fortress | kate bishop

the meeting.

2016
Manhattan, New York

Anya had been in New York visiting Natasha when she met Kate.

It'd been her first time in the city and Natasha and Kennedy said they'd show her around, but she insisted that she wanted to explore on her own while Yelena hung out at their house playing with their six-year-old Cocker Spaniel, Tolkien, and unwillingly entertaining their cat, Liho.

So, she took the skateboard that Reagan, Kennedy's younger sister, had given her and went to Central Park. She'd made a promise to Kennedy that she'd try to document her teen years and that was what Anya did. As she rode around the park she was filming on her video camera. She couldn't believe that this was her life now. She was free to make her own choices. To be whoever she wanted to be.

As she was filming around her, a dog came out of nowhere and Anya lost her balance and focus as she fell to the ground. She went into full panic mode as she looked around for the video camera, only to find that it had landed in the grass.

Someone picked it up and handed it to her. She looked up to see a girl with long black hair which was curly and blue eyes, not piercing but still pretty. Anya smiled  up at her as she took the camera. She was still getting used to the kindness of people.

"Thanks."

She holds a hand out to Anya, which she takes as the mystery girl helps her to her feet.

"Your camera is okay but the same cannot be said for your skateboard," the girl says as she nods to the board which was missing wheels. Well, Reagan had told her that it was only twenty dollars.

"There goes my skater dream," Anya mutters.

The girl chuckles, "You have a skater dream?"

Anya shrugs, "I don't know I thought the aesthetic was cool and I have really good balance capabilities."

Kate quirks a brow at the comment but smiles at Anya.

"It is," she responds quickly, "I guess I just never really hear people say stuff like that."

"And what do you hear people say?"

"Here are the keys to my Maserati. I don't want to see a scratch on it. Or, more caviar please sir!" she says in a posh accent, and Anya giggles.

"You're rich?"

"Bullseye," she tells her as she holds a hand out, "My name is Kate Bishop."

"Anya Nikolaeva," she says as she shakes her hand.

"I knew you had an accent. Are you from Russia?"

"Yes, but I was adopted and now I live here."

"In Central Park?" Kate asks jokingly.

"No," Anya says with a laugh, "America. Specifically, Ohio. A small town called Springfield."

"Oh," Kate says, "Then what brings you here?"

"I'm visiting my sister and her wife," Anya states. Natasha was her sister if Alexei and Melina were her legal guardians. She also felt that she and Natasha had bonded during their mission to save Kennedy and destroy the Red Room.

"And do you like my city?" Kate asks.

"Your city?" Anya asks with a laugh, "I don't see Kate written anywhere."

"It's there," Kate tells her, "You just have to look at the fine print."

"I'll make sure to look extra hard," Anya responds with a grin. She looks at Kate and notices that she's not dressed for Central Park and is wearing an evening gown, "Come from somewhere fancy?"