The afternoon sun was dismantling. The score’s 6-4, 6–4, 2–6, 4–6, 6–6 (8-9). Bloody tie break. Yelena takes a large swallow of her drink. She feels her sweat trialing down her forearm as she picked up her towel to wipe it off. She closes her eyes as drowns out the crowd's cheers, taking a few deep breaths in. She hears the umpire count down as she brings herself to stand before stalking back onto the court. She sees her opponent walk back to the opposite end. Kate Bishop. Her messy raven hair swishes in a pony tail as she hobbles to the service line. Yelena could tell the brunette was as tired as she was. They were almost at the four hours mark after all. She grits her teeth, annoyed that she had been staring at the obnoxious pastel purple outfit for that long. Despite the fatigue, Kate’s eyes were sharp as ever. In her hand was the ball and she takes her time to set up her serve. It was her first year ranking in a national championship, a young under-dog turned gladiator of the court. Yelena had not expected much from the girl during the qualifying matches, but all eyes turned when she bested Carol Danvers, third in the world, in the quarter finals. Now, she find herself at risk of losing her title. No. It’s never over till the last point. Like the previous ball, it goes into a long rally. Yelena hesitates a ball that goes down the line. Everything feels like it was in slow motion. Her heart stops and she almost collapses onto the clay surface. It was over. Her racket slips out of her hand as she stares blankly, hearing the crowd roaring into a crescendo. f*ck, f*ck- she should have just dived for it. She definitely could have kept the ball in play for maybe a few more exchanges. She should have-
f*ck.
“Sir, the ball was out.” Kate calls the attention of the umpire.
What? Yelena looked at the girl quizzically. What’s she going on about? Doesn’t she want to win the match?
“Hey! You should challenge it!” The younger girl shouts from across the net. Yelena doesn’t get why she’s doing it, but she swallows her pride about it. “Yeah, I'll challenge on the last ball.” She tells the umpire. “Challenge on last ball. Let us see the cameras.” The umpire announced. The large screen switches to the slow-motion cameras. Ball’s out. The crowd grows excited again.“Deuce! Nine-Nine. Yelena Belova to serve.”
Holy f*ck. She was still in the game. She picks up her racket in disbelief, waving it lightly at Kate as a thanks. The girl returns a thumbs up, her features in a casual smile. Yelena squares her jaw, unsure of the swirling emotion inside of her. Why did pertunia girl do that? She was not some charity case. She hated that call but it kept her in the game. She retrieves a tennis ball from the ball boy and shifts her feet at the service line. A quick toss and serve- they went into a rally once again. She loses the ball when she got tricked and misses a volley to the end line. “Oy! Cool your head!” Yelena hears her sister shout from the side lines. She refuses to look at her, shaking her head in an attempt to rattle her mind to focus. The adrenaline coursing through her now feels more like anxiety. She hates it when she's unnerved, her mind grasping at any sort of cool left. “Ten-Nine. Kate Bishop to serve.” Kate takes her time then, cracking her neck lightly before going to the service line. She bounces the ball a few times as she takes in a few deep breaths. At the ready, the girl takes a step back, then throws the ball up and lunges forward swiftly. The ball cleanly goes towards the court line again and Yelena receives it, just barely. She feels her heart thundering loudly in her chest, her blood pumping through her body and between her ears. f*cking hell.Despite her tiredness, Yelena moves smoothly round the court, pushing her body to keep her focus intact. They go into a long rally, exchanging the ball twenty three times. On the twenty fourth hit, she volleys the ball up, hoping to catch the girl off. But to her surpise, Kate jumps, managing to catch the ball right at the tip of her racket, slamming the ball downwards. Yelena takes a dive, her racket receiving the rebound of a rapid smash from the girl.She runs to the mid-court for a straight drive from Kate, the ball feeling heavy against her racket as she pushes it with all her might across the court. Kate comes running towards the ball like a charging rhino as Yelena eyes widened. No f*cking way she has the energy to-The ball touches Kate’s racket and it ricochets off like a bullet.
Yelena switches her direction mid-step and reaches out for the ball with a backhand. She manages to reach it, the ball spinning directly into the center of her racket. The force hits her, straining her forearms entirely. She grips her racket with both hands feeling as though she was returning a bowling ball. And then her racket flies out of her hands. “Game, set, match: Kate Bishop. 6 –3, 5–7, 6–4, 4–6, 6–6 (11—9).” And just like that, the match is over. ..
.
“No.”
Yelena knows what Natasha was about to say. And whatever that comes after, the answer will still be no.
“You haven’t even heard the pitch yet.” Her sister persisted. They were making their way to the training courts for an early morning session. Yelena spots a few familiar players and gave polite waves, trying to drown out her sister. She knew there was something up when Natasha had made them pancakes for breakfast. Her sister never cooks.
“I said no.”
Natasha had retired two months ago, and for the next two months, had been hounding her about getting a new doubles partner. They had been reigning national champions for the last eight years, how could anyone else come close to the synchronisation she has with her sister? “Look, I already told Clint and he said he was cool. You will still be up against her during the singles tournament, but it’ll be a good challenge for the both of you to have a doubles stint this Paris Open.”They reached their court and Yelena tries her hardest not to roll her eyes. Clint Barton and his protege, Kate Bishop, were already warming up. The girl was dressed up, per usual, like a walking eggplant on the court. The younger girl was jogging up and down the lines, swinging her racket as she finishes a drill.
Kate is there every Saturday morning, either with Clint or a teen boy with wavy brown hair. She stops and gives a devastating smile to Yelena every time Natasha and her passes their training court. Stupid raven hair, cheeky blue eyes and irritating full lips. Her long legs of lean musculature showing from her purple skirt was also annoyingly maddening. It was not that the girl had taken Yelena’s title off her last year. Not at all.“Are you checking her out again?” Yelena could feel Natasha’s smirk from behind.
“No…” She groans. She will not be falling for someone who looks like Grimace’s cousin on the court. And she will not be convinced they are anywhere in sync to be doubles partners. They are rivals. The bitter lost still a scar on Yelena's skin. “Don’t worry. She looks at your ass too.”She curses in russian underneath her breath as her face flushes. Turning away from the people on court, she drops her bag onto the bench by the side lines.
“As my sister, you should not be saying that.” She grumbles, picking out one of her spare rackets. She was here to play tennis, not to find a lay. Natasha laughs. “Maybe you two should have hooked up after your finals match. Then maybe you wouldn’t have such a stick up your ass every time you see her.” “Okay. Okay. Enough. Fine. Just one practice.” She growls, finally relenting to her sister. Maybe if they see that they can’t work together, they’ll drop it and she can focus on her singles tournament. “Am I here to play or not?” “Yes, yes. You are here to play together.” Natasha wriggles her brows at her sister, already elated that her sister had accepted. “Play nicely together.” “Old man! Kate!” Her sister calls out to the other two on court. Clint turns first before gesturing Kate to come over the net. “Hey Nat, hey Yelena. Thanks for making time for us this morning.” Clint smiles. He was a friendly man, and Natasha had been his mixed doubles partner before Yelena started playing doubles with her sister. He had retired after a bad meniscus tear that two surgeries didn’t heal completely and started coaching Kate instead. She had seen Clint play. He was all about accuracy and power- 'a Hawkeye on court' was what the media coined him as. He was an expert at hitting balls straight down the line with the force of a wrecking ball. Kate definitely has mirrored his skill set, managing to hit her balls back right onto the court lines even in a fatigued state. She might even be better than him- if their last match against each other was any indication. Much like Natasha, Yelena was about speed and angles. They were shorter, but quicker on their feet. They were fast, striking at odd angles to make their opponents run for the ball. They were flexible and could recover from dives in a second, with reaction times of a cat to rebound smashes easily. In a way, Yelena and Kate should match the same way Natasha and Clint did. But there’s much more than technical skills at play on the court.“Hey Yelena. Looking forward to us being buddies on court?” Kate gives the older girl a loopy grin. It was annoyingly attractive and Yelena wanted to slap it off her face. She should be serious about this. They were put together for a chance to win, no? This isn't a summer middle grade training camp.
Yelena sighed inwardly. She took a glance towards the exit, maybe she should leave. No, she’ll try this. She’ll give it a chance. One chance. And then Natasha will finally get off her back for this bad idea after seeing Kate's entirely too unserious demeanour. Only for that. “Hello Kate Bishop. Let us start, да?” She replies curtly. “Okay, let’s talk strategy.” Clint pulls over a stand and a huge board decorated with different drawings of tennis courts and shading. “We’re going to try your two doing general Mid-Court and Back placings. Kate behind, Yelena front. But specifically, we’ll train on the Eye and Australian formation.” Huh. Yelena frowns. This was not what she was expecting. She usually does a side by side formation with her sister and had expected the same with Kate seeing how they were both on the same level. “This formation will takes away cross court and middle returns, which the both of you are slightly weaker at. Plus, Yelena can work on net plays more efficiently to cover for Kate’s weakness there. And Kate can strengthen smashing efficiency and volleys.” Clint explains as he gestures towards the board. “If its a drive, we’ll do a fake out with Yelena feigning and Kate taking it. But if Yelena feels like she can do a trick shot, she’ll take it. We’ll work on your communication on court after we see the general dynamics. Sign play is important but we'll do that maybe after the third training session.”So confident of getting another training session out of me huh. Yelena rolls her eyes.
“Clint!” They hear two more voices from behind.
The same teen boy with wavy brown hair Yelena sees enters with another teen girl. They introduced themselves- Peter and MJ, their practice opponents for the day. As soon as they got their warm ups done, their first practice match started. They were on a one-one tie, a few mistakes here and there but nothing too major. They were still getting into a groove and Yelena could let mistakes slide, keeping her irritation to herself. Kate takes the back almost flawlessly- their mistakes mainly due to timing of their formations and how they still can’t read each other’s movements quite yet. She was more used to tactical play, while Kate had a lot more blunt aggression. And that frustrated Yelena, having constantly reminding herself it wasn’t Natasha she was pairing up with. It was not a consolidation that Peter and MJ were also the mixed doubled Under-21 champions and definitely taking it easy on them. They were on a set break, Yelena gulping down her 100 plus drink while Natasha guides the on a receive that Kate had missed. “Look, MJ is using the top part of her racket to hit the ball over. The impact of it on the bumper guard causes the ball to sort of look fuzzy when you try to focus on it. Keep your eyes in the middle of it, Kate. Don’t try to catch all its movement, general ball path will still get you to hit the ball back and not tire your eyes.” Kate nods, listening intently. She lifts the bottom of her shirt to wipe her face and Yelena almost chokes on her sports drink when the girl pulls her whole shirt off. That glimpse of a silver of skin of Kate’s abs before she turned her eyes away got her feeling a knot in her stomach and she hates it. She gives Natasha a nod of acknowledgement before stepping back onto the court first. Sheinternally thanks Clint she was mostly at the front half of the court now when she sees Kate’s shirt still on the bench. It was going to be a long day..
.
.
Yelena hated that Natasha was right. Playing with Kate felt deceptively easy. They mash well together, and once they get over themselves (Yelena’s grumpiness and Kate’s sassing back), they find an easy rhythm to dance to on the court. Yelena allows herself to trust Kate more on receives, and Kate reads Yelena better for fake outs.
She even allows their outfits to have purple on them. (Their outfits were still mainly white, but Yelena had allowed their sleeves to be purple, along with two purple stripes on their shorts.) This was not to say Yelena still doesn’t scold Kate on court, or the younger girl giving a sarcastic remark or two every few sets. They still do have their tiffs, no matter how much they try to control their emotions. The news outlets had caught on they were doubles partners for the women doubles, releasing an article naming them the ‘oil and water’ couple after an exhibition match where Yelena was seen berating Kate over a double service fault. Of course she ignores it. She also did apologise to Kate after the match and the younger girl said it was fine. They hung out and shared a beer together. Kate tells a bad pun and she roasts the younger girl. They were okay. Their match was their business, not the media’s. They had their bumps but against all odds, they were on a plane to their qualifying match of the Paris Open. Clint and Natasha was with them, along with Peter and MJ but they were the only ones that needed to share a room for some reason. Yelena sighs, stepping into the room first before throwing her luggage down on the bed closer to the window. She immediately starts unpacking, hanging out all her training and match outfits and casual wear in the closet. She goes to take a shower, switching into a black henley shirt and jeans. She shakes her head and lets out a snort when she sees Kate snoring lightly on the bed, still in her airport attire of an all purple sweater and track pants. “Kate Bishop. Let’s grab dinner then rest for the night. We have light practice tomorrow morning.” She nudges the younger girl. Kate smiles before opening her eyes to meet hers. There was something dazzling about Kate’s smile and Yelena thinks about how much more beautiful it’ll be if they win. Slapping that thought out of her mind, she wraps her hand around Kate’s wrist to pull her up. Kate jumps up, wrapping her arm around Yelena’s was it to steady herself as they press against each other. The older girl splutters, feeling Kate’s finger tips pressing onto the small of her back, sending an unwanted jolt of arousal down her spine. She thinks its the trick of the hotel room lights when Kate’s eyes flicker down to her lips for a second. She pushes Kate away first, grumbling about being hungry. Kate just laughs, putting her shoes back on and following Yelena out of their room. After dinner, they take a long walk round the hotel block, enjoying the breezy summer winds. A fruit juice in both of their hands, they talk about their futures in tennis and laugh about the ridiculous soap opera Kate had watched on their flight to Paris. Kate gets them a chocolate bar to share at a corner shop, convincing Yelena to screw their diet for one night. She tries not to think how nice this would have been as a date. ..
. Their first match felt surreal. Yelena was a lot more anxious, fidgeting with the string of her racket. It was her first official Open match after her lost to Kate. Now they were playing together.Were they truly ready? Or will they crash and burn like the media outlets predict? Oh f*ck them. Kate was fizzling in anticipation like a cola bottle filled with mentos, unable to sit down by their bench. She takes a few practice swings, lightly hopping on the spot. “Kate Bishop. Stop moving. Its distracting.” Yelena's voice had an edge to it. She regrets it immediately as it left her tongue. Kate just stares at her for a moment. Yelena adverts her eyes, looking down on the hard green court floor. This was not the time to get overwhelmed. The younger girl kneels down, placing a hand over Yelena’s. “Hey. Talk to me.” She says softly. “I’m sorry. First match jitters. I didn’t mean to snap at you.” She says. “Not now anyway.” She adds, trying to make it a joke. “Belova, look at me.”Kate says gently. Yelena sighs before she looks up. “We’ll win this easy. Have a fun game, like we always do, yeah? Then we’ll sneak out for ice cream after dinner. I googled a small shop that had great reviews like, two blocks down from us.” Kate smiles and Yelena relaxes. Alright, let’s do this. They hit the road running when Kate blasts a service ace of 128.3 mph right down the line. The ball glides through the two players as their eyes widened in surprise. Yelena looks back at the younger girl with a brow raised. “Already showing your best move, Kate Bishop?” “Just want this to end earlier so we can get that ice cream. I really want to convince you to something better than vanilla.” She chuckles, accepting another ball from the ball boy with a quick thank you. Yelena scoffs but her lips that were tugged upwards betrays her. “Just serve the ball, Kate Bishop.” Their chemistry is impeccable as they win straight sets and get through to their next match. At the press conference after the game, the reporters are all over them, praising their skills and efficacy on court. Yelena pushes the questions to Kate, the younger girl much more media savvy than she will ever be. She doesn’t care much, just wanting that ice cream promise to happen. It wasn’t too bad looking at Kate’s beaming face either. The younger girl moving her arms animatedly as she discussed a certain hard rally they won during their third set. She was just adorable while the reporters all nod and listen intently. “How do you get Yelena to smile on court? She doesn’t even do that with her sister. Plus, you two were rivals just three months ago.” The question catches Yelena by surprise. Kate’s eyes sparkled as she looked at the older girl when she answers. “Maybe she likes me more than she realises.” The openness of the younger girl’s statement shoots through Yelena like a crazy frenzy. She feels her cheeks heating up and she takes a sip of water. She hopes the cameras won’t catch it with the bottle blocking her face. They do end up getting the ice cream. And Yelena now has a second favourite ice cream flavour: pistachios.
.
.
.
They made it pass two more matches before the quarter finals. It was a gruelling four sets and the heat was getting to them. It didn’t help that Kate had missed two match points in their current winning set.
It was the first time seeing Kate frustrated on court, the younger girl almost tossing her racket onto the court floor. “Oy, we got this, Kate Bishop. Don’t give up.” Yelena pats her on the back. She has an idea. “Try to give them a slice lob and I’ll cover the net. They’ll try to drive or smash it but I promise you I’ll take the ball, okay? Just hit that lob for me.” “Okay. Okay.” Kate looks at her right in the eye. “Yelena, I-“ She stops herself. “Never mind. Uh- yeah, I trust you.” Yelena looks at her puzzled for a moment. What was she going to say? She shakes it off while she walks back on the court to position herself. The ball flies as soon as she brings her racket up and the rally begins. Kate returns the serve easily, and their opponent hitting it back to the base line once more. It was a plot for Kate to use her backhand but the girl easily creates a slice lob down the middle of the court. Sure enough, they go for a drive and it was Kate’s turn to feign running for the ball. They see Kate moving down towards the ball and back up, thinking a drive was coming. But Yelena side steps quickly and intercepts it, lightly tipping the ball over the net and catching them off guard instead with a death drop shot. “Nine-Eight. Kate Bishop to serve.” Kate wins their game with a kick serve, the ball’s heavy top spin entirely bewildering their opponents. ..
.
Damn her crush on Kate Bishop.
Yelena presses her head onto the cool metal railings of Natasha’s room balcony. Kate was on a video call with her mother and Yelena had slipped out, needing some alone time to think. Her alone time became her thinking about Kate so she made her way to her sister’s room freaking out. She had tried to ignore the tension between them. But with every brush of Kate’s fingers, or a smile her way during their press interviews, Yelena feels herself slipping. She has feeling for a dorky idiot that loves looking like a Ribena mascot flying across a tennis court. She’s funny despite her bad puns. She was also a f*cking good player. And oh so very beautiful. She’s everything Yelena wants. One more week. One more week and everything will be over and she’ll finally get a break from Kate.One more week then she'll run away from her feelings.
“What do you mean you two haven’t f*cked each other’s brains out yet?” Natasha’s voice cuts through her thoughts. “I thought that happened already seeing how you two work pretty effortlessly on court.” “No. It has not.” Yelena sighed, already regretting spilling her guts to her sister. “And I don’t intend to.” “See how you listened to me and now you’re on your way to a medal? So, listen to me again when I tell you to go into that room and entangle yourselves. Feelings definitely mutual. Damn, I really thought she kept staring at your ass cause she wants to hit that every night when-”“Gods, I do not need to listen to this.” Yelena whines, covering her ears.
Natasha only chuckles and pulls her sister’s hands off. “Come on! Just kiss her at least.” “It’ll ruin the partnership.” “You’ll ruin it by being this distracted.” “I will be fine on court.” “You sounded so convincing.” “I. Will. Be. Fine. On. The. Court.” Natasha pinches the bridge of her nose before cursing in russian. “Fine. Whatever. Go do something boring like run through Clint’s notes and the tapes with her. But you’ll eventually need to stop running away from it and have an adult conversation about what you two are, okay?” “Yeah. Yeah.” Yelena says absentmindedly as she escapes from her sister’s room. She hates her feelings. She wants to chuck them in a bin and never allow them to resurface ever again. She can't do this. She has a title to win. She didn't need distractions. Kate had already switched on a taping of their semi-final opponents when she entered the room. In her hand were a pack of almonds, she brings a mouthful into her mouth as she watches the video. Yelena watches Kate’s moving lips dabbled with crumbs. “Come here. Got to memorise their trick shots. Reigning champs and all that. Seem tough.” Kate comments, patting the space beside her on her bed. Feeling a magnetic pull, Yelena walks over to the younger girl’s bed and goes under the blanket. She steals some of the almonds while they continued watching the video. Kate makes a quick comment about the serve and notes down some notes but all Yelena could hear was the hammering of her heart. She almost flinches when she feels Kate’s hand on her lap. “You know, I never actually thanked you for saying yes to teaming up with me.” Kate starts off. “I sort of was joking around with Clint about it but he actually called up Natasha and then that training session happened.” “I’ve played tennis since I was four and I haven’t enjoyed tennis in years. Sure, Clint was a great coach, but I really only ever continued it for the scholarships and all that and because it was the only mutual interest for my and my mother. But the fire I felt after playing you during the US Open gave me this weird drive to find joy in it again.” Stupid rambling girl. “Kate Bishop.” She slurs the name in a strong russian accent. “I like playing with you too.” “Yeah?” The younger’s girls eyes lit up. “Yeah.” She reaches out to take Kate's hand, linking their fingers together. They linger for a moment. Her heart feels like it would burst out of her chest. She knows its not a trick when she feels Kate leaning closer, eyes trained down to her lips. It was too much. “Plus, you complain a lot less than Natasha.” She forces herself to scoot backwards, and lean against the bed frame instead. And the moment was broken. Kate lets out a light chuckle and turns towards the television screen. Yelena comments on a weakness in the footwork. Kate remarks about their positioning during a net play. Their notebooks are scribbled with notes they’ll bring to Clint the next day. The younger girl takes it in stride and they don’t talk about it. They wake up on the same bed together. An arm, a leg, snaking their way over Yelena’s upper torso. She stiffens up at the unfamiliar limbs on her before realising it was Kate. She hears the girl murmur her name in her doozy form and she rolls her eyes, trying to keep her feeling sin her chest. Kate tightens her grip and she rolls her eyes. They needed to get up for practice. She attempts to push the girl off lightly, but ultimately shoving the younger girl off the bed when she doesn’t budge one bit. Kate lets out a yelp as she tumbles onto the floor. She barks out in laughter and Kate follows suit. Yeah, they’ll be okay. ..
.
They both made it into the semi-finals in both their singles and doubles matches.
Yelena tries not to think about the latter.
It was terribly inconvenient that she finds she likes Kate more and more as a person as they continue to spend all their time together, in and out of the court. She knows things about Kate, vice versa. And its not just the way they play, or how they like their rackets cleaned. They see each other through their moods, how they like their meals, the smallest of pet peeves.
They were up against the third seeded pair, sisters Gamora and Nebula. They were both aggressive players with an array of trick shots and great sign play. If not for Yelena’s reflexes, they would have loss their match already. It was a struggle. Their current stats going: 6 –4, 3–6, 2–6, 6–4, 6–6 (1-1). If they win this set, they’ll go into the finals. If only Kate can keep her head together. They were on a break, Clint yelling at the younger girl about her unforced mistakes on court from the stands. They were just on a time out after she double faults during a service. “Come on. Get it the f*ck together, Kate Bishop. You’ve hit serves better than that with your eyes close.” Yelena chides. “Shut up. Sweat got in my eyes.” Kate replies, rolling her tensed shoulders. “Well, get your service shots working then. And where is your center top spin volley? Why the f*ck are you so afraid to do trick shots of your own?” She pushes. “I’m not! I’m not- it just feels like they are targeting you and I don’t know how to draw their attention back. You’re going crazy at the net and I feel damn helpless behind.” The younger girl huffs. “Стерва (Bitch).” She uses her racket to tap on Kate’s butt gently. The girl squeaks in surprise and Yelena tries to keep a passive face. “I’ll be fine. Have I not been working my ass off at the net? f*cking do me a favour and focus so we can get ice cream after this.” Kate’s face perked up at ice cream but doesn’t say anything back. She feels Kate’s presence behind her, a lot calmer than before their time out. Good. Kate was on fire after that, sending each and every ball right on the line whenever she could. It was as though she was fresh out for a starting game. There was barely a rally as Yelena shifts her own gear, plotting the ball for wide receives such that their opponents had no choice but to send it down the back towards Kate. She feels a sort of reignited adrenaline with Kate’s better performance, despite her aching thighs. Kate smashes a backhand and they are closer to a match point than ever.Their opponent calls for a time out.
Kate throws a towel at her. “You look like you ran in the rain.” Yelena snorts as she wipes her face. The sweltering sun was not helping her case at all. She feels all sort of gross but her heart melts at Kate’s look of affection towards her. She downs her drink, ignoring the knots in her stomach. “Yeah. Rain of my own sweat. Those f*ckers. Do me a favour and end the match quickly, won’t you, darling?” She gives the younger girl a sly smile, trying to lighten the mood. It was best not to help Kate keep her peak despite the time out. “No problem, honey.” Kate chuckles with a wink, playing along. Yelena returns to her spot on the court and hears the ball bouncing a few times. The shuffle of Kate’s feet came next before the elegant ball toss and then a yellow bullet flying pass her periphery. Kate’s next two serves are aces and they are into the finals..
.
.
They try a local’s favourite- Philippe Faur's fleur de lait ice cream. Their sorbets were to die for and Yelena doesn’t want the night to end.
“I really want us to win tomorrow.” Kate says wistfully, ice cream spoon in her mouth as she looked out at the passer-by on the side walk. “Late night jitters, Kate Bishop?” Yelena teases. “Yeah. Something like that.” There was something in Kate’s eyes that she can’t quite place. “We’ll face each other in the singles finals, you know?” The younger girl says a little softer. “Let’s focus on tomorrow’s match first yeah? Then you can worry about me beating you.” “Hell you are, Belova.” Kate grins, taking another spoonful of the mango sorbet. “f*ck you too, Kate Bishop.” She quips, snatching back the ice cream cup. “I want to kiss the sh*t out of you.” Yelena almost drops the cup when the words left Kate’s mouth. It was said all too casually to feel like someone had struck her throat with a jackhammer.She opens and closes her mouth a few times, trying to phrase a sentence together.
“Sorry. Was that too forward of me? I mean, I just thought we had a thing going on, like, since before before.” Kate starts to ramble. Her fingers fiddles with the tiny pink ice cream spoon. “sh*t, did I make it awkward? I swear I’ll be good for the match tomorrow, it doesn’t have to change anything. Like, swear on my dead father-“ “Kate.” Yelena says slowly. Her mind grasping at words she was trying to string up. She can't help the flush creeping up her neck and was glad that street lights would probably not pick it up.It was her turn to tell the truth. She steadies herself. “It’s okay. I- Yeah. I like you too. But I- not tonight. Keep it in your pants tonight and maybe tomorrow. And then we can talk about it. After all this is over.” It was like a boulder was off Yelena’s shoulders. “After we win.” Kate’s smile was blinding even in the dim lights. “After we win.” Yelena says it like a promise. ..
.
Losing the first set, 3-6, isnothow they wanted to start. Unfortunately, their opponents, the reigning Paris champions, Valkyrie and Jane, were dead set on winning. And they were not making it easy from the get go.
Kate had tried to hit a short cross so their opponent has to run on the outside but Jane magically sends the ball straight down a blind spot, stumping them both to win the set. The noise of the crowd swells after the umpire calls for the match to end.There's no exchange between the two of them. Yelena was all iron-clad focused, and Kate’s working on finding hers.
“You want to play a long game?” Yelena asks with snark. Kate sighs, taking a sip of her sports drink. “Do we have a choice? The pressure they are putting is crazy. The only weak point I see is Jane’s right knee isn’t doing too well, she’s a little slow on her side step to backhand but Valkyrie almost completely counters that with her ball positioning.” “I’ll try to surprise them with a few more net plays. Be prepared to dunk smash when they volley it upwards. We need to try and hit the corners, make them run for it.” The older girl remarks. Jane starts the next set with a kick serve. Kate receives it with ease, thrusting her arm forward into a jack knife, pushing the ball to the open side of their court. Valkyrie barely manages to volley it and Kate hits them with a power slams they had no hope in hell of reaching. “Fifteen-Love. Yelena Belova to serve.” She starts the next serve. Bouncing the ball on the court, she berates herself to focus. She takes a breath to compose herself, then goes for a centre line shot at high speed. She might not be as good in services aces as Kate, but she still can try while she has the energy to. The ball connects with a satisfying twang on her racket strings. The follow-through is perfect, and the ball flies fast and accurate. But Jane manages to return it, a cut through the left side of the court. Yelena dives for it, managing a drop shot to the frustration of Valkyrie who lets out a curse. She taps her racket lightly against Kate as they pass by each other. “Thirty-Love. Yelena Belova to serve.” Yelena readies the ball again. Launching it upwards, she brushes the back of the ball towards her dominant side into a slice serve. The ball is thrown leftwards where Jane had already been waiting.They go into a long rally.
They finally manage to edge out after the twentieth exchange, with Yelena once again landing a nasty drop shot that Jane misses. The whole set was a lull, the rallies going on and on. They manage to win this one, 6-2, but were already gasping for air as soon as their legs stop moving. Just two sets and they were already almost at the two hours mark. In the stifling heat, how much longer could they last? As they swapped their courts again, Yelena collapses on the chair this time, towel on her face. She hated matches that lasted bloody ages but an opening was so hard to find. “You alright?” Kate lifts her towel up. “Just peachy.” She says before grabbing her bottle. “I like you a lot better when you are roasting the sh*t out of me.” Kate replies as she does a few minor stretching of her hamstrings. “Come on, I’ll take the next game with service aces, just you see. I got a lot fuel left in me, and so do you. We can do this.” “We can do this.” Yelena repeats, taking the towel off her face. “We need to break their momentum. Serve well yeah, Kate?” “I serve always.” Kate winks. Yelena rolls her eyes. “Serving me with annoyance.” Kate laughs and she feels a lot lighter. She gets up from the bench, lightly twirling her ankles before ambling back to her position. Kate gives the older girl a light tap to her ass with her racket and Yelena shoots her a glare. The younger girl just sticks out her tongue and Yelena could only roll her eyes. She turns to face the net when she sees Kate’s eyes turn serious as she prepares for her serve. Kate keeps to her promise as they go Thirty-Love with her service aces. The next set was another dull one, mostly consisting of rallies yet again. Yelena’s drop shots although deadly, were getting easier for their opponents to receive the more they were exposed to it. Their drives and lack of volleys were making it hard for Kate to hit a smash, resulting them to play super long rallies where they counted on their opponents to make a mistake first. They still win it, 6-4. Woefully, their energy drops in the forth set. It was a quick one when their opponents switches their formation and they lose, 2-6. Yelena lets out a growl of frustration as she drops her racket onto their bench. She feels Kate huff beside her before she wipes her face. “Last set, Belova. Don’t go dying on me now.” Kate grins. Yelena knows Kate was frustrated by the bouncing of her right thigh. She knows the girl had read her first and is trying to keep her emotions stuffed down so they don’t end up blowing up on the court. Her own frustrations changes into determination. “I’m not. Are you?” She eyes the younger girl. “No. Now, do you have a plan?” “I always have a plan.” “What is it?” “Attack.” “Damn it, Belova. Give me a little more than that. Where’s the tactical strategy?” “We need to get a service. Kick serve all the way, force them to return the shot, their receives are going to get weaker and weaker, I can already see it. As long as you got the energy to do it, just keep to it. If you feel like you can’t hit it straight down the line, do a slice serve instead.” She takes large gulp of her sports drink. “I’m going to try hitting the ball at open pockets, so be prepared to dunk smash and then recover. I’m not going to do drop shots unless I’m entirely positive they’ll be unable to receive it.” Kate nods as she listens intently. “They probably won’t go for any center shots, even if they volley in the middle, I swear I’ll return it.” “Straight down the line, Kate.” Yelena smirks. “The only thing straight that’s going on with me.” Kate promises before standing back up. Yelena lets out a chuckle despite her tiredness. “Hey, we’re having fun right?” Kate taps the older girl’s knee lightly with her racket.Of course she is. She hadn't had that much fun from the first time they had their practice match against Peter and MJ. It had been more professional with her sister, sure they made jokes on the court too but there was always the title and keeping it looming over their heads. The pressure to beat everyone else at every turn. Their moves were mechanical, practiced to a tee. Every match with Kate, she starts to think less and less of the title. She just likes Kate's company on the court.
Yeah. “We are.” She meets Kate’s gaze. Kate kicks start the set. Jane’s short receive brings Yelena closer to the net, sending it cross court to Valkyrie’s back hand. She returns it, positioning it directly at the net pole and Yelena dives for it. The ball bounces off her racket into another pocket of open space where Valkyrie hits it into a drive. Yelena anticipated it though, her left foot stopping mid step before launching her off into the right where she sends it wide to the back. Jane rushes in, sending a drive right at Yelena’s body. She smirks, hearing the shuffling of footsteps behind her and jerks her body away, allowing the ball to fly through the small space between her body and racket. Kate was waiting for it, taking a large step forward and slamming the ball into a solid drive. She could see Jane’s startled body language as she reaches for the ball, only for her racket to fly off her hand. The crowd erupts at the short but thrilling rally and Yelena feels the adrenaline rising through her. She was not done yet. They were not done yet. To the last point. “Fifteen-Love. Kate Bishop to serve.” She glances over at the clock, they were almost four hours in already. Hopping lightly on her ankles, she tries to ignore the ache calling out from deep within her muscles. Their opponents were fighting back with equal vigour, arms and limbs flying all over the court. It was a tie break. 6-6 (9-9). Kate has their serve and Yelena calls for a time out. “How are you feeling about your serves? Please be honest with me.” She looks at Kate with concern. Going that hard every single service was definitely hard on the younger girl’s shoulders even if she would not admit it. “I- Uh… maybe three, four more before I lose accuracy? I’m still hitting it to the base line, right? But every time I do it, you’ll need to cover me for at least one return.” Kate’s hand was on her waist as she pants out. “Okay. Okay. Just squeeze them out. We can finish it, okay? Two more points.” Yelena gives her a thumbs up. “Let’s just have fun.” Kate smiles widely then. “I’m going to kiss the f*ck out of you when we win.” The promise leaves her lips as she made her way to the service line.Leave it to Kate Bishop to be cheesy at probably the most important moment of their lives.
“Then you better get that service done right.” Yelena shouts back as she walks over to the front. Kate sends the ball straight down the line perfectly. Valkyrie tries something different and lobs it up to the other side and Yelena hears Kate moving towards the ball. It flies back across the court where Jane was waiting. She sends a spinning ball just above the net and Yelena doesn’t move, trusting Kate to retrieve it. The younger girl does, expertly letting the ball shoot straight pass Yelena’s left shoulder as it comes off her strings at the right angle. It rockets down the line flawlessly. Valkyrie’s not one to relent as she dives for the ball, her grip making Yelena think she’s creating an opportunity for a drop shot. She rushes up to the net but at the last second, Valkyrie slices the ball into a short drive. Yelena curses but she twists her body, using her back hand with her racket, managing to tap the ball over the net. She hears Jane’s racket scrapping the court floor as she lifts the ball up into a mid-court volley. She knows Kate’s got it, so she waits. The thundering steps of the younger girl rings in her ear. Both their opponents move to the middle of the court, already anticipating a dunk smash. The ball moves in slow motion, crashing into the net as it lightly tipped into the opposite court as a drop shot. The crowd explodes. What luck. Yelena’s legs almost gave way as she heaved a sigh of relief. That was a f*cking risk. But it reaped the best reward. (10-9). Oh yeah, she was having the most fun. She glances at Kate, whose fire in her eyes only gotten a lot more intense. Sweat drips from her chin quicker than she could wipe with her wrist band. She sees the younger girl stretching her hand as she readies her next (and hopefully final) serve. The kick serve sails pass Yelena like a bullet. Their opponents were not giving up; slices, slams and side spins were thrown their way as a long rally begun. Yelena was enjoying it. She was actually enjoying the game. Despite the exhaustion screaming through her bones, her mind was sharp as ever as she sends shot after shot into their opponents’ blind spots. Kate drives a ball into an open pocket, letting out a loud grunt. Yelena grits her teeth, knowing every return is causing Kate to lose more and more of her power. She needs to trust Kate. Trust that she could return the shot. Jane’s drop volley sends the ball to the net and Yelena pounces into action. She meets the ball easily, tipping it over just above Valkyrie’s head. The woman curses, switching her racket grip, trying to smash but the ball bounces off the court a little too lightly. Kate comes from behind and sends the ball high and right back to the base line. Jane’s face contorts as she tries to judge whether the ball was going to go in or out. She decides not to risk it, hitting a safe cross court shot back. Yelena moves on instinct, breaking their formation as she starts to move backwards. She positions herself and gives a jack knife back. Jane scrambles a return but Kate reads Yelena fast enough and was already covering the court, cutting it off the ball with a drive, causing Valkyrie to switch direction as she sends the ball safely to the baseline again. Every move she makes ricochets all the way through her shoes and up into her body with burning agony. But Yelena can’t give up. Not now. When she and Kate are side by side and she sees the girl fighting as hard as she was. They had never played side by side before but they work in sync, covering each other as easy as they do in their usual formation. Kate gives a hard jack knife with her backhand, sending it across the court. Jane curls her wrist, as she uses both hands, forcing the ball to bounce off her racket and back to them down the middle line. Kate doesn’t even attempt to take it, allowing Yelena to retrieve the ball. The older girl changes her grip, sending the ball into an open space right between their opponents. Yelena sees Jane ready herself for a volley and she runs back to the net, crossing Kate who’s moving instantly to the baseline. Jane sends the ball lightly to the net, right at the corner of the net pole. Yelena takes the leap, angling her racket for a drop shot. Valkyrie is instantly in front of the net, attempting to save it. Yelena knew it was a risk. She twists her wrist and meets the shot with a featherlight touch, the ball slicing sideways across the court. It skims the net and dribbles onto the opposite side before Valkyrie could even take a step toward it. A silent beat. Then the crowd goes crazy. What a devastating cross court drop shot. “Game, set, match: Kate Bishop and Yelena Belova. 3-6, 6–2, 6–4, 2–6, 6–6 (11—9).” Before Yelena could turn to double check the board, strong arms encircled her waist as she was lifted into the arm. She hears Kate scream with delight as they twirled around the court. Sweat dripping down her forehead, she hears her own sounds of laughter too. Finally she was set down and two sweaty hands goes up to her cheeks. A crash of Kate’s lips against hers stops her short. Her racket falls to the floor with a clatter, her hands clinging onto Kate’s purple shirt. She hears the crowd roar around them, her sister’s whistles and Clint’s howl. She doesn’t care for anything else. Not when she sees Kate’s jovial face and realises she’s won a lot more than a medal. ..
.
Yelena barely entered the room before Kate is all over her. The younger girl tugging her forward by the medal still around her neck. They turn and Kate barely managing to push the door close before she's pushing Yelena up against it.
“Just because I kissed you in the heat of the moment just now doesn’t mean-“ Kate starts, voice suddenly unsure.
Why is she always so stupid? “Shut the f*ck up.” Yelena growls before she leans forwards first. Kate’s lips were on hers and it was electrifying. She kisses like she plays tennis, with absolute f*cking confidence of her every move. “I want you.” Kate’s voice raspy against her ear when they part, one hand steady on Yelena’s waist. And the other in a caress, fingers soft against the back of Yelena’s neck. “You have me, Kate Bishop.” Yelena kisses her, soft, slow and unhurried. Her breath is sweet as her mouth moves over Kate’s, her tongue hard and then soft as she savours the younger girl’s mouth. Gods, she’s driving me insane. And then it's not soft anymore, not really. Kate grabs Yelena by her thighs as they head towards the bed. The younger girl tries to keep it sexy, but fails when she stumbles over her own feet as they crashed onto the mattress. They tug off their medals first, Kate’s hand almost missing the bed side table and scratching their gold plated medals. Yelena almost scolds the brunette but with Kate’s lips immediately back on her neck, scalding words turned into whimpers. The high from their win mixed with arousal makes Yelena’s head spin.Kate calls her a good girl the first time, and Yelena cannot find it in herself to be embarrassed at the way it makes her moan. She likes it. Likes the sound of it coming off Kate’s tongue.
Kate’s body is exactly as godly as Yelena imagined it. She’s all strong arms and hard thighs, and the older girl could not pass up the opportunity to kiss down her abs. Want and need spills over their actions as they tangled up in the sheets, their breaths coming quick and hard.
They fall asleep in sheets that smell like lavender and next the time Kate wakes up, Yelena was already hovering over her, trying to get them ready for the day ahead. They were going to have breakfast and then split up to meet their respective coaches. But for now, they have each other. ..
. The afternoon sun was bloody dismantling.
Yelena glances into the mirror and smiles at her all-white tennis shirt. It was the same one she wore for the US Open. She fiddles with her white and black racket, poking lightly at her new violet dampener.
She hears the crowd cheering in the stands as the announcer calls out her opponent’s name, and then hers. With a short exhale, she zips her bag and marches off into her battlefield. The first thing she sees was the lilac purple of her opponent’s shirt and she tries not to smile too widely. “Good luck, Kate. You’ll need it.” Yelena smirks as they shook hands. “Can’t wait to make you sore twice today.” Kate shoots back with a sh*t eating grin. She chuckles and rolls her eyes as they released their hands. She catches the tennis ball from the ball boy and walks over to the service line with a certain sway to her hips she knows Kate likes. She has the first serve. Love. All. Play.