𝐂𝐇𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐌𝐀𝐒 𝐈𝐒 𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐀𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐃 | ᶜᵒᵐᵖˡᵉᵗᵉᵈ

𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐚 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝? ▸𝒌𝒂𝒕𝒆 & 𝒚𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒂

"All clear bellow," Yelena reported happily. “Eighteen seconds, Kate. Kate?" she repeated urgently when her partner didn't react. A moment later she knew why, when the screams reached her ears. She turned in the direction it was coming from and saw Kate falling from the ruined and snow-covered building. Yelena immediately jumped on her motorcycle and rode behind the sprawled Kate, with two robots bent over her, ready to destroy her. But Yelena was faster, and a moment later pieces of smashed robots were rolling around.

The blonde woman jumped off the bike and bent down to pick up an object that had landed a few feet from Kate. The dark-haired woman howled in pain as she braced herself on her elbow and raised her eyes to Yelena. She snorted in annoyance when she saw Yelena smirking at her. “No, don´t say it.“

"Like what?" she asked innocently, holding out the metal arm Kate had lost in the fall. “Need a hand?“ Kate rolled her eyes. „Come on. I feel like you should know me by now. Puns aren't my style anymore. Now everything is so serious . . ." Kate took her arm and slipped it into place. She circled her hand a few times to make sure it was properly in place and everything was working properly. “Okay, I´m kidding. I'm not missing a single opportunity for jokes. Unfortunately, there haven't been many lately."

"Then I'll lose my arm more often," said Kate sarcastically, rising to her feet.

Yelena grinned. “Rather not. Couple more seconds and the Sentry signals would´ve alerted Ultron hive mind to our location. We are rusty."

"Another joke? It was weak," Kate said, and Yelena playfully slammed her on her real arm. Then the dark-haired woman looked around, brushing a few strands of hair loose from her ponytail from her face. “Our location… which is where, exactly?“

"Home, sweet home," Yelena replied simply, and the two turned toward a snow-covered, half-destroyed structure that had once looked spectacular. Saint Basil´s Cathedral. Now it's just ruined. “Well, what´s left of it anyway."

"So you really think the secret to taking down Ultron is here?" said Kate doubtfully, but even so, both of them started toward the temple.

"It's Russia, Hawkeye. Secrets were the national pastime. Up to the KGB archives, then," she said wryly.

***

"Your countrymen never heard of a PDFs?" muttered Kate in frustration, setting another box aside. Nothing. She had no idea how long they had been stuck here, but it seemed like hundreds of hours.

"Hard copies are harder to steal and easier to destroy. But code, code is slippery and it never dies," Yelena replied, and didn't seem as bothered by the job as much as Hawkeye.

"Being a superhero is amazing. Everyone should get the chance to try it out," Kate grumbled to herself and looked up at Yelena when she felt Yelena's eyes on her.

"You're frustrated."

"Oh, don´t say" she murmured, then sighed and sat down on the cold ground, her back against the boxes in the wide shelves. "I´m not frustrated, I´m not. I'm tired of this, Lena. Are the last two still fighting, and for what? I´m not sure there´s anything left worth fighting for. Isn't it hopeless?"
Yelena was quiet for a moment. She thought about her words. Finally, she sighed softly, put the box back in, and went to sit next to Kate. She put one arm around her shoulders and the dark-haired woman clung to her, hiding her face in her shoulder.

"I know it's long, challenging, and, apparently, fruitless," she began softly, squeezing her shoulder tightly. "But there's always something to fight for. And as long as the last person is fighting for something, it's worth it. And I'm fighting for you. For my best friend.“ She leaned her chin against the top of her head and closed her eyes for a moment. “Believe me, if I didn't have you here, I probably would have given up pretty soon.”

Kate smiled, which Yelena couldn't see. "You're all jokes and acting like you don´t give a shit about anything, and then here's what you tell me."

"I don't give a shit about anything," Yelena said with perfect seriousness.

Hawkeye grinned. "Sure. Lena, you're the kind of person who jumps first and then checks to see if there's a pool underneath, but you can't convince me that you don´t give a shit for everything. You aren´t like that, and now you've confirmed it for me."

"Oh, shit. But I like the whole pool thing," she grinned. "Are you trying to tell me I'm a bit of an archer? Ha ha, that's good. You're supposed to be the archer. I guess I went the wrong way years ago."

"Go ahead and take my bow if you want to go out and shoot some robots," Kate offered generously, and Yelena straightened up. When she said nothing for a long time, the dark-haired woman looked up at her. "What?"

"If you're so willing to offer me your beloved bow . . . does that mean you're going to lend me your invisibility cloak, Potter?" Her eyes sparkled and her corners twitched in an amused smile. “You are smiling again! Crisis averted?"

"Well, we'll see," she said, but she had to admit she was feeling a little better. Hopelessness wasn't entirely gone, but hope was returning, and she was about to banish her evil sister. “Cloaking tech. Pretty cool, huh?"

"Well, you know what else is pretty cool?" said Yelena eagerly. "My vest," she said proudly, running her hands over the piece of clothing.

Kate chuckled. "Wow, are you seriously offering me your beloved vest for an invisibility cloak right now?"

Yelena thought about her words for a moment. "Yeah, but ... I wouldn't give that vest to just anyone, you know? It would have to be someone special because the vest is special too. See? It's got lots of pockets. Pretty cool, huh?" mimicked Kate.

"All right, I'll lend it to you-"

"Ha! I knew you couldn't resist the vest," Yelena said, rubbing her hands in satisfaction. Then she looked at her best friend. "You know, Kat... if you can't win, change the rules of the game." Kate cocked an eyebrow at her curiously. "Ultron may think he's got the whole world under his robot thumb by now, but we . . . we've got a few cards up our sleeve." And she reached out and pulled the folder they'd come for out of one of the boxes.

Kate gasped, then gave her a reproachful look. “Hey! You know this was here all along and didn't tell me?!'

Yelena blinked at her. "Not all along, just the last few minutes. I didn't want to destroy our deep conversation."

"Deep as the pool you always jump into," muttered Kate, shaking her head.

"Nope," Yelena said, holding up her index finger. "You forget that sometimes the pool isn't there. Now come on,“ she said, rising and then helping the dark-haired woman to her feet, “it's time to go to Siberia.“