WHAT IF... they'd broken up before the blip (part two)

WARNING: HAWKEYE EPISODE 5 SPOILERS

A/N- PART TWO LETS GOOOO (NOT PROOF READ AGAIN)

Aerus and Yelena. Yelena and Aerus. Together forever. Right?

Well, maybe you're a little wrong... In this universe, the two didn't last two years. In this universe, Aerus was left to fend for their own by Yelena's sudden disappearance. 

"Hey Air, it's me... I know you're like... I dunno- losing your mind... but I was wondering if you could come over... not to my aunt's place. The uh.. the place that was on fire. I need to go, pick up my stuff... I need an extra hand and Clint's gone MIA-" The voicemail ended as Air listened to it for the third time as they walked down the street, towards Bishop's appartment. 

"There you are!" The same voice called. But, they didn't hear due to their headphones, plus the hoodie. As they felt the tap on their shoulder from Kate, Air turned quickly, grabbing her hand and nearly twisting it as they turned, realising it was her. "Hey- it's me." She told them, a little confused by their reaction. 

Ever since Aerus had seen Yelena on the rooftop, they wanted nothing to do with the operation anymore. But, then again, when a friend needs help, their inner ways really couldn't help themself. 

"Sorry." They say, letting go of her hand, putting their hood down and then taking out their headphones. "I'm a little on edge." 

Kate nodded, eyebrows raised as she went to open the appartment door. "I noticed." She told them. 

"I'm gonna wait down here. Chuck down what you need for me to carry." They tell her as the two walked into the little area down at front. Kate gave them a weird look, but didn't really know what to say in return. 

"Okay... make sure we don't get set on fire a second time." She tells them before starting up the stairs. 

↣

Quite a while passed, and Aerus started to get worried, wondering if the younger archer had been kidnapped or something. Or something... 

Aerus really had had enough of fighting, especially when ex-lovers, and multiple idiots were involved. But, there really was nothing being heard from above, which was causing them to worry. They walked up the stairs, taking out a small knife they had in their back jean pocket before starting onwards down the corridor.

Stopping at Kate's door they saw it was open, and therefore, kicked it open.

"KATE?" They shouted her name as they did so, before a bottle of hot sauce came flying in their direction from the table. But, Air caught it, then staring at the bottle before seeing who had thrown it. 

Well, they couldn't exactly see who had thrown it, but just by the back of her head and Air knew who it was. They stared at the back of Yelena's head as they strutted forward, clutching the knife tighter as they did so. 

"Hold it-" A Russian accent said, holding out a fork to defend herself as she turned to look at Aerus. They stared down at her, anger raging inside of them. "Aerus, would you believe it if I told you Kate Bishop has one set of cutlery." 

"I told you, I'm one person." Kate defends herself from across the table. 

"Kate, can you give us a minute?" Aerus asked the youngest in the room. Kate looked at Air, of who was not taking their eyes off of Yelena, so, she didn't stick around, walking towards the door and letting it shut behind her. 

Yelena helped herself to the hot sauce in Aerus' hand, putting it all over the Macaroni in the pot in front of her. As she did so, Aerus sighed, sitting where Kate had just been. 

"What do you want?" They ask Yelena, irritated,

"Well," She says, finishing her mouthful of Macaroni. "it's my first time in New York." She says.

"Oh really?" Aerus asked, getting more, and more annoyed as it all continued.

"But, it's a business trip, so time is limited. But, I do want to see some things." She explains. "I want to see uh... the Empire State Building... the new and improved Statue of Liberty... and the Rockefeller Centre." 

"How about hell?" They murmur. After a moment of Yelena taking another mouthful of Macaroni, they thought. "Wait, are you having hot sauce with... Macaroni?" 

"Yes.... I love hot sauce." She told them, as they stared down at the pot, half-full of boxed-Macaroni. "Anyways, since you're here... I must ask you for recommendations. Since you... lived here for all of your childhood." 

Air stared at her for a moment, as if the Russian in front of them had forgotten what had happened six years ago. "What do you want me to say? The Christmas tree?" They mocked, but Yelena didn't take it as a mocking, instead she clapped her hands in delight, dropping the one set of cutlery in the pot as she did so, leaning back in her chair. 

"Yes, the tree!" 

"Why are you here?" They asked her. "To mock me?" They ask. "Or to get on my nerves?"

"Neither." Yelena says honestly, smiling a little at them. 

"You had no right to break into Kate's appartment." They told her, but as if she would care was beyond belief. "You can tease me all you want, you can run after me, playing this game. But you do not go after Kate, okay?" 

"Kate Bishop?" She asks, using the full name. 

"Don't use the full name just because you know a lot about her. Stay. The. Fuck. Away." They warned her one more time. Yelena chuckled, but Air was done playing her game. "I mean it, Yelena. One wrong move, and I'll tear you apart." 

"Didn't I do that to you?" She asked, now eating the Macaroni again. Aerus stared at her again, then taking away the pot of food in front of her, along with the bottle of hot sauce. God knows, she could've started to just eat that if they weren't careful. 

"If you think that you're so clever, why didn't you shoot me up on the rooftop?" They asked her, catching her off guard. 

Yelena shrugged it off, as if it were no big deal. But it wasn't a big deal, no, it was a huge deal. "It wasn't because you'd be caught for murder, god no. You've probably killed tens, hundreds of people with them being able to describe your face. And, if with me dead, you wouldn't be worried about them knowing it was Yelena Belova, little sister of Natasha Romanoff. Because, Clint has never met you." 

"Wow, who brought Sherlock here?" She asks them. 

"What was the reason?" They asked quietly. 

She shrugged. "Maybe I don't want you dead." They shook their head, showing that was not what they meant. Yelena looked down at her fingers in her lap, fiddling with one of her rings. "It doesn't matter." 

"Doesn't matter?"  They echo, then scoffing. "If it doesn't matter, then I wouldn't be asking you."

"God, always so dramatic." She laughed. "I missed that."

"You missed that but you certainly didn't miss me." They muttered, now getting up from the table. "Just tell me why you're here. If you're not here for me."

Yelena turned to face them in their chair. "I'm here to kill Clint Barton." 

They looked over at her, eyebrows furrowed. "What? You're here to... kill Clint?" 

She nodded. "Yes, that's what I said." 

"He has kids, a family." Aerus told her.

"He killed Natasha." She said, now standing up. "You of all people should understand why he has to go."

They looked at Yelena, questioning what had happened to the girl. "Yelena, he- he's my friend." They say to her. "He wouldn't have killed Natasha-"

"Then how did she die?" They stayed silent, all of Vormir's memories coming back to haunt them. In this universe, they didn't join Tony and Steve in NYC, but Clint and Natasha at Vormir. 

"Yelena there's things you do not understand-" They told Yelena, voice breaking more than once as they spoke. 

"Is there something you know that I don't, Air?" Yelena asked. 

Silence. 

"It was supposed to be me." They say eventually. Yelena shook her head at their words. "But, you know what 'Tasha is like. She beat the shit out of me and Clint. She sacrificed herself for billions of people to return. And it was supposed to be me."

A/N- y'all ghost reading the fuck outta dis

part three soon !!