette was born but Kate Bishop does not know that or realizes it. 

The light atmosphere turns tense when Kate Bishop brings up Barton and her happy mood turns sour. 

“ Are you here to talk to Clint?” Kate Bishop asks. How naive is her soulmate? She thinks. 

“ No, I’m here to kill him,” the conversation gets worse and worse. A strange feeling grips her chest at the fierce loyalty and faith that Kate Bishop has for Barton. She is angry at how Barton managed to get her soulmate to choose him, to side with him. Yelena finds herself wanting all of that. She wants her soulmate’s fierce devotion. “ Oh, and Kate Bishop, don’t get in my way again.” I would hate to see you get hurt. She doesn’t voice those thoughts. She dives out of the window that she’s broken in. 

‘ See what kind of person who hired her is’ resonates in the blonde’s head. It is something that Kate Bishop had commented and now it has made her curious. She puts her assassination on Barton on pause to pursue her own mission. She follows Eleanor Bishop, her stomach dropping when she sees who she is talking to. Kingpin; Wilson Frisk, the mob leader of New York. She finds herself texting Kate Bishop. Her soulmate deserves to know even if it’ll hurt. 

Kate Bishop, I found who hired me 

Eleanor Bishop 

I thought you deserve to know 

*video of Kingpin and Eleanor Bishop talking* 

When Kate Bishop does not respond, she can’t help but worry. For the first time in thirteen years, she opens herself up to the bond so that she can feel what Kate Bishop is feeling and quickly closes herself off as Kate’s emotions overwhelm her. It’s been thirteen years since she let herself open the bond, afraid that her emotions would spill through and her soulmate would feel her like she’s always had when she was in Ohio. She understands her longing now of wanting to go to New York. The other half of her heart—literally—is here. Her soulmate lives here. She doesn’t see Kate until the next night at the Bishop’s Christmas party. They get ‘trapped’ in the elevator together, well not trapped per se more stuck in the elevator waiting for the destination floor but what’s the difference?

“ Are we going to talk about the elephant in the room here or are we both going to pretend that we both don’t know?” Kate Bishop’s voice sounds anxious and nervous. 

“ What elephant? You are funny Kate Bishop . There is no elephant here,” the blonde says. “ And yes, we pretend not to know we are soulmates.” It looks like the younger woman wants to say something but decides against it instead she attempts to click all the buttons to give her partner time. But her attempts are unsuccessful due to the blonde assassin, slapping her hand and twisting her to her back making her land on her ass. The second attempt, Kate is much faster to react and bitch slaps the blonde who looks shocked. 

“ What was that for?” Yelena asks, surprised and a bit impressed. 

“ I don’t know,” Kate panics, embarrassed before using Yelena’s stunted faze to her advantage but before she could click the buttons, Yelena recovers and takes a hold of her dress which begins to unravel– “What is happening?” and reveals the purple suit underneath it. “ Did you plan that to happen?” 

“ Yes,” Kate says confidently until Yelena raises a perfect eyebrow that she begins to backtrack her words. “ No.” Then she turns, pressing all the buttons. Kate is rather proud of herself for buying Clint time. 

“ Oh come on! That is so annoying!” Yelena growls, throwing the dress on the ground and begins to take off her green coat revealing her widow suit underneath. “ cyka.” Tossing her coat at Kate and running out of the elevator. Kate Bishop is stubborn, she’ll give her that as she fights her every step of the way to kill Clint. 

“ What are we doing huh? It’s Christmas, we should go get drinks,” Kate says, trying anything now to distract the widow who is hell-bent on killing her partner and stupidly stands in the way with her body open. 

“ Yeah. Sure. After I kill Barton,” Yelena pants. Kate groans. 

“ Not what I meant,” She manages to get out as Yelena kicks her in the ribs and damn does it hurt like mother fucker. It makes Kate realize something though. “ Quick question. How  are you not feeling my pain?” Kate Bishop, ever the talker. Yelena frowns as she somersault on the table before answering her. 

“ Can you feel me?” Yelena counters. It takes Kate a second to realize that she can’t. She had assumed that Yelena is her soulmate because her name is wrapped around her ankle like an anklet in gold. The blonde watches the brunette’s eyes dim a bit/ 

“ No but I just thought that…nevermind,” it’s the first time she sees Kate Bishop dejected before. They continue their fight, the conversation being put aside. She wants to reassure the brunette that they are soulmates or otherwise that Kate Bishop would have been dead ten times over. 

“ Ow. That really hurt !” Yelena hisses, shaking her left hand to soothe the pain. 

“ So did the kick to the rib,” Kate retorts. 

“ Yeah, that was good body form. But you did the really cool body throw,” Kate practically glows at the praise coming from the assassin, her soulmate. 

“ I know right..stop making me like you,” Kate says. 

Yelena grins, “ Sorry. I can’t help it. This was fun. Bye.” And with that, she’s diving out of the window, Kate Bishop cursing under her breath. 

Kate stumbles back, wiping the blood from her lip. She feels it first like a sudden jolt—an awareness of Yelena’s presence. She hadn’t really expected to hear Yelena in her head. Not at all. It was strange, unsettling even, to feel as though Yelena is standing right next to her, despite the fact that she knows that the blonde is miles away, currently beating up Clint. The bond hadn’t flared up in so long that she’d forgotten what it felt like—well, except for that one time when she was three, but those memories were foggy and distant. Still, the sound of Yelena’s voice suddenly echoing in her mind felt…familiar. 

[Where are you?] Yelena’s voice rings through her mind, clear and direct. Kate stumbles for a moment, her brain scrambling to process the connection.  It’s distracting enough that she almost misses the way Kingpin’s fist comes crashing toward her. The blow lands hard against her ribs—same ribs that were kicked earlier by Yelena–forcing a sharp grunt to escape her lips. The pain echoes back through the bond. 

[What are you doing Kate Bishop ?]  There's a hint of panic in Yelena’s voice, which, weirdly enough, makes Kate’s heart flutter despite the searing pain spreading through her sides. Yelena cares. Kate winces, more from Yelena’s concern than the hit, trying to pull herself together as Kingpin lines up for another hit. 

“ Uhm currently trying and failing to fight for my life against Kingpin,” She mutters aloud, more out of habit than necessity. She didn’t realize Yelena could hear her thoughts just fine without her needing to speak. The whole telepathic-soulmate-connection thing is brand new to her and she has no idea how it works. Her mother refused to talk about it and her dad who did talk about it is dead so there was no tutorial on how to be a soulmate to someone. She’s winging it, like everything else in her life. Not the best time for a crash course though, all things considered. 

“ Who are you talking to?” Kingpin asks mid-punch, confusion written all over his face. Kate’s eyes widened, her brain scrambling for an excuse.. Crap. This is bad—really bad. The last thing she needs is her enemy knowing that she has something—or someone—distracting her during a fight. 

“ Uh no one?” 

[You are a terrible liar, Katherine Bishop .] Yelena’s voice in her head is laced with exasperation, and despite the situation, Kate couldn’t help the way her stomach flutters. She couldn’t help but feel…turned on? Was that normal? The way Yelena said her full name, Russian accent and all did something to her. She can practically feel Yelena roll her eyes at her. It’s bizarre really, feeling that level of connection. Everyone talks about this bond like it’s the most natural thing in the world, but right now? It feels like anything but.

[Close your eyes.] Let me in, do not fight me.] Yelena’s command is firm but there is a gentle undertone to it. It feels strange to surrender like that, to let Yelena fully into her mind, but Kate trusts her. She closes her eyes, and the sensation is unlike anything she’s ever felt—it’s like Yelena’s presence is no longer just a voice in her head but something deeper as if she’s right there, moving through her, guiding her. It’s disorienting but thrilling at the same time. [ I need you to silence your mind. Deep inside, you can fight. You have my knowledge—use it. It will come to you as if you’ve done it your whole life.] And suddenly, it did. Kate opens her eyes and finds herself moving, fighting with a precision she’s never had before. Her body reacts on instinct—no, not instinct. Yelena’s instinct. It’s the Widow’s style: fluid, fast, deadly. She feels her muscles coil and snap with precision, executing moves she hadn’t even known existed, much less had practiced. When she clamps her thighs around Kingpin’s neck in a signature Widow takedown, the look of fear in his eyes is palpable. He knows this fighting style. He’s scared. She doesn't stop until Kingpin is lying unconscious at her feat, breathing heavily, her muscles burning with the effort. 

“ How did I just do that?” she asks aloud, her voice shaky with disbelief as she blinks down at Kingpin’s still body. 

[ Because you and I are one.] Yelena replies, her voice like velvet in Kate’s mind. [We’re connected. You know what I know, and I know what you know.] Then, just as suddenly as it appeared, the connection fades. Kate feels the loss immediately, a hollow ache in her chest as Yelena recedes from her mind. Yelena had shut the bond out again. She shakes her head, trying to refocus on the chaos around her—on her mother, being led away in handcuffs. There’s a tightness in her chest that she can’t seem to shake but relief washes over her when she sees that Clint is still standing. Yelena didn’t kill him.  She can’t deal with any more loss tonight. She makes her way over to him, exhaling a breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding. Her mind is still buzzing, trying to process everything. The bond, Yelena, the fight—it was a lot. 

"You did good, kid," Clint says softly, pulling her into a firm embrace. The moment his arms wrap around her, it’s like a dam breaking. All the adrenaline, the fear, the weight of everything that just happened crashes down on Kate at once.

Her breath catches in her throat, and before she can stop it, tears start to spill. She’s been holding it together for so long—through the fight, through the chaos with her mom—but now, in Clint’s arms, it all feels safe enough to fall apart.

“Let it all out, it’s okay,” Clint whispers, his hand rubbing soothing circles on her back.

And so she does. Kate buries her face in his shoulder, her body shaking with sobs as everything sinks in. Clint just holds her, steady and patient, letting her release all the fear, grief, and exhaustion she’s been carrying for so long. 

She clings to him like a lifeline, grateful for his presence, for the unspoken understanding between them. With every tear, the weight lightens, and she allows herself, just for this moment, to let go.

Kate spends Christmas with the Bartons. It’s a nice distraction from everything. On her stay there she learns something very important. Natasha Romanoff is alive. The world’s most infamous Black Widow is alive while the entire world believes that she’s dead. Her first thought is to reach out to Yelena through the bond and tell her but she quickly realizes that as long as Yelena is closed off to the bond, their connection will never meet so instead she texts her. She is rather surprised when Yelena tells her that she already knows. Yelena tells her that Clint had told her when she had been trying to kill him. 

Yelena ends up showing up at the Bartons’ for Christmas dinner which shocks Kate though she knows that it really shouldn’t since Yelena’s sister is spending Christmas with the Bartons so it was a bit expected for Yelena to show up. Watching Yelena’s dynamic with Natasha is interesting. The blonde radiates that ‘younger sister’ vibe when she’s around Natasha and Wanda (who she learns is Natasha’s wife apparently). 

“ What was it like for you when you first met Natasha?” Kate asks curiously as she and Wanda sit out on the patio. The sun is already set and the moon is rising. 

“ Like you and Yelena, we were on opposite sides,” Wanda answers. “ I had messed with her mind. I hadn’t realized that she was my soulmate until I went into her mind. She hated me for invading her privacy which she had the right to.” Kate frowns, unable to understand how someone could hate their own soulmate but a part of her understands in a way how someone could hate their own soulmate especially if their soulmate invades their privacy or takes away their autonomy.  “ Exactly, people can hate their own soulmate though it’s a bit harder to with the bond influencing their emotions. It’s easier for people who block out the bond. And Natasha is ridiculously stubborn.” Kate feels her face flush in embarrassment at forgetting that Wanda can literally read minds. Wanda looks a bit guilty. “ I don’t mean to but sometimes your mind can be very loud. But anyways, it took Natasha and I months, years to build the trust that we have today with each other. We had both closed ourselves off to the bond for several months. It wasn’t until a mission that had gone wrong put me in critical danger that we opened ourselves back up to the bond again.” 

“ So what you’re saying is that all I need to do is nearly die?” Kate asks, jestfully. Wanda chuckles. “ It shouldn’t be too hard. I mean I kinda almost died had she not stepped in.” Wanda looks at her, curiously. 

“ What do you mean?” She asks, brows furrowing. 

Kate sighs, letting out an awkward laugh before telling the older woman, “ I may have gone up against Kingpin who was beating my ass. Had Yelena not opened the bond, I would have probably been six feet underground.” There’s a twinkle in Wanda’s green eyes. 

“ If she opened the bond then it means that she’s trying. She and Nat didn’t exactly have the easiest childhood. So I’d say talk to Yelena. Have a proper conversation. Don’t rush her,” Wanda advises. “ Allow her to go at her own pace. Just be patient and when she’s ready, she’ll open herself back up to the bond again and keep open.” Kate hums in acknowledgement at the word of advice. She can be patient or she can learn at least to be patient. She’ll wait for Yelena as long as she has to. 

Chapter Text

↳ Chapter Two 

Five months pass by since the Christmas showdown with Kingpin and the Tracksuit Mafia. Kate is now legally the CEO of Bishop Security. She is trying to redeem it from her mother’s criminal past and plan on making the company better. She is also the owner of twelve cars—why? Because her mother thought it would be a good idea to own that many cars despite the fact that she herself barely drives— as well as owning a loft and penthouse upstate and a cabin in Canada. So she is far from being broke now since all of the Bishop assets are now under her name thanks to Clint pulling some strings to make it happen. She busies herself with the company trying her best to redeem it after the whole ‘her mother is a criminal’ fiasco and training to be an Avenger. 

It’s enough to distract herself from Yelena who disappeared from her life, probably to go with her sister. She gets it honestly but the older woman could have at least said goodbye instead of just vanishing from her life but it’s whatever now. She’s still trying to wrap her mind around the fact that Natasha is alive, married to the one and only Scarlet Witch who had brought her back to life and has kids with said Scarlet Witch, in that order. She’s honored to be trusted with something as big as that knowing that only a handful of people know the truth. 

She’s currently on a rooftop watching her mark across the street. With the permission to use the call sign Hawkeye , she dedicates herself to dealing with the crimes on the street which the crime rate has gotten worse by 19% in the last couple of months. The guy she’s currently tailing had committed not only insurance fraud but als extortion. What she didn’t expect is that he’d hire protection—a Widow.  She barely registers the soft click behind her before instinct kicks in—her body moves before her mind catches up, diving to the side as a bullet slams into the rooftop where she’d been standing. That was close. Too close. Heart pounding, she pivots to see the door to the rooftop open as a figure steps through, gun in hand. A Widow. The familiar suit confirms her suspicion. The Widow is young, no more than a teenager, and still under control. There’s nothing behind those eyes, nothing but cold, calculated violence. Her heart clenches. The girl didn’t deserve that nor did any other Widows who have been under mind control. Kate is pretty confident that she can hold her own against a Widow, she did hold her own against Yelena so that had to count for something right? No . Because she realizes very quickly how much Yelena was pulling her punches when the Widow she’s currently fighting does not. The Widow is hell-bent on killing her and then it clicks in her head that she is the Widow’s target. The Widow has been tasked to exterminate her. Kate gets a lucky shot and manages to kick the gun out of the Widow’s hand, forcing the Widow to go to hand-to-hand combat instead. Panic runs through her veins when the Widow gets the upper hand on her. Some sort of chain wraps around her neck, choking. She is definitely getting bruises from that. She instinctively reaches out through the bond, hoping that it will open. It did not. Yelena remained closed off to it so it was useless. But she’s desperate and stubborn and in need of serious help so she reaches out again hoping against all odds that her soulmate will somehow feel it. 

Her head is ringing. Kate blinks slowly then blinks again as she’s trying to process what is going on. The roof is spinning? Or is she spinning? She can’t be spinning. She’s on the ground. She can’t be spinnin—

“ I’m–on the ground?” Kate mumbles, feeling the sudden visceral urge to throw up as her head spins harder. How is Yelena not feeling this? She wonders as she squeezes her eyes shut to block the spinning which is bad especially since the Widow is rather hell-bent on killing her and she has just given her more advantage. Her ears are ringing and her everything hurts especially her ribs (always the ribs—she thought rather annoyed) along with a sharp pain in her leg and— 

This is really bad. She feels herself resenting Yelena for blocking the bond. It left her alone in her pain. She squints her eyes open again, looking up to see the Widow standing over her with her own injuries though not worse than Kate’s currently. But Kate grins, proud that she did some damage at least. Ah well that explains it . She thought. The Widow must have shot her leg which is why there’s so much pain coming from that area and feels the familiar sticky substance of blood oozing out of her leg. 

“ Hey, can’t we just talk about this?” Kate hisses out as her hands scramble on the ground finding her bow and arrows. The Widow doesn’t say anything. “ No? Well that’s a bit rude.” She tries to move only to scream in pain as the Widow presses harder on her arm. Fuck that hurts and very much does not bend that way . She is so out of her depth, way totally in over her head. She can now admit that there is no way that she can handle a Widow on her own without help. 

[ YELENA PLEASE! ]  Kate screams at the bond but she feels no change. No indication that Yelena could feel her or hear her plead for help. She feels herself losing hope in Yelena and right now her traitorous mind is not helping at all. She somehow manages to free her—now definitely dislocated and broken—arm from the Widow’s foot and rolls away.  She rips the chain off her neck. As she attempts to move further away, she convulses, collapsing to the ground once again in pain. She knows that she’s been hit by the Widow bites when she sees the Widow’s wristband glow red. She has no idea why the Widow is taking so long to kill her when Kate knows that a Widow can literally kill someone in seconds. It sparks hope in her that maybe she’ll manage to survive— 

BANG 

Never mind. The world slows down. Kate feels the bullet tear through her abdomen, a searing pain spreading through her body. Son of a bitch! It feels like her insides are being shredded. Her hands instinctively press against the wound, but there’s so much blood. Too much. She’s screaming for Yelena in her mind as she crawls away from the assailant, painting the ground red with her blood. She needs to stop the bleeding, quickly. She’s pretty sure that bullet nicked an artery for how much blood was spilling out of her. Her vision starts to fade, the sounds around her muted by the ringing in her ears. 

“ Please, I need you.” Her breaths come in shallow, ragged gasps, vision fading at the edges. Her hands are shaking, blood spilling between her fingers. Barely clinging to consciousness, she remembers something through the fog of pain—the antidote. Natasha had given her a canister of the antidote for mind control just in case she had a run in with a mind controlled Widow. So with the last bit of strength she has, Kate grabs an arrow, loading the antidote canister into the shaft. Her hand trembles as she fires it, the arrow landing between them. The canister shatters, and the antidote fills the air. The Widow stumbles, coughing, and for a moment, Kate hopes it’ll work. She’s not sure if she’ll survive this. But at least the Widow will be free. She watches in amazement as the Widow comes into her senses. The Widow is instantly by her side the moment she regains her bearings. She uses her leg to prop Kate, putting pressure on the wound. 

“ We need to get the bleeding to stop. I’m so sorry,” Kate feels her consciousness slipping away, her adrenaline fading once her mind knows that it was now safe to surrender to the pain. 

“ I’m Kate,” She foolishly introduces herself before allowing herself to knock unconscious but in her defense, it’s rather rude not to introduce yourself when you’re kinda bleeding all over them. Plus she wants to know the name of the Widow she freed since it might be the last time she’ll see them. The Widow lets out a wet chuckle, confused but still humors her, “ I’m Tissaia.” For some reason Kate’s mind goes to the show ‘ The Witcher’ that she has been binge watching. It’s a nice name. 

Everything was dark now, the pain slowly fading as numbness set in. Kate knew—she was dying. Her breaths came shallow and ragged, each one more difficult than the last. She tried to fight, to stay conscious, but her body was giving up, and with it, her mind was unraveling. As the darkness swallowed her, the reality hit like a freight train—Yelena never came.. She never answered Kate’s desperate pleas through the bond. It wasn’t that she couldn’t feel it—Yelena had chosen not to. Kate had called for help, screamed for it, but the bond remained silent. Yelena didn’t care. Kate’s heart ached, far worse than any of the physical wounds tearing her apart. She felt it crack, the sharp sting of betrayal more painful than the bullet in her abdomen.  Her heart broke. She squeezed her eyes shut, fighting the tears that mixed with the blood on her face. Her last thoughts weren’t about her own pain, but the ache of knowing she was alone. Completely and utterly alone. And that hurt more than anything.

Yelena wakes to the burning sensation of her body. Everything burns. Her head hurts so much that it brings tears to her eyes and her ears ring. It feels as if she’s dying. She struggles to get air in her lungs. A scream rips out of her. She hears hurried footsteps making their way to her but she is unable to focus on them. 

“ Her soulmate is dying,” Wanda sounds as if she’s miles away and Yelena barely makes out what her sister-in-law has said, only catching the words: soulmate and dying. She hastily removes the widow bite covering her soul mark on her left wrist. She watches the way the golden ink slowly reverts back to black. No, no, no. She thinks. She immediately opens herself up to the bond only to not be met by Kate Bishop’s part of the bond. She panics. She can’t feel Kate Bishop . The connection that used to tether them together is fading. For a quick second, she feels the echo of Kate Bishop’s calling for her through the bond, the immense fear she feels coming from Kate like never before, the echo of ‘ Please, I need you .’ before it disappears as if it was never there to begin with. She registers that her sister is talking to someone on the phone. 

“ Kate’s in the hospital,” she hears her sister say. She finds herself struggling to breathe once more. It feels as if someone is stabbing her over and over in the heart and then someone is ripping a part of her heart and soul from her. No words register in her mind of whatever her sister is saying. She didn’t care, she needed to get to Kate. She needs to be with Kate. She doesn’t realize that little Yelena, her niece, has teleported her to the hospital until she feels arms around her and Barton’s voice. 

“ Yelena, I need you to breathe for me, okay,” Clint says, trying to counsel the hyperventilating blonde woman before she passes out from lack of oxygen. “ Kate pulled through. There had been a close call but she pulled through.” he tells her hoping that it’ll help the blonde to know that Kate made it, that she pulled through her surgeries. The blonde follows Clint’s breathing and is soon able to get her breathing control. 

“ Yelena?” the blonde’s head snaps up at the voice, freezing. She stares at the younger Widow, her body tensing. She moves away from Clint, taking her stand, prepared to fight the Widow if need be. Her brows furrow, confused as to why the Widow was here. The Widow standing in front of her had been one of the many Widows that she still needed to track and free but it looks like someone else did the job for her. 

“ What are you doing here?” Yelena asks, her voice tight. 

Chapter Text

↳ Chapter Three 

It’s Clint who answers her. “ She’s the one who called me to tell me that Kate was in the hospital.” Yelena looks at the archer. 

“ What?” She turns her attention back to the girl in front of her, analyzing the younger Widow. She notes how the girl is sporting a good amount of injuries, a sure tell-tale sign of a fight. 

“ Кейт освободила меня. Мне приказали убить ее,” |Russian—Kate freed me. I was ordered to kill her| Yelena tenses up as she listens to the Widow talk. “ Она упрямая, я дам ей это. Я никогда не встречал никого, кто сталкивался бы с вдовой и выжил бы, чтобы рассказать эту историю или бороться с вдовой.” |Russian—She’s stubborn. I’ll give her that. I’ve never met anyone who encountered a Widow and survived to tell the tale nor hold their own fighting a Widow| She hears the admiration in the Widow’s tone and feels the foreign emotion of possessiveness over Kate Bishop before pushing that aside. It registers in her mind what the Widow had just told her and she sees red. The reason why her soulmate is laying in that goddamn hospital bed is standing right in front of her. Against her better judgment, she attacks the Widow who acts on instinct and fights back. Clint intervenes though before Yelena could actually land a hit on the girl, wrapping his arms around her from behind,—not the most practical way of stopping someone but it works—trapping her arms down prevents her from hitting him. Thank goodness for his experience with Natasha. 

“ Let me go, Barton!” Yelena growls, twisting and turning in an attempt to escape Clint’s hold but his grip does not loosen. 

“ You need to calm down,” he hisses. “ This is not gonna help Kate.” At the mention of her soulmate, Yelena slacks in his arms. 

“ I can’t feel her,” Yelena says in despair. Clint’s heart aches for the blonde assassin. “ I can’t feel her, Clint.” Yelena repeats. It hits too close to home for him. Not just with himself saying that exact phrase but memories of Natasha, Wanda, and Ava saying it too. It is a phrase that haunts him. 

“ Kate is not dead, okay? She’s not,” Clint says, letting the blonde go. He takes her hand and takes her to Kate’s hospital room. “ See, she's alive. She pulled through.” They peek through the window of the room, watching Kate’s chest move despite all the machines that she’s hooked on. Clint refuses to believe that Kate Bishop—while sometimes can be annoying, way too optimistic, talkative, and definitely stubborn—would just give up without putting up a fight. That girl has a knack for surviving the worst of the worst so to die like this is unacceptable. When he turns to face Yelena again, he finds her missing. She’s no longer standing next to him. He sighs, understanding to some degree. He does see the other Widow whose name he has yet to get, standing a couple feet away from him, her attention on Kate. 

“ She saved me,” the younger girl says, breaking the silence between them. The girl looks no older than Lila and Clint knew at that moment that he’s going to help this girl. He just can’t resist taking in strays. He tunes in, listening to her talk. “ She talked so much.” Clint lets out a chuckle because he has been on the receiving end of a chatty Kate. “ Really. Even when she was down, she would make jokes and talk as if she wasn’t currently fighting for her life.” 

“ That’s Kate for you,” Clint tells her. Meanwhile, Yelena bolts from the hospital. The image of Kate Bishop so helpless, so small, hooked up to so many machines forever imprints in her mind. She leans on the wall outside of the hospital, trying to regulate her breathing back to normal so she doesn’t start hyperventilating again. Once she can breathe again without feeling suffocated, she returns inside, quickly making her way to the lavatory. She stares at herself in the mirror. All she sees reflecting back at her is pain, anger, and fear. 

She closes her eyes, preparing herself to look at her marks. The last time she saw it, it had been turning black which meant that her soulmate was dying or had died. She opens her eyes again, gathering up the courage to look at her wrist. Her left wrist where the name Katherine Bishop was in gold indicating that she and her soulmate had met. But now that once golden ink is now gray. Not black which she is so grateful for because it means that Kate Bishop is not dead and while it’s the not once vibrant golden hue it used to be, it was something and that’s enough for her to hope. Gray is the color now but she doesn’t know what that means. She makes a mental note to talk to her sister-in-law about it but for now she’s grateful that she still has her marks. She ignores the nagging feeling in the back of her mind of how she’s unable to feel Kate anymore like an absence that’s impossible to ignore but she does anyways. She tries not to dwell on it or she’ll start panicking again and right now she doesn’t need that. 

Suck it up and just go see her. The blonde tells herself, prepping to see her soulmate again. Kate deserves at least that much from her. She leaves the lavatory, making her way to the room once more. A frown makes its way on her face when she sees Tissaia in the room but no sign of Clint Barton. Her guard goes up, ready to protect Kate Bishop if the other Widow decides to finish the job. She failed Kate Bishop once, she won’t let that happen again. 

“ Get out,” the order is clear, not bothering to look at the younger girl as her attention is solely on the woman currently laying on the hospital bed, hooked on too many machines keeping her alive. 

“ Excuse me?” The audacity of this girl to question Yelena’s order is rather appalling. 

“ Я больше не буду повторяться. Убирайся.” |Russian: I won’t repeat myself again. Get out.| Yelena growls, glowering at the other Widow. 

“ Нет,” |Russian: No| That takes the blonde by surprise not expecting the younger Widow to defy her. “ Я знаю, что ты винишь меня в причине, по которой твоя вторая половинка-” |Russian: I know that you blame me for the reason why your soulmate| The rest of what Tissaia is saying is lost to Yelena the moment the girl said that wretched word: Soulmate . Another choice that was ripped from her. She’s bound to another without a say in it. She knows that must people find it as a miracle or something to know that there is someone destined to love them but ever since having her mind being controlled, she had despite being chained to another. She was spoken for the moment she had been marked at the age of eleven and at birth. But she was done following orders, done with something or someone making choices for her. She’s done being robbed of the opportunity to live her own life, to make her own choices without the influence of someone or something. The moment Oksana had freed her, she had made a promise to herself that she would never let anyone else run her life. She closed herself off to the bond. No longer to protect Kate Bishop from her pain and emotions but to get rid of herself of Kate Bishop . It was no longer about protecting but as self-perseverance. She didn’t want to be tied down by something intangible but fate seemed to have other plans for her which only made her more determined to defy it. As much as she tries though, she never could actually get rid of Kate Bishop even with the bond closed. She would always know how Kate Bishop’s heartbeat would feel. Her heartbeat being the other half of her own heart. And it is rather impossible to ignore your own heartbeat. Ever since meeting Kate Bishop , she has been able to feel her even more so than before. Her soul and heart recognized hers even before they even properly—semi properly—met because the thing about soulmates is that you can try and block the bond, cover up your marks, and pretend that it doesn’t exist but the connection will always be there, in the back of your mind, or a pull to the direction of yourself, dull but oh so very much present. So Yelena ignored Kate Bishop’s existence at the back of her mind, ignoring the call beckoning her to open the bond when she had been asleep. Only now though she wishes that she hadn’t ignored it. If she hadn’t then Kate Bishop wouldn’t be in the hospital bed, fighting for her life. 

“ She saved me, Yelena. I owe it to her to stay, to make sure that she survives,” and never in Yelena’s life did she want to kill a Widow more than she does right now. She hates how a Widow is more willing to stay for her soulmate than she is herself. Hates how easy it is for Tissaia to stay in this goddamn room without wanting to bolt out. She doesn’t want to care about Kate Bishop , she doesn’t want to follow what destiny has written for her but she already knows that she has failed. From the very beginning since meeting the archer. She cares for her more than she has ever cared for someone who wasn’t her family and it scares her. She’s scared to open herself to the bond only for it to be ripped away from her like when she had been a child and was ripped from the only family she’s ever known. 

“ Why do you care?” Yelena asks, completely confused as to why Tissaia cares for the young archer. Sure she’s saved her but Yelena can tell that there’s something more to it than that. “ You don’t know her.” 

“ And you do?” Tissaia snaps, glaring at the older woman. Yelena scowls, arms crossed. “ Ты ведешь себя так, будто мое пребывание здесь причиняет ей боль. Ты ведешь себя так, будто моя забота о лучнике является для тебя оскорблением.” |Russian—You’re acting as if me being here hurts her. You’re acting as if my caring for the archer is an offense to you| Yelena’s jaw clenches as her entire body prepares for a fight. Right now she’s looking for a fight, anything that isn’t this. She’s much better at fighting than whatever emotional bullshit this is. She has never been great with confrontation. She prefers fist over words. 

“ Тщательно подумай, какие твои следующие слова Тиссайя,” |Russian—Carefully think of your next words are Tissaia| Yelena warns, a dangerous glint in her hazel-green eyes. Tissaia knows that she will not win a fight against the older Widow if it comes to it but she could stand her own ground after all she is a Widow herself. She has the same training as the blonde. Except right now she has exerted all of her energy having fought with Kate. So the blonde would have more upper hand should she attempt to start a fight. She backs down though, she is not going to fight in the room that her savior is in currently, healing because of her mistake, of her. 

“ Я слышал, как она зовет тебя,” |Russian—I heard her calling for you| Tissaia says in such a defeated tone. Yelena’s chest squeezed tightly at the reminder of her failure to save Kate Bishop . She closes her eyes trying to get rid of the memories of Kate’s overwhelming emotions that had cascaded down onto her when she had opened up to the bond only for it to be silenced that shook her core. “ There was this look in her eyes. Almost pleading, hoping but determined. She believed in you. Believed that you would save her.” Yelena wants her to shut up. She doesn’t want to hear this, to listen to this but Tiassaia pushes. “ I saw the way her heart broke when she realized that you didn’t show up, that you would never come. Saw in her eyes the acceptance that you did not care.” Before Yelena knows it she’s punching the Widow in the face. 

“ Don’t.” Yelena growls. Tissaia lifts her head, blood dripping down her face. 

“ Don’t what? Hmm..don’t tell you how you’ve destroyed something so amazing? Something that people long for? To have someone that would believe with all their heart in you?” Tissaia taunts, wiping the blood off her face with the back of her hand. There’s a need in her to protect her savior. A sense of protectiveness over her. She has no clue where that sense, that need to protect, came from but it’s there. Maybe because Kate saved her or maybe she never wants to see that heart-break expression in those stormy-blue eyes ever again or maybe it’s both? But all she knows is that she would protect Kate with every fiber of her bone. She’ll make sure that she is worthy of her second chance, that she is worthy of Kate’s saving. 

“ Заткнись, прежде чем скажешь что-нибудь еще, о чем пожалеешь,” |Russian—Shut up before you saying else you’ll regret| Yelena’s voice is sharp and ice, eyes cold and face stoic. Tissaia gives one more look towards Kate’s direction before leaving. Leaving Yelena all alone to  allow her composure to fall apart the moment the other Widow is out the door. She buries her face in her face as she controls her breathing so she doesn’t have a panic attack. “  Бля ад,” |Russian—Fucking hell| she curses, making her way to the bed. She takes hold of the archer’s callous hand, the warmth coming from it reassures her. Reminds her that Kate Bishop is fighting, and is surviving. Her chest aches when the sensation of completion doesn’t wash over her like it had before when contact was made with her soulmate. The connection that has been there since birth for the both of them is gone. It is a connection that can never be restored. She knows that Kate is not dead. The heart monitor can vouch for that but it feels as if she is. Her heart beat is her own. No longer is it the same rhythm as Kate Bishop’s . No longer can she feel Kate Bishop’s heartbeat in her own chest. There is a hollow place in her where their connection used to beat loud and proud but now is silent and gone. “  Я не чувствую тебя, мой маленький ястреб.” |Russian—I can’t feel you, my little hawk| Yelena breaks, letting everything she feels explode and consume her. 

Chapter Text

↳ Chapter Four 

A MONTH LATER… 

The first thing that Kate realizes when she wakes is the beeping sound of a heart monitor. No doubt tracking her heartbeat. The second thing she realizes is that there is a hand holding her own. It takes her eyes a moment to adjust to the lights, blinking a couple of times. Once adjusted, her eyes focus on the girl holding her hand. She frowns, unable to recognize the girl from memory. Did she know her? She must have, right? If she’s here. 

“ You’re awake,” for some reason she feels slightly disappointed but she recognizes her voice. She knows this voice. She remembers listening to her talk about so many things. She pushes the disappointment aside and focuses on the relief that she feels when she is able to recognize the girl. Tissaia. The name comes to her. She remembers her. There are memories of Tissia telling her stories of her adventures with her Widow sisters . She remembers wishing that she was awake when she had told her the stories so that she could speak to the girl and tell her how proud she is of  the Widow from how far she’s come along. She remembers that Tissaia visited her frequently along with Clint and his family. There were also other people who visited her like Natasha and Wanda and this one other person whom she couldn’t remember. “ I’m gonna go get Clint. Let him know that you’re awake.” Tissaia informs her, rising from her spot on the chair near the bed, stretching. Kate wonders if the younger girl slept here overnight. “ He’ll be so happy to know that you’re up so I’ll be back.” Kate didn’t want to risk straining her voice so she just nodded, watching the Widow leave. 

It triggers something in her mind, a memory. A blonde Widow swan diving out of a window. There’s an ache in her chest. She doesn’t know why nor does she know why her mind decided to remember that. But there is something about the blonde that appeals to her. She looks at her soulmark on her ankle, brows furrowed in confusion. The ink is white instead of its normal gold. She tries to remember when her marks have turned that color but could not. There are gaps in her memories and whenever she tries to remember, it is as if an ice pick is driven straight into her temple, the pain sharp and intense, leaving her momentarily disoriented. So she stops trying to remember. In the following weeks since she woke up, she’s been ordered to be bedridden and frankly it is rather boring aside from the visitations from the Bartons, Jack (shockingly), the LARPERs, and Tisassia. On the bright side, they let her keep Lucky in the room to keep her company while she heals. The doctor wants to watch her brain activity for a couple of weeks to see how it’s healing, which is the reason why she’s currently stuck in a hospital bed instead of her own bed in her own apartment. 

“ Iceland is so beautiful, you’d like the place,” Tissaia tells Kate who puts down her phone when she hears the Widow speaking. 

“ Hello to you too,” Kate teases, smiling at how excited the girl is that she had forgotten to do a proper greeting. 

“ Hi, sorry,” the Widow says sheepishly, hugging the  archer, careful not to hug too tight since the archer’s ribs are still healing. 

“ Tell me how Iceland was,” Tissaia has been exploring the world with some of her Widow sisters and has been keeping Kate updated throughout her travels. They’ve become really close over the last weeks and it always brings a smile to her face whenever Tissaia would tell her about her adventures. She feels so proud of her like a big sister proud of her little sister because honestly that’s what she feels for Tissaia. She doesn’t know when or how exactly it happened but there is something in and about Tissaia that just resonates with her. The younger girl is like the little sister she always wanted but never got to have. “ I always wanted to visit, maybe once I get the all clear from the doc, we can go.” Kate tells her once the younger girl finishes telling her experience. She groans as she sits up despite her ribs screaming at her. Tissaia looks at her with a surprise expression. 

“ We?” Asks Tissaia. “ You wanna go with me?” Kate frowns, confused as to why it comes as such a shock to the Widow to suggest that they should go on a trip together. 

“ Well yea, I’ll need a tour guide to show me the place around and who better than someone who has already been there. Besides, who else would I have gone with?” Kate answers, making grabby hands towards the blue-green eyed girl who has a pudding cup in her hands which the stormy-blue eyed woman really wants. Tissaia chuckles at her antics, handing the pudding cup to her without complaint. 

“ I mean why would you wanna go with me? I almost killed you,” both girls flinch at the reminder. 

“ Not because you wanted to but because you were ordered to. You were under mind control. You had no choice but to follow your order. It’s not your fault,” Kate counters, happily eating the pudding. Tissaia frowns at how nonchalant Kate is about the fact that she was nearly killed by her. But at the same time she is rather grateful that the older woman doesn’t hold it over her head, that to some degree Kate understands. “ Plus, it’s not like you’re the first person who tried to kill me, especially after I got into Kingpin’s most wanted death list last year.” Kate shrugs her shoulders as if it was nothing as if it was a normal occurrence which she suppose it kinda is. With her line of work, she knows that she faces the chance of death everytime she goes out and does her vigilante. “ Though you are the first to stay, so thank you for keeping me company.” She throws a grin towards the younger girl.

“ You didn’t want to go with Yelena ? She’s been to Iceland as well,” Tissaia says, which causes that sharp throbbing pain in Kate’s head to go off as she tries to remember who Tissaia just named. Why would want to go with this Yelena when she doesn’t even know any Yelena except for her soulmate though she has never met her and has given up on trying to find her. Kate thinks. Is this Yelena that she’s talking about her soulmate? She wonders though it wouldn’t make sense. Why wouldn’t she be able to remember her soulmate if they’ve met so it obviously is not her soulmate Yelena that Tissaia is talking about. When Kate had been little, she had dreamed of finally meeting her soulmate, falling in love with them, having a family, but now she’s just happy if she finds someone even if it’s not her soulmate to settle with and start a family—obviously later in her life. Her mindset changed from dreaming of being with her soulmate to finding someone who makes her happy and feel loved and respected. If her soulmate and her are meant to meet then they will but until then she’s not going to wait around for someone who might not even want her or is in a relationship. She hopes that whoever Yelena is, that she’s happy and is alright. Not everyone meets their soulmate and lives happily ever after like some fairytale story because those don’t exist. This is real life. She’s snapped out of her cogitation by the soft gasp coming from the girl beside her. 

“ What’s wrong?” Kate asks, her eyes doing a once over on the girl to see if she’s hurt but there’s no signs of injuries—physically. 

“ Sorry. I just remember something,” Tissaia lies. It’s not her best since neither of them believe it. After weeks of spending some time with the younger girl, Kate’s able to read her like an open book which is surprising given that the younger girl is a trained Widow. It kinda unnerves Tissaia of how quickly Kate had become such an important person to her and not just Kate, but Kate’s friends as well. At some point, Kate has become something like an older sister to Tissaia. Family to her as well as the older woman’s friends. Everyday Tissaia wonders what she’s done to deserve Kate saving her and everything she wakes grateful for the second opportunity that the archer has given her. To live her life on her own terms. 

“ Tell me what’s wrong,” Kate can’t help but sound like a concerned sibling and it reminds Tissaia of the Barton siblings dynamic. 

“ Your left eye. It’s changed color,” Kate looks at her confused as to what she means. So, she looks at herself on the camera of her phone, seeing that the younger girl had been right. 

“ What the hell?” Kate mutters, staring at herself, at her left eye. What used to be a green-hazel is now split horizontally of stormy-blue—her own eye color—and hazel-green—her soulmate’s. “ Can you get Dr. Grey?” Dr. Grey is her main doctor. Tissaia nods her head, leaving and quickly returning with Dr. Grey in tow. 

“ Is everything alright, Miss Bishop?” Dr. Grey asks, doing her normal check up routine on the archer to see how she’s progressing. 

“ No. My eye changed,” Indeed it did. A bit of shock honestly, Dr. Grey thinks. 

“ No need to worry. It just means you’ve forgotten. You have what is called Soulmate Amnesia,” Dr. Grey says. 

“ Meaning what, doctor?” Kate’s voice even. 

“ Meaning you’ve forgotten ever meeting your soulmate and any sort of interactions with them. Which means all your memories of them. But don’t worry yours is temporary. Your memories will gradually return so don’t try to force yourself to remember. You will destroy any chances of ever remembering your memories completely,” Dr. Grey explains. “ This is your brain's way of protecting you, shielding you from the trauma until you are ready to remember again. So again do not force yourself to remember, it comes back to you or you will make it worse and only hurt yourself.” It hits Tissaia like a ton of bricks. Kate’s mind is protecting herself not from the trauma of the fight but from heartbreak. From the moment that Kate realized that her soulmate—Yelena–did not care for her, leaving her to die all alone in the arms of a stranger. 

“ Does this happen a lot?” Kate inquires. 

“ Yes. plenty, with patients that have brain injuries,” Dr. Grey answers. “ I’m going to need you to fill out a form so that we can gauge how long that amnesia might last, plus to make sure that the bond between you and your soulmate is still intact.” Kate nods, accepting the form that her doctor hands to her before leaving. In comfortable silence, Kate fills out the paperwork and Tissaia messages her Widow sisters. 

“ What’s it like having a soulmate?” Tissaia is one of the lucky ones–depending on how it's looked at—that does not have a soulmate. She’s not bound to someone against her will. Free to choose her own partner, her love without having to worry about the shadow of a soulmate waiting for her. 

↳Couple Weeks Ago…Three Days after Kate Bishop woke up…↵

It’s been three days since Kate Bishop has woken up from her coma and Yelena has yet to visit her since she ironically was in Iceland on a mission. Clint called her when she had just finished up her mission, informing her that Kate Bishop had finally woken up. She had been unable to catch a flight back to New York since Valentine (her employer) decided to be a dick and extend her contract. Yelena knew that she could always deny but there was a risk of doing that since the woman knows that Kate Bishop is her soulmate which means that if Valentine wanted, she could put a hit on the archer so the blonde did not want to get on the bad side of her employer. On the plus though was that the piling money being handed to her after every finished assignment. She had been rather nervous going back to New York which is why she accepted the extended contract. To avoid confrontation with her soulmate. She was scared of facing an angry Kate Bishop or worse a heartbroken Kate Bishop . She never wants to see what Kate looks like heartbroken. She knows she’ll hate it  just like how she and Natasha hated being at the receiving end of their mother’s disappointed expression when they had been children. 

Yelen decides to go back home— Ohio –instead of directly going back to New York. She looks at the house. So many childhood memories flood her mind as she steps into the threshold of the house. She feels all the tension and stress melt off her shoulders. She’s home . She breathes in the familiar scents of sandalwood and hints of clary sage which she associates as home. 

“ My baby,” her mama greets her with a hug and a kiss on the head. She feels the way her body sinks into the warm embrace of her mama. She misses being held by her, misses her mama dearly. It’s been a while since she has last visited. 

“ Mama.” 

Melina sends her to the bathroom, telling her to take a shower since she stinks which she can’t argue with so she complies while the other woman goes to the kitchen to cook. 

Opting a bath rather than a shower, she allows her body to soak into the warm water as she lets her mind wander off. She’s learnt that the reason why her marks are gray and that she barely can even feel Kate anymore is because the archer has amnesia and does not trust her. It stings but she knows that it’s deserved. She deserves it for trying to deny that Kate is part of her and that whether she likes it or not, she is always a part of Kate. They no longer share half a heart since it was severed when Kate died for those 15 seconds that she was on the operating table. It’s impossible to get that bond back. Her heart is completely hers for the first time since she turned 11 and it’s a weird feeling. It’s weird knowing that her heart once had been identical to another and now it’s not. When she had been a child, it comforted her especially during her time in the Red Room. Knowing that her heartbeat was one with her soulmate made her feel not so alone, making her strong and resilient to keep surviving. Now she feels alone more than ever before despite having her family again. She feels like she lost a part of herself when Kate died and she did in a way. She lost a connection to Kate because of her own stubbornness. It really does run in the family. Stubbornness. She muses. Her other connection, her psychic bond with Kate is faint, barely there but it’s still intact. Wanda told her that she would need to get Kate’s trust and love without the influence of the bond in order to restore the bond. 

“ Nena?” She hears Melina knock on the door, snapping her out of her thoughts. The water has turned cold so she knows that she’s been in the bathtub for a while. “ Ты в порядке?" |Russian—You okay?| 

“ я в порядке мама,” |Russian—I’m fine mama| Yelena reassures. “ I’ll be out in a minute.” 

“ Okay well food is ready for you when you get out,” Melina tells her. The food is delicious like always. Melina has gotten better at cooking throughout the years. 

“ Thanks Mama,” Yelena says curling up against the older Widow’s side on the couch after finishing her meal. The TV is on but neither are watching. It’s playing more background noise as they relish each other’s company.

“ I’ve missed you, little one,” Yelena pouts at the old nickname. Melina chuckles at her daughter knowing that she doesn’t like being called little . 

“ Natka should be the little one,” Yelena argues. The older Widow raises an eyebrow at her youngest. “ She’s the tiniest out of all of us.” 

“ You’ve got a point but Big Girl is still older than you. Plus you’re the baby of the family, мой маленький светлячок,” |Russian—my little firefly| Melina says, running her fingers through her daughter’s golden hair. She sighs as she remembers the times she’s run her fingers through her youngest’s hair when she was a baby. “ You used to have curly hair, do you remember?” Yelena hums in response. 

“ It was a pain to deal with,” Yelena recalls the amount of times her hair would get tangled and how every morning it would take her ages to get ready because of it. 

“ It was but I loved dealing with it,” Melina says. “ When your hair started to straighten, it reminded me of how much time had passed. I kept a lock of your curly hair, have I told you?” That gets Yelena’s attention, moving slightly from the embrace to look at her mama. 

“ You kept a lock of my hair?” She asks curiously and confused. Melina nods her head. “ Why?” 

“ I wanted to keep something from your baby years. To have something physical to remind me that this family, that you were real. That our family actually happened and not a fragment of my own mind to escape the Red Room,” answers Melina. “ It’s the same reason why I kept a lock of Natka’s blue dyed hair.” Yelena’s breath catches in her throat at the admission from her mama. 

“ It was real to me. You were–are my real mother,” Yelena echoes the same words she had said six years ago on the farm in St. Petersburg when they reunited. Both of them had tears in their eyes. 

“ Для меня это было слишком маленьким. Я медленно влюблялся в тебя и Наталью, чем больше времени мы были вместе, и вскоре я перестал притворяться, потому что это стало для меня реальным. Вы, ребята, моя семья. Я не хотел идти, но у меня не хватило смелости оторваться от Дрейкова,” |Russian—It was real to me too little one. I slowly fell in love with you and Natalia the more time we were together and soon I was no longer pretending because it became real to me. You guys are my family. I didn’t want to go but I wasn’t brave enough to break away from Dreykov| Melina confesses. Yelena is speechless because it's so different from what Melina had said six years ago. It’s open and honest. She’s glad to know that it’s real to all of them. “ Прости, любовь моя, за то, что я не смог спасти тебя от той же участи, с которой столкнулся я.” |Russian—I’m sorry my love for not being able to save you from the same fate I had faced| Yelena tackles Melina into a hug, burying her face against her mama’s neck, inhaling her mother’s subtle hint of perfume. Melina hugs back just as fiercely as the younger Widow. If her mother is able to accept that she loves her family despite her upbringing, then Yelena should be able to accept the truth: it’s okay to love Kate Bishop —her soulmate. 

“ Mama, I made a mistake,” Yelena’s words muffle due to her face being pressed against her mama’s neck. 

“ Does it have anything to do with Kate Bishop?” Melina asks. She’s startled at how her mama knows. “ I’m your mama. I know these things. Plus Nat was worried about you. She mentioned that Kate had faced a Widow. I’m proud of her, you know, to face a Widow and even set her free while on the verge of dying.” Yelena flinches at the reminder. Melina doesn’t apologize though instead she just caresses her daughter’s cheek. “ You can’t keep running from this, дорогой.” |Russian—darling| Melina takes a hold of her hand. “ I know that it is scary and I know that you’ve shut yourself out of the bond to protect her, to protect you but you also have to remember how she feels not being able to feel you.” 

“ I don’t know how to do this,” Yelena sighs. 

“ Nobody ever does. Everyone stumbles, trying to figure out their lives so you aren’t alone, моя любовь,” |Russian—my love| Melina presses a kiss on Yelena’s knuckles. “ You need to be patient with Kate. But you also need to show her that you care, she will be wary and cautious around you. But I believe in you. I believe you and Kate will work out well, just gonna take time.” Yelena nods her head. Melina draws her back into an embrace, kissing her head as Yelena lets everyone out. Crying and all. “ Let it all out, маленький.” |Russian—little one| Melina soothes, rubbing circles on her back. 

Chapter Text

↳Chapter Five

“ Saia! Behind you!” Kate warns, nocking a trick arrow onto her bow, ready to fire if Tissaia is unable to unarm the opponent though she knows that the Widow is fast enough to anticipate her enemy’s move and quickly disarms him. 

“ Thanks, sis! How’s it going on your end?” 

“ I’m good. Just waiting for our Widow to come out and play,” Kate responded, eyes surveying the area in hopes to locate the mind-controlled Widow they are after. It was a month after Kate’s release from the hospital that the archer returned back to the field. Though it’s only for recons or simple missions, per the agreement she struck with Clint to allow her back onto the field. Clint wasn’t happy that she was back on the field so soon after being released and still technically healing but with Tissaia and her pleading with him and Tissaia promising that she would be there with Kate every mission to make sure that one) she didn’t hurt herself even more, two) she doesn’t get killed, and three) she doesn’t exert herself too much, Clint allowed it. Physically she was perfectly healed courtesy of having the Scarlet Witch heal her with magic but mentally she has to do the healing herself. 

At first, she had been annoyed that parts of her memories were missing and stubbornly went against Dr. Grey’s order. She forced herself to remember it wasn’t a pleasant experience and learnt her lesson but she’s too stubborn to actually admit that it did actually hurt trying to remember. She has no idea why seeing Yelena–whom she learned is her soulmate—hurts. It feels as if someone is stabbing her with a knife multiple times in the same exact spot: her heart and then ripping it out of her before stomping over it then setting it on fire. The first time that Yelena had visited her in the hospital she had passed out from the pain. Dr. Grey had told her that it was normal for people who have soulmate amnesia. It just means that the amnesia is caused by her soulmate which just made Kate even more confused. She’s snapped out of her thoughts when she sees movement. Bingo! She thinks happily. They finish the job though not without injury free. The Widow—Wynter—did a number on Tissaia. Kate nearly fucked up when she saw the younger girl who she considers as a little sister get shot but luckily Kate was able do her job and expose Wynter to the antidote. 

“ Stop hovering, Kate,” groans Tissaia, pressing a hand on her gun wound. “ I’ve had worse.” Tissaia didn’t want to go to the hospital leaving Kate to go to the Bishop penthouse—she moved in there with Peter and Tissaia—to patch up the stubborn girl. 

“ You’re so annoying! Like why can’t you just be a normal person and go to the hospital to fix you up?” Kate asks as she stops the bleeding. Tissaia being the annoying little brat that she is just grins at her. 

“ Because you, sister, are so much better than those people,” Kate sees straight through the lie. Tissaia is afraid. Hospitals remind her of the Red Room. Kate nods her head in understanding. She moves to the first aid closet. Yes they have a closet dedicated for first aid kits and other medical things since they’re all stupid with a hero complex. She returns to the couch where Tissaia is still bloody.

“ Sorry,” she apologizes as she presses a pad on the wound to soak up the blood. With the wound no longer bleeding she’s able to start stitching it up. Luckily the bullet hadn’t hit an artery which makes it a bit easier on her when she starts stitching the wound. They don’t need a professional doctor to do it though it’s rather advised to have a proper professional doctor to do it. “ The bleeding has stopped so I’m going to start suturing, okay?” Tissaia heaves, nodding her head. 

“ It’ll be okay. Just reserve your energy.” Kate says, removing the blood soaked pad from the wound. Tissaia’s jaw and hands clenched as she prepares herself for the pain. She would have to go through it without anesthetic since Peter—Kate met the boy at Central Park, a week after she was released from the hospital and became instant friends—had used the last of it up and has yet to buy another one to replace the used one. Kate’s careful to make sure not poke the Widow excessively, making sure that she’s still conscious. She knows how to do suture by heart now thanks to Clint teaching it to her. “ Almost done, promise. You’re doing really well.” She praises, pressing a kiss on the closest part of Tissaia which happened to be her stomach. Tissaia groans. Kate finishes up, doing the last suturing and ties a knot. “ And done!” She exclaims in relief as she feels the younger girl’s body beneath her hand relax. 

“ You know that really sucks,” Tissaia whinees. “ It really hurt!” She pouts not realizing how her words trigger a memory in Kate. The memory is bright and floods her entire mind. 

“ Ow, that really hurt!” Yelena whines, shaking her hand as she faces Kate. 

“ So did a kick to the ribs,” Kate counters. 

“ Oh..that was good form,” Yelena says, beaming. “ But you did the really cool body throw.” The Widow’s hand doing the motion. 

“ I know right!” Kate beams at the praise before realizing that she should really not be enjoying this and is supposed to be buying Clint time. “ Stop making me like you!” At that Yelena grins as a chuckle leaves her mouth. 

“ I’m sorry. I can’t help it,” her accent being more pronounced than previously. Seriously it should be illegal for her to speak in that sexy accent of hers. Kate finds herself thinking. “ This was fun. Bye.” The Widow then jumps out of the window. Oh, fuck! Kate thought as she stared out of the window, watching the blond gracefully scale the building. 

“ Kate?” Tissaia’s voice snaps her out of the memory, stormy-blue eyes meeting concerned light grayish-blue eyes. “ What happened? Are you okay?”

Kate takes a moment before answering, “ I remembered something,” She pauses as she lets the memory settle in her mind. “ of my soulmate.” Tissaia freezes at the mention of the older blonde Widow. She feels her protectiveness over Kate rising and worries about the memory that Kate just remembered. She hopes against hope that it’s not the heartbreak memory. She knows that it’s not that memory , thankfully, if it had been that memory, Kate wouldn’t be like this. So she is rather relieved that it wasn’t that. 

“ What was it?” She asks warily. 

“ I think it was in one of the buildings that my mom hosted the Bishop party last year. Yelena and I had been fighting but she had been pulling her punches. I know that now,” Kate mutters the last bit bitterly. Kate knows that it’s rather foolish to believe that she could keep up with Yelena. To think that she would be fine if she were to face a Widow who wasn’t her. Tissaia doesn’t comment on it. The feelings that Kate felt through the memory was exhilarating. Being with Yelena had been amazing despite being on opposite sides of the fight. She noticed that the psychic bond between them had been closed off. She scoffs, mirroring Tissaia’s action. As much as Tissaia wants to judge Yelena’s actions, she can’t exactly because she herself doesn’t know how it feels. She doesn’t know the burden or blessing of having a soulmate despite being surrounded by people who do, her entire life. 

➹ Few Days Later…➹

They’re currently packing to go visit the Bartons. Tissaia’s gun wound is healing nicely, with the ‘Black Widow’ version of the Captain America serum, her healing factor is a lot faster than that of a human. 

“ You got everything?” Kate asks, entering Tissaia’s room. The brunette looks over her shoulder to look at the older woman, nodding her head. 

“ Yea. Is P coming or—nah, he decided another time. He has finals so he’s stressing over it,” Kate answers. Tissaia nods her head again, zipping up her bag. “ Okay, let’s go!” They walk out of the room, bags on their shoulders. “ Jack wants me to call him when we board the plane.” Kate hums in acknowledgement. Surprisingly Jack—her mom’s ex-finacé—and she got along well once she stopped viewing him as the bad guy. She was rather surprised to find out that he was actually a funny, light-hearted, and caring guy. Even more surprising was how well he got along with Tissaia. The man even asked her permission if he could adopt her once he learned about her situation. He knew a thing or two about growing up in an abusive toxic environment and he could relate to the Widow to some extent. While it had been such an odd request, Kate understood the gesture because she herself wanted to do it. It was more so she could help Tissaia be on her feet since the girl was still a minor, meaning she would still need a parent or guardian’s permission for certain things. While Kate is financially stable, she didn’t exactly want to be responsible for an entire child when she herself was still practically a child herself. So she was glad when Tissaia allowed Jack to adopt her and be the one who would help her with things if need be. 

Chapter Text

↳Chapter Six

You’d think that since they weren’t blood-related that they couldn’t possibly resemble anything of each other but no..they’re more like one another than not. Natasha thinks as she and Melina stare at the youngest girl in the family, currently pouting at the both of them. It’s almost scary how much Yelena’s pout resembles Alexei not that Natasha would ever admit that to either of them. 

“ This sucks,” the blonde whines, falling on the two other women. Her head falls on Natasha’s leg while her legs fall on Melina’s legs. 

“ I know. I’ve been there, sestra,” Natasha says, sympathetically with the younger woman, running her fingers through her blonde hair. 

“ How did you get Wanda’s trust?” Yelena asks curiously. Natasha never really talked about how she and Wanda got together so Yelena is curious how a Black Widow managed to get a happy ending like her sister aside from their mama. Natasha is the only other Widow that she knows to get a happy sort of ending. But that had been before the blip but now she knows many Widows who got their own happy endings. 

“ I let her in,” Natasha answers earnestly. “ Not right away. It took months. Like you, I had shut myself off from the bond but Wanda, she never could because of her abilities. But then she took a bullet for me , nearly dying because of it.” Natasha recalls how scared she felt when she felt Wanda slowly slip away, how much the echo of the wound had felt. It had taken her by surprise honestly. Melina looks at her eldest daughter, concerned in her hazel eyes. 

“ We’re okay, Mama.” Natasha reassures her mama. Still, Melina feels guilty not for just not being there for her daughters but also not being strong enough, brave enough to defy Dreykov, to escape his grasp, to run away. Maybe if she had, her daughters wouldn’t be so broken, and wouldn’t struggle with their soulmates. Melina’s own soulmate had died long before the Ohio mission. She had been the one to kill her. No one, not even Alexei, knows about it. She didn't have a name mark, only a date mark, initial mark, and matching mark.  Natasha catches the distant look in her mother’s eyes but doesn’t make a comment about it. She knows what’s going on through the older Widow’s mind. That unfortunate day when their family was torn apart after eleven years of being a family. Natasha could have easily escaped but she had been selfish. She hadn’t wanted to leave Ohio, the place that became home to her. The place that she considers as her childhood home. Plus Yelena had still been young and didn't want to rip apart her childhood but sometimes she wished that she had. She would have at least a better chance of having one. She had wished that Melina had been strong enough to do it, to deflect from the Red Room. Melina had tired once, Natasha recalls. It had been three years into the mission. Yelena had been six while Natahsa had been eleven. Melina had woken her up when Alexei had fallen asleep. 

“ Pack your bags, my sweet girl,” Melina says, brushing Natasha’s short dyed-blue hair back, placing a kiss on her forehead before ushering her out of bed. 

“ Mama? Natalia asks. “ Where are we going?” She stuffs her clothes into a duffle bag that her ‘mother’ handed to her. 

“ Leaving, baby,” it takes Natalia’s mind a beat to realize what her mother means. Her eyes lighting up in disbelief and happiness. “ You’ll never have to go back to that place if we succeed.” 

“ Really? We’re not going up?” Natalia asks, trying not to let her hopes get too high in case Melina is lying. 

“ Yea, baby but we must hurry,” Melina says. “ I’m gonna get Nena. Meet me in the garage once you’re done okay?” Natalia nods her head, hurriedly packing. Melina goes to her youngest’s room, packing a bag of necessity and then gently, carefully picks up her sleeping daughter. She’s grateful that Yelena sleeps like the dead. Natalia is already in the car by the time Melina gets there. Once Yelena is strapped in, they take off. Like Yelena, Alexei sleeps like the dead meaning that he would not wake til the sun comes up but Melina sedates him just in case. As much as she hates to leave him behind, she knows that Alexei doesn’t understand, and would never understand. He’s devoted, loyal. He doesn’t see what kind of man Dreyko is expect as his buddy. She’s doing this for herself, for the girls that had become so much more than a mission to her. They have become her heart and soul. Her purpose. So she droves away from the house, away from the familiar streets of the place that became home to her. They had nearly made it to the hidden plane when they had been ambushed by Hydra—the Red Room.

“ Yelena, please,” Natasha is not above begging her sister but she rather not have to go to that resort. “ It’s only for one night.” 

“ No. Ask Mama to do it,” the blonde says, her words muffled by the pillow she has her face buried into. 

“ Mama is busy with Dad,” they both scrunch up their noses at the unfortunate thought that both enter their minds. “ Please. Wanda and I haven’t gotten alone time with each other since the boys were born.” It’s her and Wanda’s anniversary and they want to go out to celebrate. 

“ Why can’t your older ones watch over them?” Yelena groans, peeking at her sister. She is not in the mood of babysitting. All she wants is to lay in bed all day in peace while contemplating her life. God, she is so pathetic. She’s a Widow for god sake. She shouldn’t let this affect her but she does. Love is a weakness , is what the Red Room taught her but Pain only makes you stronger , is what her Mama taught her. 

“ Because they’re living their own lives plus they’re away for college and before you even say James, he’s on a trip with his fathers,” Natasha explains. She’s trying to get Yelena to babysit Tommy and Billy since she plans for her and Wanda to enjoy their anniversary, just the two of them alone and kids free. It’s the kids’ free part that she’s struggling to complete because her stubborn little sister is currently being an asshole. She’s not being insensitive to Yelena’s current situation but she’s been through that already and had to woman up to get her soulmate—which she had—and is now happily married to her with kids. Now Yelena needs to do the same because the world didn’t stop spinning when Kate nearly died or when Yelena refused to respond to the beckoning call through the bond. “ So please, just babysit them for tonight. Think of it as your anniversary present for me and Wanda.” 

“ You don’t think I have a life?” Yelena counters to which Natasha just raises an eyebrow at her as if saying, ‘ Really? Do you really want me to answer that? ’ Yelena sighs. “ Okay fair but still let me be depressed.” They’re both stubborn but Natasha always gets what she wants. It was a lost fight at the start. 

“ You act as if babysitting your nephews is such a burden,” Natasha rolls her eyes at her sister’s dramatic antics. She knows that the youngest twins: Billy and Tommy are Yelena’s favorite even though she says that she doesn’t have any favorites. But she saw how much her baby boys have Yelena wrapped around their little fingers. 

“ I’m pinning and wallowing in my idiotic choices so forgive me if all I want is to stay in my bed, eating ice cream, all day,” another reason why Natasha chose Yelena to babysit her kids because the blonde has done nothing but hide in her room for the last two weeks. They are all worried about her. She knows that Yelena is dealing with the fallout of her relationship with her soulmate and the fact that her soulmate has amnesia. 

“ Nope, that's not allowed anymore. We’ve let you stay in your room for two weeks now so now you need to get out of bed and hop into the shower. This is an intervention,” Natasha tells her, ripping off the blanket on the younger Widow’s body. “ And then get your ass moving because you’re going to babysit your nephews.” 

“ I hate you,” the blonde glares at the redhead. 

“ Love you too, sis,” Natasha says, pressing a kiss to the blonde’s hair. “ You’ll be okay. You and Kate will work out. Now come on, I believe you have somewhere to be and I have a woman to see about.” 

Chapter Text

↳Chapter Seven

➶ Two Weeks Later…➶

“ I don’t know if I can,” Kate says dishearten, sitting down on the couch of her living room. Peter and Tissaia went out for the night while Kate opted to stay in to study for her finals but she’s beginning to regret it since Yelena decided to stop by. The Widow wants to talk but Kate isn’t sure if she’s ready to have that conversation yet. But here they are. 

“ Kate Bishop , you and I are soulmates,” Kate gives a dry laugh. 

“ No shit Sherlock,” Kate deadpans. “ Now you want to acknowledge it.” It’s a statement, not a question. Yelena remains stoic as ever, her face betraying not an ounce of her emotions. “ Why is that?” Now that is a question Yelena is meant to answer. Yelena paces, a sign of uneasiness, a way of control. 

“ Because I realize that I don’t want to spend the rest of my life alone. Because I know I don't want to live a life without you in it and seeing you on that hospital bed made me realize how foolish I had been to ignore the obvious bond that connects us. Because from the moment you were born you have been filling in a hole in my heart,” Yelena lists her reason. It’s the last one that makes Kate’s heart soar for some reason. She and Yelena have a thirteen-year age gap (it’s not too bad) but due to Yelena being blipped and Kate didn’t, the age gap between them became eight years. She knows that it doesn’t work like that but she doesn’t really care about technicality. 

She’s taken back when she feels Yelena tugging at their bond. She can feel them connect and the feeling of completion almost knocks her off the couch because she has never felt that sense of completion except for the one time she had been fighting Kingpin and Yelena had opened her side of the bond. It’s overwhelming, the intensity of Yelena’s emotions, after not feeling it for most of her life. It takes her a while to settle herself. It’s an odd sensation that she doesn’t know how to feel about it yet. She ignores the feeling of something missing in their bond. She ignores the fact that her heart no longer beats in sync with the blonde’s or that she can’t feel the beat of the blonde’s heart in her own chest. She ignores the way her chest aches for the loss of the bond that reassured her for so long that she does have a soulmate. 

“ Yelena..look, I’m just not ready to give us a try yet. Last time I opened myself to you, you quite literally broke my heart,” Kate rubs at her chest where her heart is, in soothing motions. She mourns losing the bond that allowed her to feel Yelena’s heart beating with hers. The “ and you let me die” is left unsaid but both knew. Yelena knows that she has to earn the trust of her soulmate, to get to know her. She hates the fact that one of the people that truly knows her soulmate is Tissaia, the girl who tried to kill her said soulmate. Yelena is not blind to their closeness, she’s seen on different occasions how protective they are of each other as well as affectionate to one another. Truly she can’t even be mad at Tissaia because unlike her, the girl stayed in Kate’s life and never dipped out ever since Kate saved her. Tissaia is able to do something that Yelena is afraid of doing, struggles to do which is accepting things. “ I’ll wait for you when you are, маленький ястреб,” |Russian—little hawk| Yelena vows. 

“ Don’t put your life on hold for me, Yelena,” Kate sighs, standing up so that she and Yelena are head to head. “ Explore your life. If we’re meant to happen, we’ll come back to each other.” Why does it feel as if she's losing Kate all over again even though she’s right here in front of her, healthy and alive. Yelena ponders, chest aching for something she could’ve had if she hadn’t been so stubborn. There are tears falling down her face, not realizing it until she feels callous—from archery–fingers wipe them away. She leans into Kate’s hand that stays on her cheek, gently caressing. 

“ I’m sorry for everything,” Hazel green meets stormy blue. So many emotions running in each. Kate can’t say it’s okay because it’s not. Far from it. She can’t essay, she forgives her because it would be a lie, she doesn’t. Part of her resents the blonde for destroying something beautiful between them so instead, she settles with, “ I know.” Kate does know, can feel it in her bone, her soul, her heart that Yelena genuinely is sorry. “ Maybe things are meant to happen this way in order for us to grow, for us to have a future together later in life. Right now we just have to grow separately before growing together.” Yelena nods her head. 

“ May we meet again, Katherine Bishop ,” Yelena says, walking towards the window as Kate watches. 

“ I hope we do, Yelena Belova. ” 

Chapter Text

↳Chapter Eight

Kate feels her heart lighten up after talking with the blonde. Her heart still aches but is less painful now. It’s nice to have closure. 

“ What’s up with you?” Tissaia asks, plopping down next to the archer, putting her head on her lap as they watch “ The Witcher” per Tissaia’s request. She and Peter came home, five hours later after Kate’s talk with Yelena. Peter is joining them later after taking a shower while Tissaia already took a shower to wash off the smell of alcohol on her and sweat from dancing. “ You seem happy.” Of course, Tissaia would be the first to notice and the first to point it out. The young Widow isn’t wrong though. She feels happier than she has in months. Kate had reached out to Yelena after a couple hours since their talk by text. She had texted her that they could try to get to know each other. Yelena allows her to take the lead with their fragile new agreement which Kate is glad for. It’s a step to the right path of mending their relationship and for Yelena to earn Kate’s trust. Baby steps: texting. Yelena would text her a fact about herself, allowing Kate to know her. And Kate would give a fact about herself. She is also able to feel Yelena which means that the bond is open on both sides, making her feel hopeful. It means Yelena is trying, which is all she could ask of her. 

“ I am,” Kate answers honestly, surprising the brunette. She didn’t expect Kate to lie but she also didn’t expect her to actually tell her. She thought that Kate would have told her that it wasn’t her business or tease saying ‘ wouldn’t you like to know’ or that sort of shit but not full-on honesty. “ Yelena came over a couple of hours ago and we had a talk.” 

“ Oh?” 

“ Yeah, it was out of the blue. But I’m glad that we got to talk though. We agreed that we won’t date or pursue any sort of relationship like that with each other at least not for a while,” Kate explains. “ If one day that we do end up together then it’s beautiful but for now we’re living our own lives. She and I have been texting though, learning each other.” Kate ignores the look Tissaia gives her. She knows that the younger brunette is not the greatest Yelena fan. The reason for that is because in Tissaia’s own words, “ She broke your heart and I watched it happen.” Kate’s grateful to have someone so loyal to her, to always take her side. That must be what having a sibling is like. She thinks. And she’s gained not one but two sibling figures. A little-big brother in Peter and a little sister in Tissaia. 

“ Be nice,” Kate scolds the younger girl. 

“ Fine..but if she hurts you again, I’ll hurt her. Soulmate or not even if it means having my ass handed to me,” Tissaia says. 

“ I agree,” Peter’s voice joins the conversation, his body following to the game room. “ Now move. It’s my turn to pick the movie tonight.” Kate and Tissaia both groan at that. 

“ I swear if we have to watch the Notebook one more time, we’ll officially ban you from picking movies ever again,” Tissaia says, tossing him the remote. 

“ Don’t worry. It won’t be the Notebook,” Peter says, scrolling down to the movie choices before stopping on one. 

“ Split? Really?” Kate asks as Peter clicks on it. 

“ Yes, really. I didn’t get the chance to actually watch it,” Peter says, making himself comfortable on the couch cuddling against Tissaia’s side. 

↳One Year Later…↵

Yelena and Kate’s relationship has been doing a lot better. They’re friends now actually, hanging out with each other, going to group gatherings together. Surprisingly it hadn’t been weird. Their relationship remains strictly platonic. Kate made sure to keep it like that. She didn’t want to put herself out there again only for her heart to be broken again by her soulmate. 

“ Saia! On your right!” Peter warns as he takes out his target. 

“ Thanks!” Tissaia punches her opponent. They’re stopping a robbery that kinda got out of hand when the opponent started shooting at them and the green tracksuit joined the fight which was annoying for the three of them. Yelena makes a surprise visit, helping them stop the tracksuits and robbers. “ What are you doing here?” Tissaia asks coldly, glaring at the blonde. 

Okay so Tissaia and Yelena don’t get along well. They tolerate one another at best for Kate’s sake since she’s the connection that connects them both aside from the glaring fact that they’re sisters-in-arms- through the Red Room. That is something that is not easily erased nor can be. There are things that Kate will never understand when it comes to the Widows because she’s never experienced it but Tissaia and Yelena both have, making them kindred spirits to each other. Kate hopes that one day that they’ll put aside their differences and become actual friends because she doesn’t know if she can pick between the two of them if it comes down to it. She can’t, no she won’t lose either of them. 

“ I’m here on a mission. It just happened that I saw you guys first so I decided to help out,” Yelena answers in the same tone. “ There’s a Widow here.” Tissaia freezes at that. 

“ Who?” 

“ Aleska.” 

“ Where is she?” 

“ Uptown, she was hired as a bodyguard of a laundering CEO Boss, Tyler Zahm,” Yelena answers. 

“ I’m coming with you.” 

“ Absolutely not!” Both Yelena and Kate exclaim at the same time. The two share a look of surprise before looking at the younger Widow. 

“ Saia, why would you want to go?” Kate asks. 

“ She was in my class, Katie,” Tissaia answers. It’s then that Kate understands the younger woman’s desire to go help Yelena. “ I need to help her like you helped me.” 

“ No way. You’ll just get in the way,” Yelena argues. “ Besides I need to do this fast since there’s another Widow nearby that also needs the antidote.” 

“ It’s better to have a team than to be alone,” Peter chimes in the conversation, landing beside them. “ It’ll get the job done faster than if you’re doing it alone.” And that’s how Yelena finds herself working with two spiders and an archer. It’s also how Nick Fury, scratch that Kamala Khan finds them, recruiting them to join the new (Young) Avengers team. 

Kate Bishop is dead…

Not literally. Metaphorically speaking, she’s dead because once she tells Tissaia and Clint about her little situation it is game over. Tissaia will freak out and Clint will give her the disappointed dad look which she hates more than anything. She never likes seeing that look especially when it’s aimed at her. Seriously, how could she let this happen? Kate asks herself as she looks at herself in the mirror.