Yelena Belova

It was late on Christmas Eve when Yelena returned to the lighthouse after attending the fair and take a walk around the island, Fanny trotting alongside her. Without much ceremony, Yelena changed into some pajamas and flipped on the TV to watch “It’s a Wonderful Life” for the 438th time this month.

She sighed, settling into the couch, when her phone rang. Not the one she'd picked up in Fandom—the old phone. The one from home that hadn’t worked since she got blocked from her reality.

Her heart skipped a beat. Scrambling over the couch, she snatched it off the counter where it was always plugged in, half expecting it to be a mistake. She didn’t even check the caller ID before answering.

“Hello?”

Was her voice shaky? No, surely not. Not Yelena.

The voice on the other end was definitely not shaky. If anything, it was dripping with irritation.
“Well, I’ll give you this, Yelena. You’ve got nerve. Leaving a mess outside Rockefeller and not even bothering to finish the job?”

Yelena froze. Valentina Allegra de Fontaine.

Shit.

Yelena looked over at the calendar and realized… Today, right now was where she was before she showed up on the island. When she went after Clint and got turned around.

Right before she got locked out from her reality. And now she was right back where she started from. When Melina told her to head to Baltimore…

“The contract isn’t required anymore,” Yelena said, forcing her voice to stay calm. “Fisk and Bishop are out of the picture.”

A sharp tsk sounded on the other end. That noise Valentina made when she was annoyed, and God, did it grate on Yelena’s nerves.

“Yeah, see, that doesn’t work for me. One missed contract, and suddenly everyone thinks I’m running a charity. Reputation’s a fragile thing, Yelena.”

“Let it go, Valentina,” Yelena warned, her voice cold.
Valentina ignored her entirely. “Fortunately, I know some former Hydra agents who don’t mind working on Christmas. So, no big deal. Oh, and if you ever make it back to New York, let me know. We’ll grab coffee.”

And just like that, the line went dead.

“Сука,” Yelena muttered under her breath, tossing the phone onto the counter.

Fanny padded over, leaning against her leg like she always did when she sensed Yelena was on edge. Yelena absently scratched behind her ears, staring at nothing for a moment.

Clint could probably handle it.

Probably.

But then, out of sheer curiosity… not for any real reason, of course, she pulled up the Portalocity app. Her stomach twisted when she saw it.

Her reality was open again.

And there was a portal scheduled in two hours. Conveniently, it would drop her near the Barton residence.

Without another thought, Yelena pushed off the counter and marched to her room. She yanked her old white uniform from the closet and pulled her equipment case from the hidden compartment under her bed.

Christmas or not, Valentina wasn’t getting the last word.

As she put on her uniform and gathered her gear, Fanny hopped up on the bed and stared at her.

She sighed. "What? Don't want to be left alone on Christmas?" she joked.

Fanny just sat there and panted at her.

Yelena groaned. "Right. Come on."

And with that she headed out the door and to Blackwood Grove.