⸻ ɪɴᴄᴏᴍɪɴɢ ᴄᴏᴍᴍ ꜰʀᴏᴍ @beycndredemption (ava):
" don't look so glum. who knows ... might even be fun. "
⸻ Spy and assassin starters.
“Yeah, easy for you to say,” Yelena sighed. But it was hard to be upset when she’d had a cocktail or two and her arms were slung around Ava’s shoulders. “You don’t have to babysit Alexei.” Yelena rolled her eyes, glancing up Ava with a crooked smile.
They were tucked in a green room off the side of some cramped NYC evening show set, waiting for call time. It was some shitty PR thing they'd been wrangled into - a way to introduce the public to the New Avengers on a "more intimate level," or whatever Val had said.
Only Bob had managed to get out of it (he was still a press liability, apparently). Bucky had tried to refuse on principle, but unfortunately for him, he was the best equipped out of all of them to field difficult questions. Walker needed the image maintenance, and Alexei probably did, too. That left Ava and Yelena - the two unknowns.
“Ugh. This is weird. Every time we’re on TV, it feels like I’m about to - blow my cover, or something.” Yelena shuddered, nose crinkling. Her voice was light, but strained at the edges. Like a confession.
Over the past few months, Ava had knit herself into Yelena’s life, become a constant, someone she trusted implicitly with the soft parts of her armor. She still didn’t like talking about anything too close to home, would still rather fight than admit to a weakness outright. But maybe it was getting easier. Maybe everything felt easier with Ava. Maybe that scared the shit out of her - but in a good way, like the drop in her stomach when she stood at the edge of a skyscraper.
“Everyone else is so public.” Yelena continued. “And then there’s us.” A short laugh. Yelena tucked a stray bit of Ava’s hair behind her ear, careful not to mess up the styling. She paused, hand lingering against her jaw. “I know you don’t like doing this stuff,” Yelena said after a beat, voice softening. “But I’m glad you’re with me.”
