“Dance, when you're broken open. Dance, if you've torn the bandage off. Dance in the middle of the fighting. Dance in your blood. Dance when you're perfectly free.”
― Rumi
“Lena!” Kate called out as she entered the common room. “Lena!”
The kitchen door swung quietly on its hinges as a smiling Yelena Belova entered the room, holding a pan, and two forks. “Hungry?”
“Mac and cheese?” Kate smiled back. “And two forks?”
“Da, Kate Bishop.” Yelena shook her head, releasing her hair from its loose updo, spilling blonde waves down over her shoulders and hiding her eyes for a moment. “And something special or dessert?”
Kate narrowed her eyes and tilted her head slightly to one side. “Did I miss something? What’s the special occasion.”
Yelena blushed, and dipped her eyes, staring at the pot in her hand. “It’s been a year since we met in your old apartment.”
Kate’s mouth dropped in surprise, and she rushed forward, taking the pan and forks, and setting them on a small table. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t realize…”
Yelena interrupted Kate’s apology by pulling her down and kissing her lightly on the lips. “I was never able to hold on to little moments like that before. Now…” She paused and smiled playfully. “Now I can savor them all.”
The two women sat down across from one another and ate in peaceful, comfortable silence. As she took her last bite, Kate connected her phone to the room’s sound system, and as the soft strains of music started to come through the speakers, she stood and held out her hand to Yelena. “Dance with me?”
Pain filled Yelena’s eyes as she looked up. “Nyet!” The chair flew back, crashing into the wall and the small blonde disappeared though the door.
>>>
Kate moved up and down the hallways looking for Yelena. She turned down another corridor and bumped into Clint. “Sorry.” She growled and started to move.
“Whoa, Kate. What’s going on?” Clint asked, reaching for her arm, stopping before he could grab her. “What’s going on?”
“I--I upset Lena.” Kate frowned. Her eyes were full of pain. “I just asked her to dance.”
Clint stopped short and let out a shocked, painful breath. “Oh!” His eyes went wide. “I forget sometimes that she only has specific memories of Nat.”
Kate’s face fell further. “Nat? What does she have to do with dance?”
“Take a break from search and rescue for a few minutes. Let me show you something.” Clint offered, holding out his hand.
“O-okay.” Kate responded reluctantly.
>>>
Five minutes later, Kate found herself sitting on the small couch in Clint’s quarters. She sat quietly, her feet bouncing nervously on the floor as Clint inserted a DVD into a small player on the shelf beside his TV. “Melina sent this to me about six months ago. I think Yelena has one too.”
He sat down in his recliner, and pressed play on the remote.
For the next forty-five minutes, Kate watched in awe as Natasha danced on the screen. She could feel her eyes burning as the video came to an end. “Oh my--what did I do?”
“You didn’t do anything, Kate.” Clint sighed. “We don’t talk about Nat enough, not like we should.” Clint stared up at the ceiling, wiping his eyes. “And Yelena, she was gone for what felt like five minutes to her. Her sister was gone. She just got her back, and she was gone.”
“Lena…” Kate whispered.
>>>
Kate exited Clint’s room and started to turn down the hall towards her and Yelena’s room when she had a thought. Turning on her heel, she made her way to an older part of the compound.
Kate entered the old barracks and turned left, making her way to a room she knew, but had never visited. As she got closer, she heard the sound of music, the same music she had just heard in Clint’s room.
Silently she turned the knob of the door and pushed it open a crack. Yelena was sitting on the floor of Natasha’s room, a collection of DVDs surrounding her. On the screen, Nat was walking quickly to her mark on the stage. Kate tiptoed across the floor and sat down beside Yelena, “I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”
With wet eyes, Yelena turned and smiled sadly. “It’s okay, Kate Bishop.” Then she leaned closer and added quietly. “I’m sorry too.”
Scooting behind her, Kate wrapped her arms around Yelena and pulled her back, allowing the woman to recline, and together they watched the video in silence.
>>>
As the video ended, Yelena, completely out of character, turned and hid her face in Kate’s neck. Kate wrapped her arms around Lena’s shoulders and pulled her in tight. “I’ve got you, Lena.”
“I never got to see her dance.” Yelena cried. “I never got to say goodbye. I never got to say, ‘I love you’.” She continued to sob into Kate’s shoulder.
Kate didn’t speak, she simply continued to hold Yelena, rubbing soft circles on her back. Finally, Lena started to calm down, sniffling and hiccupping into Kate’s shirt. “Want to head back to our room now?”
Lena nodded and allowed Kate to help her up, and they made their way back to their shared room. They dressed together and crawled into bed. They settled down in their usual spots and kissed goodnight. “I love you, Kate Bishop.” Yelena smiled.
Pulling Yelena close. “I love you too, Yelena Belova.”
>>>
Yelena woke late, her hand finding an empty spot, on Kate’s side of the bed. She sat up slowly, shaking away the headache that came from the tension from the night before and slid her feet into Kate’s spotted cat slippers and made her way towards the kitchen. She passed several of her fellow Avengers, but no one spoke, they simply smiled and nodded in her direction.
A huge smile came to her face as the kitchen doors slid open and she saw Kate, lip syncing into a wooden spoon and dancing around the room, preparing what looked to be enough food to feed all the Avengers and several other hero teams. She stared harder as the young woman spun and moved gracefully around the room, mimicking some of the moves she had seen Natasha perform the night before. She felt her chest tighten but didn’t turn away as she admired the precision and dedication she had seen in Natasha, mirrored before her. She cleared her throat loudly, smiling as Kate froze. “Kate Bishop?” She paused and bit her lip. “Teach me to--to dance.”
A huge grin split the brunette’s face…
>>>
Three weeks later…
Yelena stood nervously in her and Kate’s room, staring into the mirror and taking in her outfit for the night. She was dressed in a black dress, cut just above her knee, long sleeves covering her muscular arms. Her makeup was done lightly, just the way she preferred it and her hair was done in a loose braid, much like Natasha had worn the last time she had seen her sister. She smiled at herself, picked up the purple flower that Kate insisted she wear to Laura and Clint’s anniversary party. The door chimed and Yelena turned, a huge smile coming to her lips.
Kate stopped, her dark suit cut exactly right on her body, with a black tie over a deep purple shirt and black boots finishing the look. “Wow!”
Yelena smiled and blushed slightly, then to Kate’s surprise, she pirouetted, causing the dress to spin in waves around her legs. “You like Kate Bishop?” Yelena purred.
“Very much.” Kate smiled. “Are you ready? For tonight?”
Lena took a deep breath and mimicked Kate’s answer. “Very much.”
>>>
A slow song, something popular, started to play and Kate looked at the dance floor, clicking her tongue. She stood up and held out her hand to Yelena. “Are you ready?”
Lena lifted her shot glass to her lips and slammed it back. She took Kate’s outstretched hand and allowed the other woman to lead her to the dance floor. She shivered as Kate spun her once, then placed a hand on her lower back.
Kate smiled down at her girlfriend and felt goosebumps flow up her arms as Yelena slid her hands up and rested them on her shoulders. “Lead on, dorogoy.”
The music peaked and Kate squeezed Yelena’s hand. The two women started to move together, arms, legs and hips moving as one, till the music ended and Kate dipped Yelena and placed a kiss on her soft pink lips. “Thank you, Lena.”
As they stood, Yelena smiled gently, stepped deeper into Kate's arms, and whispered. “No Kate Bishop. Thank you.”