Hawkeye and Black Widow 2: Bishop and Belova

The First Real Mission

Yelena awoke the next morning and when she opened her closet to grab clothes out, she noticed one empty hanger. The one her army green vest hung on. The vest she had given Natasha, the one she wore while taking down the Red Room. The one Natasha had worn during the battle of Wakanda. Her eyes widened at the sight of it gone and after getting dressed she rushed to the open kitchen/living area.

"Has anyone seen my-?" She began but stopped upon seeing Kate sitting at the table wearing it. Silence fell over the room, Natasha, Melina, and Alexei all waited with baited breath for Yelena's reaction. "Ah, nevermind then." Yelena said and sat down with them to eat breakfast. Natasha's eyebrows furrowed at this, she wasn't the only one confused.

"What?" Yelena asked, with a mouthful of pancakes. "That's the vest. You don't let anyone touch that vest. Let alone wear it." Natasha said, looking at her concerned. She placed her hand on Yelena's forehead. "Are you feeling okay?" She asked her little sister. "Yeah, why? I don't understand the big deal about this. Kate can wear it if she wants. It looks good on her." The younger widow replied. Kate felt her cheeks flush at this remark and she looked down at her plate with a small smile.

In the Red Room, each widow was taught to understand body language. This resulted in Natasha, Yelena, and Melina not being able to hide anything from each other. Nor anyone else close to them for that matter. Natasha analyzed both Yelena and Kate's body language in that moment and let out a soft chuckle. "What's funny?" Yelena asked. "Nothing." She said with a smile. "Natasha." Her younger sister said sternly. "It's nothing! Really!" Natasha replied. Yelena rolled her eyes at this. "Remember when we were at Clint's for Christmas? You two kissed under the mistletoe." Her older sister said.

Kate and Yelena looked at each other, having not discussed the incident since it had occurred. "It's an American tradition to kiss under the mistletoe, is it not?" Yelena said. "It is." Kate replied. "You sure that's all it was? Nothing more?" Natasha pried, knowing that their was something more. "No!" They both said, abruptly. She scoffed softly at this. "Okay." She said with a hint of sarcasm in her voice. Yelena stood up then and took her dish to the kitchen. She tilted her head, beckoning Natasha to come over, which she obliged, bringing her own empty plate to be cleaned.

"Since I know you think you know what's going on between Kate Bishop and I, enlighten me." Yelena said picking up a dry hand towel. Natasha ran soapy water into the sink and began washing their plates with a wet hand towel. Both had been doing this ever since they were kids. Natasha would wash, and Yelena would dry. "You have feelings for each other." Natasha said, handing her a clean dish to dry. "You've kissed, you straddled her while sparring, you threw her in the lake,  you sleep in the same bed, and now you're letting her wear your most valued piece of clothing. Did I miss anything?" The older widow said.

Yelena sighed. She knew she wouldn't be able to keep it from her sister for very long. She chuckled softly. "Ugh, I feel like a teenager. Feeling this way and having no idea what to do with it. I don't even know if she feels the same." She said with a shrug. "Based on the way she blushed after you told her she looked good in your vest, I don't think you have to worry about that, sestrichka." Natasha replied with a smirk. "How do I even tell her? How do I even know when the perfect time is?" Her little sister questioned.

"That I don't have an answer for. I'm new to the whole 'love' thing too. But I had a friend who gave me some knowledge on it. Things he learned 70 years ago. He said the moment he saw Peggy Carter, he knew he loved her. He also said he was so scrawny, well, at the time, and she was so beautiful, he couldn't understand why a girl like her would wanna be with a guy like him. Then, he got the serum. Went to war. They had promised each other a dance. He said he was going to tell her how he felt then. Steve never got the chance to. His advice to me was to listen to my heart, and not wait until it's too late. You never know what's gonna happen." The older widow explained. "Wow. That was way better than any of Dad's stories about Captain America." Yelena replied. "Yeah well, when you actually know Steve beyond just a geopolitical rivalry, you learn a few things." Natasha said with a smile. "I swear if I have to hear one more of his stories, it'll be too soon." Her little sister said. "You're telling me." Natasha replied.