Chapter 19
THE NEXT NIGHT…
YELENA’S P.O.V
Yelena held her niece’s hand tightly as they walked up from the Herman's Hearty Slice pizzeria to Kate’s apartment. They had just made it back to New York after rescuing Lena, and she could already tell that the little one was having a hard time processing everything that had happened. Quicker than expected, they’d made it back to that glade under the cover of darkness and met up with Mason so he could hide the helicopter again.
Now they were back in the city, “…ready to FINALLY rest,” as Kate put it. As soon as they made it to the door, they were welcomed by the dogs plus Grills who Kate had asked to watch them at his place till they got back.
“Thanks for doing this, bud.” Kate sighed, rubbing her forehead with her arm. She unlocked the door and they all walked in.
“Nah, you kiddin’?” Grills replied as if she sounded crazy. “Next-generation Avengers, AND my friends? You don’t have to pay me or anything to do this for you.”
‘Next-generation Avengers’ didn’t exactly sit well with Yelena. But then again, if Grills knew what she and Kate were doing and saw that they’d come back successfully, it made some sense for him to look at them that way. So she just didn’t say anything.
Both dogs ran to Lena, trying to catch up on the cuddles they had missed from their little bestie during those past several days. However, the child stumbled backwards into her aunt’s hold. Yelena scooped her up, despite how badly her two bullet holes and other injuries were still hurting. She and Kate both had to check themselves over soon, too.
The former widow noticed how the girl flinched when Fanny barked, hovering around them playfully and wanting attention. She also saw Kate flinch as well, wincing a bit. But the archer continued to pet Lucky as if it hadn’t happened.
“It’s okay.” Yelena kissed the side of her niece’s head. “Fanny, sit. Good girl.” She smiled, scratching her dog behind her ears when Fanny followed her command. “Do you want to pet Fanny?” Yelena asked the kid gently. “She misses you.”
Lena stared at the dog before hiding her face in her aunt’s shoulder, her little hands forming fists around Yelena’s white suit. Yelena shared a concerned look with Kate. She hated to see her niece so scared, especially since she could understand exactly how the child was feeling. The emotional wounds from the Red Room AND having to see Natasha leave again were still raw. Loud over-excited barking didn’t exactly help.
-/-
Before giving the little one a warm bath, Yelena went through every single bruise or scrape on her. They were all well taken care of and she could presume it was thanks to Natasha since the Red Room could hardly care less about the future-widows’ injuries.
Yelena took her niece’s right arm, caressing the reddened mark around the child’s wrist with her thumbs. She pressed a gentle kiss on it as a small smile appeared on the girl’s face.
“Mama kissed it better every morning.” the five-year-old told her. Yelena just couldn’t avoid a smile.
“And did she make it feel better?” she asked while gently poking her sides. “Just like YOU made Auntie Kate’s hand feel better?”
“Yeah,” the child answered with a small giggle.
“I’m glad, malyshka.”
The five-year-old was slowly going back to her true self now that she was here in New York, back where she was comfortable. But she was still a bit quieter than she would normally be. For Yelena, it was not surprising—almost expected, actually—having been in a place where talking without permission would only lead to a harsh punishment.
“Come on, let’s get you a nice bath. Wash away your troubles…” Come to think of it, with all the cuts, bruises, dirt, and scorch marks, she and Kate Bishop could have used some good cleaning themselves.
-/-
“She doing ok?” Kate asked quietly, holding a pizza box to her brow as she sat on the couch the next morning.
“I think so.” Noticing the pizza box, Yelena gave Kate a weird look. “Is that how you prepare pizza?”
“No, just multitasking.” she replied plainly. “Reducing swelling, thawing Pizza Dog’s breakfast.”
Yelena rolled her eyes with a laugh as she took the other end of the couch. “Well, she’s still asleep at least. I turned the alarm clock off and everything. Hopefully she’ll get plenty more hours and be able to relax more today.”
“Night changes many thoughts,” said Kate.
“Well, that’s a deep one.” Yelena sounded impressed.
“It’s from Lord of the Rings. Aragorn.”
“Oh. Course it is.”
Kate laughed, “Were you paying zero attention during the Extended Editions?”
“Lot to absorb, Kate Bishop.”
The archer gave Yelena a playful punch in the arm which only got them both laughing. Kate looked up at the loft, a smile still on her face. “Anyway, she’ll probably get up at lunch and the first thing on her mind will be what she wants for ‘breakfast’.”
-/-
Yelena and Kate decided to keep little Lena in one spot for a while to settle. After all, the dogs were here and it was where they’d first arrived. Plus, Kate’s idea of using archery with harmless arrows for coping seemed like an even better idea now. So they agreed about having the kid’s toy bow and arrows over, and they could go downstairs to the pizzeria whenever.
Kate was very good with the kid, but Yelena wanted to make up for time she’d spent with her eyes more focused on the woman she’d thought was her friend. So she handed over her keys and Kate had gone out after the white jumpsuit and black quilted vest were fresh from the dryer. Yelena had handed off the strongbox with her weapons, too, saying to just leave the stuff in her room when grabbing some extra clean clothes. She’d never felt such a need to relax unarmed in her life, and Kate’s apartment felt like the best place to take her mind off things.
As Yelena sat at the dinner table after her shower, she noticed how her niece chowed down on her pizza with a nervous look in her big blue eyes.
“Hey, Lena,” She stopped the child from taking one more huge bite from the slice of pizza. Yelena was honestly scared the kid would choke on the food. “No one is going to take your food away, okay? We don’t do that here. Remember?” she said calmly, the kid also relaxing after a moment. “One bite at a time. Even Pizza Dog over there knows it.”
Little Yelena looked over at Lucky who lay on his bed panting quietly with a broad smile. Fanny walked over to the five-year-old and simply sat on her haunches. As Lena moved the pizza away, the akita simply laid her head and paws on the kid’s lap. Using her free hand, the little girl slowly ruffled her fur, seeming to readjust to the nice dog.
“See?” Yelena said tenderly. “Just wants a little love. And she knows you do, too.”
The kid smiled faintly as Fanny stayed there with her. When she finished her pizza, she hastily sat on the floor hugging the dog, having missed all this terribly.
“Want cuddles? Hmm?” Fanny lay her forelegs over Lena’s shoulder as she rested her small face in the soft fur. Eventually the dog lay on her back panting happily. She let Lena rub her belly with a laugh and pet her. “Sweet girl… Been a good girl?” It wasn’t long before Fanny tackled her playfully, the kid laughing and hugging her like a pillow. “I missed you, too, Fanny. Missed you so much.”