#malen'kiy yastreb | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

arlana-likes-to-write · 2 years ago

Text

Lightning Bug - Chapter 10

Masterlist of Lighning Bug

Warning: bloody nose, mention of a nightmare

Word Count: 3.7k

Cooper had to carry Nate upstairs after the credits started to play. The youngest Barton fell asleep halfway through the movie. Wanda kissed him on his forehead and Goodnight and see you in the morning were whispered so he didn’t wake up. Once his kids were upstairs and he heard doors close, Clint stood up and went to his liquor cabinet. “Who wants a drink?” He asked. Everyone raised their hand. Kate laughed and stood up to help her mentor.

“She’s a good kid,” Laura said.

“Eh Kate Bishop is a solid okay,” Yelena teased. A gasp from her girlfriend could be heard from the kitchen.

“Get yourself a drink, Belova,” Yelena laughed and went into the kitchen. Wanda knew Kate wasn’t joking about Yelena getting her drink. Laura smiled, shaking her head at the pair.

“I was referring to the newest member of the team,” Laura said. “She’s got a big heart.” Wanda had to admit she was worried about how the rest of the day was going to go when Nate unexpectedly hugged her. She could see the panic wash over the teen but she still managed to speak calmly to him. Natasha smiled.

“Yeah she’s been through a lot but she still managed to keep her heart,” Natasha said.

“Do you know more about what happened to her?” Wanda shook her head.

“She’s told us a few things but she hasn’t told us a lot of detail,” The witch was grateful that the teen was opening up so quickly. It took her much longer when she first moved to the tower. Kate and Yelena came back and handed a drink to Wanda and Laura.

“Look at the strays finding a stray,” Clint said, handing Natasha her drink. He sat next to Laura, throwing his arm around her. “I’m so proud,” he whipped away a fake tear.

“You are an idiot,” Natasha said but Wanda didn’t miss the smile on her face. Clint rolled his eyes.

“You love me.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Yelena said. “You are so loveable, Clint Barton,” If Yelena wasn’t sipping on a drink, Clint would have thrown a pillow at her but there was a risk of spilling it on the couch. Kate put a hand on Yelena’s leg, squeezing it.

“Nat, are you ready for your mission?” Natasha sighed, taking a sip of her drink.

“As ready as I’ll ever be,” It was a simple recon mission with strict orders from Maria and Nick to not engage. The team believed Natasha would need only 2 days to get the information but Wanda knew this line of work was uncertain.

“Are you going solo or will you have a team?” The Black Widow glanced slightly at her girlfriend who nodded.

“I’ll have a team outside the city as a backup but,” she looked at the young Hawkeye. “Will you join me? I know it’s rather last minute.” Kate straightened up as she stared at Natasha.

“Me?” She questioned. “You want me to join you.” Natasha nodded. There was much debate between Natasha and Wanda and Natasha and Maria on who should join her. It came down to Yelena or Kate. But due to the nature of the people they were looking at Natasha didn’t want her sister near it if she could help it. Yelena instinctively grabbed onto Kate protectively. Her jaw was clenched.

“I need someone to watch my back or to go in and I watch their back. If it’s too late of a notice I understand.”

“No,” Kate said suddenly. She smiled. “We’ll talk at some point. I trust you.” Wanda didn’t have to read Yelena’s mind to know the blonde was worried.

“Awe my malen'kiy yastreb (little hawk), I’m so proud of you,” Yelena teased and pinched at Kate’s cheeks. The archer pushed her girlfriend’s hand away as her cheeks burned with embarrassment.

“Shut up,” Kate mumbled. Laughter echoed in the living room. Wanda sent a smile to Yelena. It was a smile that tried to convey a lot.

‘I’m here for you.’

‘They are going to be okay.’

‘I’m worried too.’

Yelena smiled back but the smile didn’t reach her eyes.

Wanda finished brushing her teeth and stepped out of the bathroom. Natasha was waiting for her by their bedroom door, both bags in her hand. “Ready for bed?” She asked, kissing Wanda on the cheek.

“Yes, I’m exhausted,” Wanda carefully opened the door and stepped inside. She smiled at the sight as Natasha closed the door and put their bags on the ground. Y/n was fast asleep. Her arms wrapped around a small pillow that was cuddled up against her chest. Wanda had never seen her look so peaceful and at ease with the world around her.

“She’s had a long day too,” Natasha whispered, sliding onto her side of the bed. She pulled back the blanket for Wanda to join her. Even as the bed made a noise under the additional weight, the young girl didn’t wake up. The witch laid her head on the pillow and looked up at her girlfriend. “I’m surprised she chose to sleep in here.”

“I’m not,” Wanda whispered, running her hand up and down Natasha’s arm. “She’s letting herself trust you.” The Black Widow smiled.

“I love you,” she captured her lips in a quick kiss.

“I love you too, moya lyubov' (my love). Goodnight.”

You sat up quickly. A silent scream barely left your lips. You placed a hand on your chest and felt your heart. It was thudding rapidly against your rib cage. Frantic eyes searched the room you were in, a room you didn’t recognize. Through your panic, you were pretty sure you heard your name. It was muffled. It was said again and it was much clearer this time but it still felt like you were being pulled underwater. “Dorogoy,” the Russian word broke through the fog and you stared at Natasha. She was kneeling next to you. “You're safe.”

“Dorogoy?” The word felt weird on your lips. “What does that mean?” You asked.

“It’s Russian for sweetheart,” she told you. “Do you know where you are?” It was an odd question but you looked around the room.

“Iowa,” you licked your dry lips. “In Barton’s house, I woke up from a nightmare.” You saw Wanda sit up in bed, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. Your nightmare woke them up. “I’m sorry,” you said. “I didn’t mean to wake you up I’m-I’m sorry.” Your breathing was becoming erratic again. Wanda was going to be mad and she was going to hit you or worse she was going to make you leave the tower.

“Hey dorogoy,” the Russian name again caused you to look at Natasha. “We are not upset, okay? But I need you to breathe for me. Can you do that? Copy me.” You nodded. Natasha took a deep breath in and held it and slowly let it out. It took you a few moments but finally, you copied the way she was breathing. “Good,” she praised. “You are doing a great job.”

“I’m okay,” you said.

“Yes you are,” The Black Widow agreed. “Just keep focusing on your breathing.” Your heart began to slow down and your breathing was back to normal. “Good job.” Wanda stood up and sat on the edge of the bed. She had a kind smile on her face. “Do you want to talk about your nightmare?”

“I don’t remember it,” you answered honestly. “I just remember feeling so scared and alone.” You whispered the last part.

“You aren’t alone,” Wanda said. “We are here.” You noticed her accent was thicker when she first woke up.

“I know,” you smiled.

“Do you want to try to go back to sleep or do you need something?” Natasha asked. You wanted to get a glass of water.

“Uh, is it okay if I get some water?”

“Yeah,” Wanda answered. “Do you want us to come with you?”

“I’m okay,” you stood up. “You can go back to sleep. I’m sorry I woke you up.” The Black Widow stood up with a shake of her head.

“You don’t need to apologize. We’ve all had our fair share of nightmares.” They got into bed.

“I’ll be back,” you said and opened the door. “Goodnight and thank you.” You left the room and closed the door. You rested your head on the closed door and took a few more steady breaths. Your legs shook as you walked down the stairs but you felt another energy level already in the kitchen. But you were still surprised to see Clint, pouring himself a cup of coffee. He looked over his shoulder and smiled.

“You’re down here much later than expected.” He said.

“Excuse me?” You questioned.

“Water, tea, or coffee?”

“Tea, please.” You sat on the island as Clint began to prepare your cup of tea. “You still didn’t clarify what you meant.”

“The first night is always the worst,” he said. “Sugar, honey, or both?” You stared at the man. He waited for your answer.

“Uh, honey.” He nodded. You were still confused.

“They’ve all been woken up by nightmares or they couldn’t fall asleep.” he set the mug in front of you. You were sure the confusion was all over your face. “Yelena, Kate, Wanda, and Natasha,” he clarified. “It’s something about the first night. Laura and I can’t seem to figure it out.” You picked up the mug and allowed the warmth to push away the nightmare.

“So you were just staying awake till I woke up?” You questioned. He took a long sip from his mug.

“Nah, that would be ridiculous. I couldn’t sleep either,” he moved towards the dining room table. “Come play a card game with me.” You were surprised by the request. Clint sat down and began to shuffle a deck of cards.

“So weird,” you mumbled but sat down in front of him.

“Do you know how to play war?” He asked. You shook your head. “It’s simple. We both place a card facing up at the same time and whoever has the highest value wins.” Clint dealt the cards, giving you one, and then himself. He continued until the deck was gone. He organized these cards into a neat pile and kept the cards facing down. You mirrored him. “By chance, we put down the same number, and we battle but I’ll explain that when it happens. Got it?”

“Kind of,” you weren’t 100% sure.

“We’ll take it slow,” Each time a round was played he explained how he or you won. In one round you both placed down a 2. He told you to place 3 cards face down and the 4th card you’ll flip over, whoever has the highest value wins the battle. You won with a queen. The game was fast past and simple which allowed your mind to forget the feeling of your nightmare. Clint filled the empty silence with more stories. He didn’t seem bothered that you kept quiet. Soon what Kate said to you before you left echoed in your head, ‘The Bartons are great. They have the unique ability to open their homes to strays.’

“Am I stray?” You asked him.

“What?” Your eyebrows meant in the middle as you were deep in thought.

“Kate said you could open your home up to strays,” you told him. “So am I a stray?”

“Do you want to be a stray?” He countered. You stared at the man in front of you as he collected the cards and shuffled them. Your mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water. You were a little lost for words.

“I don’t know,” you finally answered. Clint smiled as he took a sip of his coffee and dealt the cards for the next round.

“Strays is what I called Nat and Kate when I found them,” his eyes seemed lost in the memory. “They were lost and scared.” He looked at you. “You have not been given an easy hand to deal with. Like this game we don’t know what card is next.” You found yourself not upset that they told them about you. “But they weren’t given a good hand either but they kept fighting and kept trying to win the next round.” He began to play again. A few rounds went but him winning. “I’m glad they kept playing because the life they’ve built is beautiful and they brought you here.” You both placed down a 9 and you won the battle with a 5. “Good job. You won.” You smiled as you collected the cards.

“I don’t want them to think I’m a bad person if I tell them what I’ve done,” you said.

“Did you have a choice?” He asked. A choice. A choice. That was complicated. A lot of the stuff you did was out of survival.

“No,” you whispered.

“Then you aren’t a bad person, squirt,” the nickname he gave you filled you with a sense of warmth. “We’ve all done stuff we aren’t proud of but we did it out of necessity to get to this point.” He put a car down but you were looking around his home. There were pictures that his kids drew hung up and pictures of them growing up on the walls. “Hey,” you looked back at him. “Where did you go just now?” You shrugged, placing a card down.

“I don’t know but I’m getting tired,” Clint smiled.

“Let’s try to get some sleep,” he cleaned up the cards and you put the dirty dishes in the sink. You rubbed your eyes. “Are you going back to Wanda and Nat’s room?”

“Can I sleep on the couch?” He nodded. He got you a pillow and blanket. You lay down on the pillow and Clint put a blanket over you. “Goodnight. If you need anything Laura and I are down that hallway.” You nodded.

“Thank you, Clint,” your voice cracked slightly.

“No problem, squirt,” he turned off the main light in the kitchen but kept a side light on. You closed your eyes and let sleep wash over you.

The sun shining through the window woke you up. You sat up slowly, stretching your arms above your head. It was one of the best nights of sleep you’ve had. You stood up and on quiet feet, you made your way into the kitchen. It was 9:30 but you started on breakfast. The first thing you did was you put on a fresh pot of coffee. You took off your gloves and washed your hands then you took out eggs and milk to start on french toast. There were left over strawberries from dinner so you cut them up and made scrambled eggs. You heard footsteps coming down the stairs and saw Yelena and Kate. “Morning,” Kate said, grabbing a mug and helping herself to the coffee.

“Morning. Breakfast should be done soon.” You told them.

“How’d you sleep?” Yelena asked. She opted for water instead of coffee.

“Okay, I had a nightmare and woke up Natasha and Wanda then I played cards with Clint,” saying it out loud made it sound more bizarre. “It was a weird night.” Kate and Yelena looked at each other.

“First night.” They said at the same time. You nodded.

“That is what Clint said,” more footsteps came running down the stairs.

“Do I smell cinnamon?” Lila asked.

“French toast will be done soon.” By the time Laura and Clint woke up, everyone was sitting down with a plate of food.

“What is going on?” Laura asked.

“Oh Y/n made breakfast,” Cooper said. “It’s really good.” You felt your cheeks burn at the compliment and looked down at your plate.

“Thank you,” she said. “You didn’t have to.” You shrugged.

“You made dinner and I did breakfast. It seems like an even trade.” Wanda and Natasha soon joined the group. Breakfast was eaten while the plan for the day was made. Everyone insisted they clean up because you cooked. You bit your tongue and went upstairs to change. You brought a book and the walkman downstairs with you. Natasha was whipping down the counter.

“You slept on the couch, didn’t you?” She asked. You nodded.

“Clint was up when I went downstairs,” you began to play with the cord of the headphones. “You know how I asked you and Wanda if it’s possible to forgive someone that has hurt you,” she nodded and gave you her full attention. “How do you forgive yourself for the things you’ve done?” It was a lot to ask so early in the morning but you wanted to stop these nightmares from happening. Natasha sighed and leaned against the counter.

“It doesn't happen overnight. I still struggle with it,” she took a moment to collect her thoughts. “My best advice for you is you can’t change the past. Unfortunately, those things you did can’t be undone and you have to expect that. But the question becomes, how do you deal with the guilt?”

“I don’t know,” you said.

“You live,” she whispered. “No matter what you’ve gone through and everything you’ve done, you continue to live.” The sound of footsteps caused you to look away from the Black Widow. It was Nate.

“Come on Auntie Nat. Let’s go play!” He hugged her arm.

“Sorry,” she mouthed as the boy pulled her outside. You smiled at her, telling her it was okay. You allowed yourself to sit with what Natasha said. With a sigh, you walked outside and sat at a picnic table. You opened the book you decided to read.

Soon everyone migrated outside. Clint sent up a small archery target that Kate and Lila ran over to right away. Cooper and Yelena grabbed a football and other toys from the barn. You continued to sit there and read and watch.

‘You continue to live.’

‘They kept fighting and kept trying to win the next round.’

You weren’t sure how to live or fight because you weren’t sure what you were fighting for. You never had this. A family to lean on and live for. Your parents didn’t hang up the artwork you made or take photos to preserve memories. You were so sick and tired of feeling jealous. It burned in you. It formed in your heart and worked its way through your veins until your entire body was consumed by it. You stared at the book. The words were blurring together. You tried to copy the breathing technique Natasha helped you through. It was helping. “Hi,” you jumped at the sudden voice. It was Nate. “Can you play with me?” He asked. You stared at the boy.

“Yeah,” you said. “I’ll play with you.”

Natasha was sipping on a glass of lemonade that Laura brought out. She watched as Nate and Y/n played together. She could see that the teen was nervous, her body was tense but as Nate ordered her around she started to relax. Clint sat down next to her. He sighed, stretching his arm. “I’m too old for this,” Natasha laughed, shaking her head.

“Retirement is making you lazy, old man.” The archer rolled his eyes and punched Natasha lightly on the shoulder. He pointed to his youngest.

“She’s afraid you’ll think she’s a bad person if she opens up to you.” Natasha figured as much. With all of her questions about forgiveness, there had to be some underlying meaning. “But you're doing good,” he put his hand on her shoulder. “I’m proud of you.” Natasha smiled at her oldest friend.

“Thanks, I’ve learned from the best.”

You stood in the half bath and splashed cold water on your face. Nate was fun but that little boy had a lot of energy. You were exhausted. You stared into the sink and let the water drip down the drain. But the bathroom began to spin. You gripped onto the porcelain sink as the drips that fell turned a crimson red. “Crap,” you mumbled, pulling off your right glove and feeling blood dripping down your nose. You used toilet paper to try to stop your nose from bleeding.

“Hey,” Cooper said, knocking on the door. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” you said, washing the blood off your face and flushing the bloody toilet paper down the toilet. “Just give me a second.” You looked over your reflection in the mirror and made sure your nose stopped bleeding and there was no blood on your face. You put your glove back on and opened the door. You didn’t miss the concern on Cooper’s face.

“You look a little pale,” he said. “Are you sure you're okay?” You nodded.

“I think I’m a little hungry,” you lied.

“Come on I’ll get you something to eat,” you followed him into the kitchen. He pulled out a few oranges from the fridge and cut them up into slices. “This should help,” he placed a bowl in front of you.

“Thank you,” you took an orange and ate it slowly. It was good; sweet and juicy.

“No problem,” he took one for himself. “I can’t have you passing out on me. Yelena would have my head.” You giggled.

“We can’t have that,” he smiled.

“I overheard that Nat is going on a mission. Do you know where she’s going?” You shook your head.

“They’ve kept me out of their Avenger business.” You said.

“Yeah that sounds like them,” he threw away the skins. “They don’t want us to worry about them.”

“Should we be worried?” You asked him. Cooper shook his head.

“Nat is the best for a reason. She’ll be fine.” You cleaned the dish quickly. “I’m surprised Nate gave us this much of a break. Ready?” You nodded and followed him outside. You tried to push the worry down. Why did you get a bloody nose? The last time you got one was 2 winters ago. It was cold in the city and your nose got dry. But now Cooper made you worry about Natasha. He was right. She was the best for a reason but a nagging feeling grew inside you. You just got Natasha, you couldn’t lose her.

Taglist: @bookworm2107

167 notes · View notes

lucky-bishova-42 · 2 months ago

Text

Two Hawks and A Widow

(this is a prequel to Malen'kiy Yastreb - it is Natasha's POV during the events of the Hawkeye TV show :) )

“I think they went down this way,” I pant, chasing after an irate Hawkeye down the streets of New York. Up in the distance I can see shadows of the supposed Ronin fighting what looks like the Tracksuit Mafia, “Oh great, not these guys again.”

“I can’t believe this is even happening,” Clint huffs, turning the corner and stopping to scope out the scene a bit more before deciding how to intervene.

“Well if—”

“I don’t want to hear it right now, Natasha,” Clint grumbles, knowing that I was about to point out that this whole thing could’ve been prevented if he would’ve just had a bonfire as soon as we defeated Thanos.

We both fall silent for a moment as we watch the Ronin take down several members of the Tracksuits.

“This person isn’t bad,” I point out, “although they look a little inexperienced. And now that we are closer, they look kinda small.”

I am not gonna lie, I am kinda impressed. They took down at least thirty men so far, despite their amateur fighting style.

“I don’t care what they look like, I am putting a stop to this,” Clint grunts, watching the Ronin start to get slightly overwhelmed with an increasing number of Tracksuits surrounding them, “Stay back until I subdue the Tracksuits.”

I nod and shift back into the shadows, biting back the suggestion that if I help, this would go a lot quicker. But, when he is like this, sometimes it is easier to just let him do what he wants.

Clint quickly disposes of the rest of the Tracksuits and pulls the said Ronin down the alley I was waiting in.

As Clint drags them down, I realize that this person is a LOT smaller than we had originally thought.

I wonder if this person is younger.

He pushes them against the wall rather roughly, and something in my gut almost makes me yell at Clint to be gentler with them.

Clint grabs the hood and rips it off to reveal—

“Oh, you have GOT to be kidding me!” Clint gripes.

He stole the words right out of my mouth.

No wonder this Ronin was so short.

A teenager, who can’t be more than 13, looks up at us with wide eyes.

“I—I— Y-You’re Hawkeye! And you’re Black Widow!” the teen stutters.

“Who the hell are you?!” Clint immediately asks.

“I’m Kate. Kate Bishop,” the girl, Kate, pants, “I—”

“Where the hell did you get this, kid?! How old are you?!” Clint cuts her off.

“Well I—”

“Do you know what you have done?!”

“Easy Clint,” I butt in before Clint can further harass the kid, “Let’s let her catch her breath. She just took out at least 40 guys.”

The girl sends me a grateful smile and continues to try to regulate her breathing. Once both her and Clint calm down a bit, Clint and I are both shocked to find out she is only 14 years old and got the suit at while staking out a black-market auction that was taking place beneath the charity auction her mother was hosting. I suggest that we get off the streets and take the kid somewhere to change out of the suit. She proposes to go to her Dad’s old apartment.

“So, what is a 14-year-old doing at a black-market auction?” I ask as we are walking to the apartment, making sure to keep her on the inside of the sidewalk so she is safe.

“Trying to figure out why my mother’s new fiancé was doing at said black-market auction,” she swiftly replies, “I don’t trust him. He is very suspicious… And loves swords.”

I have to admit, this kid has balls. Not only did she take out a bunch of the Tracksuit goons, she fully put herself into another dangerous situation by attending this black-market auction.

And to be honest, I don’t know if I fully believe she is 14 years old. I could tell she wasn’t lying when she told us, but she is very small for a 14-year-old.

“I see,” I hum, “does your mom know about your lack of trust in him?”

“No,” Kate frowns slightly, then whispers so softly I can barely hear it, “And it’s not like she would believe me anyway.”

“Could you tell your dad?” Clint asks.

Kate looks back at him before looking down, and I notice a shift in her emotions.

“No, um,” she looks briefly up at Clint and me before looking back down at her feet, “he, um, passed away a while ago.”

“Oh,” Clint says, “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Kate smiles sadly, pausing for a while before stating, “he left me his apartment. I go there sometimes to hang out.”

We continue to walk in silence for a while.

I can’t help but think there is more to her father’s death. The way her whole posture and demeanor changed was drastic; he obviously meant a lot to her. That is a lot for a young teen to go through.

“Should we call your mother to let her know you are okay?” Clint suggests.

“No, it is okay,” Kate shakes her head, before chuckling, “she probably hasn’t even noticed I am gone yet.”

Clint and I share a quick look, wondering what the kid meant by that, and I can tell he is about to ask her what she means by that. But he is cut off by her announcing that we have reached our destination.

The Tracksuits give Russians a bad rep.

Not only do they conduct shady business, but they are not known to be the brightest bulbs in the shop. Especially when they convince themselves that a 14-year-old is the Ronin and has been for all the bullshit that Clint pulled during the Snap years.

After they manage to burn down Kate’s deceased father’s apartment, we take Kate and the dog she saved to one of my safe houses in the city.

I sit her in the kitchen and help her clean her wounds while Clint goes back to the hotel to check on the kids. I was about to help her with the butterfly bandages when I notice she is already putting them on correctly.

“Wow,” I can’t help but be curious, “you are pretty well versed in this. Do you have a lot of experience?”

Kate’s eyes briefly widen before she schools her expression and shrugs her shoulders.

“Not really,” she chuckles slightly, “Maybe it is just from watching so much Grey’s Anatomy.”

I can tell she is lying. She won’t make direct eye contact with me and her hands are fidgety.

“Huh,” I ponder, “didn’t know they fixed minor wounds on Grey’s Anatomy…”

Kate flashes me a quick smile with a shrug and is about to respond when her cellphone starts to ring. When she pulls out her phone, her mom’s contact is flashing on the screen. I can see her face shift into panic before she takes a deep breath and looks back up at me.

“Sorry, it’s my mom, I gotta take this.”

“No worries, kid,” I reassure her, “Let me know if she wants me to bring you home.”

Kate smiles in appreciation before getting up to take the phone call in another room.

While she is gone, I take the time to start cleaning up the first aid supplies. As I am putting the last of the band aids back into the kit, my stomach starts to rumble. The kid might be hungry too. I look over to the clock to see it is well past midnight at this point, but I head over to the cabinet anyway. After looking over my options, I pull out a box of Kraft mac n cheese.

My mind briefly gets pulled back to a very different holiday season in a very different state at a very different time in my life.

I wonder how Yelena is doing? Does she ever think about me?

I shake my head to clear my thoughts and start filling up a pot with water.

By the time Kate comes back into the kitchen, I am just finishing mixing the cheese powder into the macaroni. Her face looks slightly blotchy as if she had been crying, but I try not to comment on it. I send her a small smile as she sits back at the table.

“Are you hungry?” I ask, “You must be after kicking Tracksuit ass for over 20 minutes.”

She chuckles softly, and I count it as a win. I sit across from her and give her a bowl.

“Thanks,” she whispers softly, looking down at the bowl, starting to move the macaroni around.

“No problem,” I reply, pausing before asking, “So… what did your mom say?”

“Oh… um…” she hesitates, “she just asked if I was safe and if I had a place to stay tonight.”

Yet again, I know she is lying. But I know it isn’t just because she wants to stay and help me and Clint. There is more going on.

But I decide not to press too much, “Did she not expect you home tonight?”

“Um no… I was going to stay at my Dad’s tonight.”

Another lie.

“Oh, okay,” I let it slide.

“I think I can probably get a key to my Aunt’s place, she is down in Florida for the winter, and I think I could stay there tonight. Or if not, I can stay at Dad’s once the fire is out. Or–”

“Woah kid,” I stop her nervous thought process, “you can just stay here. You are more than welcome to.”

She immediately pauses and looks shocked, “Oh no, I don’t want to inconvenience you. I mean, I already ruined your night, and I have the dog—”

“You won’t be,” I reassure, “Plus, this way I’ll know you are safe from the Tracksuits. They may be dumb, but they are still dangerous.”

This gets a slight chuckle out of her, “You promise it’s okay?”

“I promise kid. Now finish your mac n cheese, its late and we should get some shut eye.”

I swear this kid is the politest teenager I have ever met. After we ate, she cleaned all the dishes I used (which I was planning on just washing in the morning); she woke up early and made her bed, then made ME coffee and breakfast; and all throughout it all kept apologizing for “ruining Christmas.”

Clint met back up with us at the safehouse after dropping the kids off at the airport with Happy (who will be personally escorting them home). He came with me to drop Kate off at her mother’s work, where she is currently interning. Before we left, we both gave her our phone numbers and let her know that this would most likely be fixed by the end of the day. Clint kept emphasizing his was only for emergencies, but I told her to contact me if she ever needs help.

On our way back to the penthouse, Clint and I start to brainstorm plans on how to disassociate Kate’s name from the suit, once he gets it back from the LARPers of course.

“We could just storm in, then have them all arrested? I could contact Hill,” Clint suggests.

“But who knows if all the Tracksuits will be in one place? Plus, just because we have them arrested, doesn’t mean they won’t still think Kate is the Ronin,” I point out.

“True,” Clint sighs.

“And if we contact Hill, that means paperwork,” I groan, “and I am on vacation; NO paperwork for me.”

“I guess you’re right,” Clint concedes, “you are always right.”

“And don’t you forget it, Birdbrain,” I chuckle.

Silence falls over us while we continue thinking.

“Is it bad I kinda miss the kid?” Clint jokes while we continue walking.

I chuckle, “She was entertaining.”

After another block, an idea hits me, and I let a smirk take over my face. Once Clint notices, horror clouds his features.

“Oh no!” He exclaims, “Not that face! No, what ever you are thinking of, no! It’s not gonna work.”

“What happened to I am ‘always right’?” I laugh.

He groans and wipes his face, taking a deep breath, “All right, Nat, what’s your idea?”

“How about some ‘catch-n-release’?”

Well, this turned out to be a shit show.

Not only did we not get anywhere with the Tracksuits, but Kate managed to get herself caught up in this as well. After a lengthy warehouse battle and a precarious car chase, in which Clint’s hearing aid broke, we bring Kate back to the safehouse. She explains to us that the only reason she came was because a Tracksuit answered Clint’s phone when she tried to call him; which earns him a glare from me because I specifically told him to leave his phone here.

After a long talk about safety, I help Kate dress her new wounds as well as redress her old ones.

“Wow,” Clint signs to me as Kate goes to get changed, “I am not gonna lie, she really is an amazing archer.”

I nod to him, then sign back to him, “No kidding. But she is only a kid, Clint.”

“I know,” he signs back, “but it seems we might not be able to persuade her away to safety. And at least we know she can hold her own.”

“You cannot seriously be trying to convince me to try to let her help.”

“Well let’s be real Nat, if she is with us, at least we will know she won’t be out on her own.”

I sigh.

“Let’s find a place to get your hearing aid fixed.”

Kate recommends a place to get Clint’s hearing aid fixed and the woman who runs the place gets it up and running within 20 minutes. After lunch, we find ourselves following Kate to her mother’s house to try and use her security database to get more intel on Kazi and potentially Kate’s future stepfather.

We don’t have much time to snoop around before Kate’s mother and Kate’s mother’s fiancé come home unexpectedly.

Once her mother comes in, Kate’s demeanor shifts. It’s like she is a completely different teenager than the one we were joking around with earlier. Now she only talks when spoken to and is generally quieter and more drawn into herself.

After introductions, Eleanor suggests we sit down at the table to talk things out.

“Katherine don’t be rude,” Eleanor chastises Kate, “offer your guests refreshments.”

I watch as Kate seems to almost shrink under her mother’s gaze.

“O-Of course,” Kate stutters nervously, “Natasha, Clint, would you like anything to drink?”

“It’s call good, kid,” Clint sends her an easy smile.

Kate sends an uneasy one back.

“I would like my usual, Katherine,” Eleanor interjects, “and Jack would like one as well.”

Kate nods resolutely, “Right away, mom,” and she scurries off into the kitchen.

Clint and I share a look at Kate’s change in behavior.

She almost seems scared.

I am not sure I like this woman.

“So,” Eleanor smiles artificially, “I hope Kate hasn’t been causing you too much trouble.”

“Oh,” I say, “she hasn’t been causing us any trouble at all.”

“Really?” Eleanor is almost shocked, “She can be quite the handful.”

“Hmm,” Clint hums, “No, she has been a big help actually.”

“Well, isn’t that a shock,” Eleanor chuckles, before asking, “So how can I be of help to you?”

“We were really just here to take Kate home,” I lie with a small smile. I have a feeling if we were to tell her anything else, it might not end well; either for Kate or just in general.

“Thank you, then, for making sure she got home safely,” Eleanor acknowledges as Kate comes running back into the room with two whiskey glasses on a tray. Eleanor reaches out and grabs one before sending Kate a steely look, “I am sure Kate won’t cause you any more trouble in the future, right Katherine?”

“Y-yes! Of course!” Kate stammers out quickly.

Okay, I REALLY don’t like this woman. What has she done to Kate to make her this scared?

“If that is all, I can see the two of you out?” Eleanor ‘suggests’ but it feels more like a command.

Clint and I both get up and head to the door, followed by Eleanor. She is talking to Clint, and to be honest, I am not paying any attention. Clint can fill me in later. I am trying to get in eye contact with Kate to make sure she is okay.

I am unfortunately unsuccessful as Clint and I find ourselves back in the elevator on the way back downstairs.

“Well that happened,” Clint breaks the silence.

“Yeah,” I nod, “Eleanor was… not what I was expected.”

“You and me both. She seems like a hard-ass…” Clint agrees, “I am gonna call Laura in a bit to see if she can pull anything on that Sloan Ltd. Company.”

“That sounds good,” I say, and after a brief pause, “Should we invite Kate to the safehouse tonight?”

Clint smirks, “yes, and I have an amazing idea.”

A few hours later, the safe house has slightly more Christmas cheer and Kate is back to being the teenager we met a few days ago. Her and Clint debate the possibility of splitting a wooden arrow and boomerang arrows. Clint teaches her how to flick a quarter and I show her how to tie different knots using tinsel.

“So Clint,” Kate asks, “what was the best shot you have ever took?”

“Ah, let’s see,” Clint puts his finger to his chin pretending to ponder, while sending me a small smile, “it was the one I didn’t take.”

“Woah!” Kate’s eyes light up, “What do you mean?”

I chuckle and sit down on the couch beside Kate as Clint gears up to tell his story.

“Picture this,” Clint starts, “It is almost 20 years ago. I am a new agent and I get sent on a mission to take out this Russian spy who keeps thwarting all of SHIELD’s operations. And when I get there, I had a clear shot at the target. But the target was just someone who wanted out. Someone who wanted to find a different path in life.”

“And I thank every star in the sky that you didn’t release that arrow,” I smile sincerely.

Kate then looks between me and Clint with a soft smile on her face. And after a minute, she responds, “that is the best shot you have ever taken.”

Clint and I chuckle.

We seem to be in this awful pattern where things seem to be going completely fine but then fall apart so rapidly, I can’t keep up. I couldn’t tell you how we ended up on a roof top, fighting Maya and a Widow, Kate almost plummeting to the ground, and in an even more fucked up situation than what we started in.

And don’t get me wrong. I understand Clint is mad and scared; I am too, especially since Maya seemed to be able to find out Laura and the kids’ names; but that is no reason for him to be yelling at Kate like that.

Once he starts, its like her whole body goes on autopilot. Like she has been yelled at like this before.

She listens to his whole rant, tries to argue her side, but ultimately gives up and goes home. After she leaves, he turns to me to continue ranting.

I hold up my hand, “I don’t want to hear it, birdbrain. If you want to scream about it, go ahead, but I will not be listening to it.”

He looks like he is going to start coming at me now so I butt in before he can.

“Save it,” I cut him off, knowing that this won’t get us anywhere and I can’t deal with him when he is like this, “Go cool off and get your head back into the game. There was no need for you to yell at Kate like that. While you finish your temper tantrum, I am gonna go see what I can dig up about that Widow.”

With that, I propel myself down the side of the building and follow in the direction the Widow fled in. I try to put myself back into full Widow mindset to get an idea of where she could have gone.

After about an hour or so of searching, I finally catch up to her. She gets spooked and I end up chasing her through the streets of the city until I corner her in an alley.

When she realizes she can’t get out, she starts to square her shoulders as if to gear up for another fight.

I am getting too old for this.

I put my hands up in a placating matter, “Hey! Listen, I just wanna talk.”

She pauses her actions and almost tilts her head in confusion.

“Widow to Widow,” I add on, “I promise. I am not looking for another fight.”

This seems to work as her body language changes into a slightly less defensive position.

I sigh in relief as she reaches to take off her mask.

Wait! I know this Widow.

“Ana?” I stutter in disbelief.

“Hello, Natalia,” she smiles back uneasily.

I send her a small smile back. I haven’t seen Ana since my last mission for the Red Room. I wonder if she got out before I took it down.

“What are you doing here?” I ask her.

“Listen, if I knew that was you and your friend up there, I swear I would have never taken the job,” she explains, “and I will be letting my employer know I won’t be finishing it—”

“What job?”

“There is a hit out for your friend,” she clarifies, starting to look nervous and upset, “but I swear I didn’t know it was your friend, I promise I am going to back off.”

Of course there is a hit out on Clint. Add it to the list of things we have to deal with.

“It is totally okay, I believe you,” I reassure her, then joke, “you are not the first Widow who has tried to kill us.”

She lets out a soft chuckle.

“Do you know who put out the hit?” I ask.

“Unfortunately, I do not,” Ana looks down, and I know she is telling the truth, “I get my contracts through a third party so I don’t interact directly with the clients.”

“I see,” I hum.

“I can do some digging though,” Ana offers, “it probably won’t be too hard, the system they use is most likely flawed anyways.”

I smile, “that would be great.”

“Anything for a fellow Widow,” she smiles back, “especially one who beat up one of Dreykov’s goons for me.”

I chuckle.

“Are you okay after that fight?” I ask, “I thought I saw you get hit with a bullet.”

She smirks, “It’s just a graze. Nothing I haven’t dealt with before.”

“Here,” I hold my hand out, “let me give you my number.”

She hands me her phone and I quickly put my number into it.

“Here you go,” I say, “And if you ever need anything, please feel free to reach out.”

“Thank you, Natalia,” Ana surprises me by stepping forward and giving me a tight hug which I quickly return.

“I am so glad you got out,” I whisper.

“Me too,” she whispers back, giving me one last squeeze before letting me go. She shoots a grappling hook up the side of the building to our left and sends me a nod, “Just because I am turning down this job, doesn’t mean someone else won’t pick it up. It was a lot of money.”

I nod back.

“Stay safe, Ana.”

“You too, Romanoff.”

And with that, she is gone.

By the time I make it back to the safe house, it is morning and Clint still seems angsty. I inform him of his new current predicament, but he just huffs and turns back to his coffee.

How can a man in his late 30s still act like a teenager?

I roll my eyes and head into the living room.

After a few minutes of debate, I decide to text Kate to make sure she got home okay and is safe. I asked her to text me last night when she got home, but I never got a reply. There is something about this kid that just makes me want to protect her from anything and everything.

Every minute I don’t get a reply, my worry increases. Aren’t kids her age obsessed with their phones?

My phone finally buzzes a full 25 minutes later.

Kate, 9:55: I am home. Sorry I didn’t text last night. Mom wasn’t too happy I was out late and forgot to do chores :/

Something about that text doesn’t sit right with me. I can’t put my finger on it, but why do I get the feeling something else happened last night when she got home?

I unfortunately cannot dissect those thoughts further because Clint comes into the living room and asks for more details about the hit out on him.

“So how did you get this Widow to talk again?” he asks.

I roll my eyes good-naturedly, “I didn’t ‘get her to talk’, I just talked to her… She was in the same year as me in the Red Room.”

“Oh,” he realizes, “I see. I getcha… So, what did she say exactly?”

“Did you even listen to anything I said earlier?” I huff, starting to get annoyed.

“I did! I did!” he defends, “I just… maybe... wasn’t paying attention?”

I huff again and proceed to repeat everything I told him earlier, this time with a slight impatience to my voice. After taking in all the information, properly this time, Clint doesn’t really offer any solutions.

“Well, it isn’t the first time there has been a hit put out on me,” he shrugs.

Again, I roll my eyes.

I go to argue that this is a very different situation than the last times because before he didn’t have a family who counted on him.

But honestly, I am too tired to argue.

“Then what is your plan in dealing with the Tracksuits?” I ask.

“Okay, now picture this…”

Clint walks me through his plan of meeting up with Maya and the Tracksuits to reveal that he, himself, is the Ronin; and how to try and get them off his back before it escalates even further up the chain of command.

“Now, are you sure you want to go in alone?” I confirm with him, “Because it would really be no trouble, and honestly smarter, if I was to hang out on one of the rooftops nearby.”

“No Nat, I promise,” he turns me down, “I need to do this by myself.”

I nod, understanding where he is coming from, “Okay, but if you end up hurt or killed, I am telling Laura it is your fault; then I am stealing her for myself.”

He laughs.

Clint leaves right after dinner; leaving me alone with the dog Kate had rescued. Knowing all I would do is stare at the dot of his tracker on my map until he comes back, I decide to grab the dog’s leash and take him on a quick walk around the neighborhood.

“Kate still has to name you properly,” I say down to the pup, who looks up at me with a tilted head and a smile, “I wonder if her mother would even let her keep you. Between you and me, I don’t like that woman.”

The dog huffs in agreement.

“Right! It seems like there is more going on with that situation, huh?”

He sends me another cute smile. This time I can’t resist in bending down to pat his head and smiling back.

“Aw. You are a good boy. Maybe Clint or I could keep you and Kate could come visit?”

We continue our walk in a peaceful silence. Once we reach the safehouse, I feed him and make myself a coffee.

Clint texts me that he made it to the location and will only text me again if he needs my help or when he is on his way back.

Hopefully he will be okay.

I look up to see that it is already almost 4 a.m. and debate putting down my coffee and getting some rest.

But I can’t bring myself to.

Even though I have been partners with Clint since I was a little over 18, and know he is fully capable of doing this by himself, everything that has happened over the past few years has made me nervous somehow.

I don’t sit in my worry long; however, as my phone buzzes again.

Ana, 4:03: Hi Natalia, I found out who hired me.

Ana, 4:03: Her name is Eleanor Bishop. She is a rich New York socialite who owns a security company: Bishop Securities.

Oh shit.

My phone buzzes again.

Ana, 4:04: I also found this, I am not sure if it will be helpful or not.

Ana, 4:04: *video attachment*

Ana, 4:05: Stay safe.

I click on the video and am met with a disturbing sight of Eleanor Bishop having a ‘business meeting’ with Wilson Fisk.

The only guy that Clint and I didn’t want getting involved in this situation.

Well this just got a whole lot more complicated.

I sigh and turn my attention back to the video.

In the video, she openly admits to killing Armand Duquesne III and framing her fiancé, as well as other crimes she dealt for Fisk.

Honestly, I am not that surprised. My gut had been telling me something was off, and this was definitely it. I can’t even imagine what Kate is going to do when she finds out—

Wait.

What about Kate?

What is gonna happen to Kate? Surely, she cannot stay in that house, her mother killed someone and is working with Kingpin.

And is she safe in that house right now?

I frantically grab my laptop and start running a trace on her phone. It takes a few moments, but when the location pops up, it is surprisingly not at her house.

Wait, is that?

I roll my eyes.

Of course she tracked Clint’s phone and followed him to his meeting with the Tracksuits. I sigh, but ultimately feel somewhat more relieved knowing she is potentially with Clint.

Looking up at the clock, even though it is nearing 5 a.m., it is still the middle of the night in California. I debate back and forth before ultimately pulling up my contacts and hitting dial on a number I never thought I would actually need to use.

Thank you Bruce, in advance.

After a few rings, the woman on the other line picks up, ‘Hello?’

“Hi, is this Jen Walters?”

‘Yes, it is. I swear if this is another prank call—’

“No I promise its not, sorry for the late call, but I need some legal advice?” I say uncertainly, not really knowing how to approach this situation.

‘Okay… do you mind telling me who is calling before I just go offering this advice?’

“Oh! Yes, sorry. My name is Natasha Romanoff,” I rush out, then add, “I am friends with Bruce.”

‘Oh my god! The Natasha Romanoff?’

“Yes,” I chuckle, “that’s me.”

‘I have heard so much about you from Bruce! And can I just say: I can’t believe he fumbled a gal like you!’

This I full on laugh at.

“I love your cousin, but I was never interested in him that way and I had to let him down gently,” I joke, “And let’s just say he wasn’t really my type.”

‘What, nerdy?’ she laughs.

“No, a man,” I chuckle.

She snorts over the phone.

‘I don’t blame ya there,’ she says, ‘So what can I help you with Natasha?’

“It is a bit of a long story…”

I proceed to tell her all about how we met Kate, leaving out any Ronin details, and how Kate’s living situation is not ideal and will most likely turn for the worse once her mother inevitably gets arrested. She tells me there is personally not much she can currently do, but she patches in a Social Worker who creates a case for Kate and we talk options.

Ultimately, when Eleanor gets arrested, Kate will most likely get put into foster care. She only has one living family member in the form of a great aunt, who I am guessing is the one she talked about the night we met, that unfortunately got diagnosed with dementia a few months ago and is now is a care facility in Florida.

I ask if there is another option outside of foster care, because I have heard the horror stories from Clint about his experience, and we all agree that it probably would be better if Kate was with people she knew.

Janine offers up a solution: that I could become an emergency foster placement for Kate.

I thought it would take me longer to decide, but I surprised myself in immediately agreeing to the idea.

‘I can email over some paperwork now if you would like to sign it and send it back,’ Janine, the social worker, informs me, ‘that way we can have everything squared away as soon as possible so whenever Kate needs to stay with you there will be no legal issues.’

‘Yeah,’ Jen adds, ‘And I can help cut through all the red tape stuff and get the process fast tracked, so don’t worry about that.’

“Okay,” I say, “is there anything else that will need to be done?”

‘Not right at this moment,’ Janine assures, ‘but call me if or when Eleanor gets arrested and we can talk more from there.’

“Sounds good,” I reply, “Thank you. Both of you.”

‘Anytime,’ Janine says, ‘Call me if you have any questions.’

‘And feel free to call me too,’ Jen adds, ‘A friend of Bruce is a best friend of mine!’

I chuckle as we all say goodbye and hang up.

Less than 20 minutes later, the paperwork is sitting in my inbox and I go to click on it, but I pause.

Am I really going to do this?

Then I think of Kate.

She truly reminds me of myself at times; like how she seems like she was forced to grow up quicker than she needed to, and how she seems to put everyone else’s safety and wellbeing before her own. She has been such a bright addition to this incredibly shitty situation.

I smile and click open the file.

By the time I sign everything and send it back to Janine, Clint and Kate walk through the safehouse door.

Kate seems so much happier than the last time I saw her; her and Clint are recounting their previous battle and I can’t help but smile.

But my mood dampens when I remember what I am about to tell them.

“Hey Natasha!” Kate smiles over at me brightly, “Wanna hear about how I just saved Clint’s ass, yet again?”

Clint rolls his eyes with a friendly huff, “I had the whole situation under control.”

“Sure you did,” Kate drawls sarcastically.

I send them a soft smile and motion for them to come join me in the living room, “As much as I would love that, I have some information I need to tell you guys.”

Clint catches my eyes and seems to figure out that the information I have is more serious because the grin he had drops off his face, “What’s wrong?”

“Ana, the Widow who was on the rooftop that night, figured out who hired her to kill you,” I announce, looking at Clint.

“Who?” Kate asks, her eyes jumping between me and Clint.

I take Kate’s hand and give it a soft squeeze, “it was your mother, Kate.”

Telling Kate that her mother killed a man, was involved in Kingpin’s business, and put a hit out on Clint was like a punch to the gut.

Initially, Kate did not react. When she did, she started to panic, insisting that we should go home and enjoy Christmas and that she would clean up ‘her own mess.’ We reassured her that we were her partners and weren’t going anywhere. And that the ‘mess’ that we were in was not hers but rather her mother’s (and slightly Clint’s but I didn’t add that) and that it was not her fault.

She has been pretty quiet ever since.

Her and Clint are currently making arrows for tonight while I map out our exit routes. Clint looks up at me then down at Kate with a forlorn look on his face. I send him a soft smile, and get up to go join them.

“What kinda arrow are ya making there, malen’kiy yastreb?” I ask Kate, not even realizing the nickname I let slip out.

Kate just shrugs and looks up to Clint for an answer. Clint smiles softly, “That’s a freeze arrow.”

Kate nods and then goes back to working on her arrow. I swear I hear her sniffle, but I don’t see the presence of tears on her cheeks. I frown up at Clint.

“So Katie-kate,” Clint tries, “How fancy is this party we are going to later?”

“Pretty fancy,” Kate hums.

“Great,” Clint chuckles sarcastically, “time to drag out the ol’ trusty suit and tie.”

Kate chuckles, “My dad also hated to dress up for it.”

I softly smile at Kate when she looks up at us.

“He would’ve loved to meet you guys,” Kate states, “But he would be glad that you guys are here to keep me safe. And that you kept me safe that day…”

I share a look with Clint and we both stay quiet and leave our body language open so Kate will hopefully elaborate more.

“You saved me that day,” Kate looks up at Clint, “the day the aliens came to New York. The Chitari I think they were called?”

My eyes widen slightly and I look over to Clint who seems to be hanging on Kate’s every word.

“Our building got hit pretty hard and there was this big hole in the side. I remember just standing there, almost unable to move, when an alien guy was coming straight for me. But right before it got to me, it got taken out by an arrow. I looked behind to see you, just a regular guy, fighting frickin’ aliens with a stick and a string,” Kate chuckles softly as a tear runs down her face, “I decided that day to start learning how to shoot, because I know it could save my life, or someone else’s, someday.”

She wipes the tear off her face and continues, “Our building ended up collapsing that day. Dad didn’t make it out…”

“I am so sorry, Kate,” I wrap her in a tight hug.

She initially flinches, but gradually starts to lean into it.

“It’s okay,” Kate sniffles pulling back, “it was a while ago.”

“That doesn’t mean that it doesn’t hurt anymore,” Clint says, “But I am glad you survived that day.”

Kate sends us both small smiles, “If I didn’t who would’ve saved your ass today, old man?”

Clint laughs.

After a very long and taxing conversation, where we were basically pleading with Kate to have her stay back so she is safe, we reluctantly are all headed to the Christmas party to find Kate’s mother and hopefully end all of this.

I know if we made her stay back, she would have just ended up following us anyway and potentially creating a MORE dangerous situation. But at least this way, we can have more control over what is going on.

“Kate, remind me again of YOUR tasks and rules for tonight,” I ask her.

“I find my mom, take her somewhere safe, then stay out of sight,” she drones.

“And what else?” I nudge her shoulder.

She sighs heavily, “I will stay out of sight and safe, and not put myself in danger.”

“Correct,” Clint and I hum in unison.

“It is for your own safety kid,” Clint reminds her, “this can get ugly really fast. This is the best way we will know you will be okay, because I am gonna need someone around to bug me about boomerang arrows.”

This earns a chuckle from Kate.

“And only use your bow and trick arrows if necessary,” I tack on then hand her an earpiece, “here put this is your ear. Let us know if/when you need help.”

“And remember the LARPers will be around the party as well if we can’t get to you right away,” Clint adds.

“Okay, got it,” Kate nods resolutely.

“Alright partners,” Clint cheers, throwing an arm around each of us, “Let’s give ‘em hell.”

Ana was right. Another Widow picked up the contract that Eleanor put out to have Clint killed. Luckily, I don’t have to worry about Kate as I chase this Widow through Rockefeller Center. She had found Eleanor about 10 minutes ago and told Clint and I that she was safe in the kitchen with her.

Although I don’t know if I would use the word ‘safe’ in the same sentence as ‘Eleanor.’

After a long ass, almost playful, fight with this Widow; I explain the situation to her, and she easily backs off.

Then I find myself on the Rockefeller ice rink with Clint taking down what has to be over 200 Tracksuits. And of course they are all wearing red and green suits tonight. Honestly, I can’t blame them for wanting to get into the spirit.

As we take the last one down, Clint and I look over to see Maya fighting Kazi over on the diagonal from us.

“Huh, seems like that alliance fell apart,” Clint observes.

I nod, “Maybe she finally started asking the right questions and didn’t get the answers she wanted.”

“Hmm,” Clint hums, “Well, that is one thing we potentially don’t have to deal with.”

“Yeah,” I agree, stretching my limbs before offering, “let’s go find Kate.”

“Hey kid, we are on our way back up to you,” Clint says over the earpiece as we start towards the building.

We pause when nothing but static comes back over our earpieces.

“Kate?” I try.

Nothing.

We share a nervous look as we pick up our pace and move towards the building faster. As we enter the building, we pick the fastest route towards the kitchen Kate and her mother are supposed to be hiding in.

Once we get to the kitchen, we find it empty.

Clint sighs, “Oh great.”

I was already uneasy when Kate didn’t answer us back earlier, but now the feeling starts to intensify. I shove down the feeling as I pull out the tracker on my phone.

“The tracker shows she is down the block at… FAO Shwartz?” I inform Clint confusedly.

“Let’s go then,” Clint nods.

As we get closer to the store, we see start to see the flash of police cars. Getting to the store front, we find Kate sitting on the curb with a Police officer standing next to her, and many of them walking about.

Kate is now just dressed in her new suit the LARPers made for her and seems to have some cuts on her face.

Clint nods to me and he goes off to talk to the police officers. I walkover to where Kate is sitting, send the police officer a smile, and sit down next to Kate.

Kate jumps slightly as I sit down before schooling her expression.

“Hey malen’kiy yastreb,” I bump her shoulder with mine.

“Hey,” she replies softly, “sorry I didn’t stay in that kitchen…but my mom left and I wanted to make sure she would be okay, I guess her and Fisk’s deal went south this morning, and I just didn’t know what to do, and—”

“It’s okay, Kate,” I reassure her, sending her a soft smile, “I understand.”

“Mom got arrested,” Kate states in a semi-monotone voice, staring off at the flashing lights.

“I know,” I answer back, softly.

We sit in relative silence for a few moments before she speaks up again.

“I took down Fisk,” she states, in the tone.

I let the smallest bit of surprise take over my features.

Damn, this kid really does have balls.

“Really?” I ask, she hums an affirmative, “That is really impressive, Kate.”

She nods with a half-smile, before letting her features go back to the neutral state it was before.

If she fought Fisk, she probably has more injuries than just those cuts on her face.

I look up to see an ambulance pulling up to the area the police have blocked off. I nudge Kate to get her attention.

“Why don’t we get you checked out really quick?” I point over to the ambulance.

“Oh, I think I am okay,” Kate tries to persuade me.

“Trust me, Kate,” I chuckle as I stand up, “once your adrenaline wears off, you might think differently.”

I hold my hand out for her to take, and she hesitates for a minute before taking my hand.

As she is getting looked over by the paramedic, I keep enough of a distance so that she can have some privacy but close enough that I am here if she needs me.

I hear the paramedic say that she probably has a concussion and broken ribs, and that she strongly suggests Kate goes to the hospital. Kate pretty much refuses, but let’s the paramedic continue to patch her up.

I sigh.

Clint walks back up to me, “How’s the kid?”

“She took Fisk down by herself,” I inform him.

I watch as his eyes widen and his eyebrows rise towards his hairline, “Wow… is she okay?”

I shrug, “she seems to be adamant that she is okay and doesn’t need to go to the hospital.”

Clint chuckles and smirks, “Welp, I can’t say anything without being hypocritical.”

“What did you find out?” I ask him.

“I guess they came here to arrest Eleanor, and when they got here, they also found Fisk unconscious inside the store. But I guess as they were in the process of actually arresting Eleanor, Fisk must’ve woken up and got out somehow.”

“You don’t seem super worried about that,” I notice he still has that easy smirk on his face.

“Well… let’s just say I heard an Echo tell me that she took care of it,” Clint’s smirk widens.

“Ahh, I see…” I smile.

We both look over to see the paramedic finishing up with Kate.

I will need to call Janine and Jen later… I am strangely happy about that.

“Shall we get Kate and head home?” Clint nudges me.

“Yeah,” I smile, “let’s go.”

And with that, we head over to the teen sitting on the back of the ambulance.

#kate bishop #mama nat #mama spider #malen’kiy yastreb #natasha romanoff #marvel #nat is gonna be kate's mom #clint barton #hawkeye #clint barton is a good bro #kate needs a hug #natasha is alive

18 notes · View notes