Chapter 1: drinks + a side of guilt
Chapter Text
Kate was aware it probably was not her fault.
She had no control over her mother's choices. Last Christmas was horrifying. Finding out her mother was this wicked was definitely not on her Christmas wish-list. Kate thought that visiting the Bartons at their farm would've got rid of the guilt that clung to her like the scent of cigarettes that clings to smokers but it didn't. It certainly did lighten the load though.
His kids were exactly how Clint had warned her they would be like. They were extremely energetic and eager to get to know her (and Lucky) as soon as she stepped foot into the house. It was cozy, two stories and decorated with photos, looking very lived in.
Lila and Nate were extremely fascinated by her trick arrows and martial arts tricks and pestered her to teach them which she gladly did. Cooper was quieter at first but eventually the two bonded over high school memories and stories. Laura taught her recipes that she could make like soups and pastas and it was probably her first time in months having home cooked meals (that contained enough garlic to kill a vampire) which somehow tasted better than any five star restaurant meal or anything served at the galas she attended.
It felt like a second home, a complete one. After she got her mother arrested and her soon-to-be step-dad almost arrested, nothing felt close to home, but the Barton's had that feeling. She felt accepted.
It was all fun but she couldn't stop thinking about something— someone. For the past few weeks, blonde hair and green eyes lingered in her mind. It was probably the only thing keeping her sane; not really. She did everything to locate the assassin. Her google search history was full of her name and the words: Russian, blonde and assassin. She even used her tracking skills and her mom's security company as a tool to find her.
Ever since she broke into Kate's apartment, something about her truly captivated Kate's mind hostage. Her charm, her humor, her voice. Their conversation replayed in their mind over and over every moment possible.
And now there she was, sinking into her worn out couch and eating a bag of Lay's Barbecue and drinking a can of Pepsi while scrolling on her phone, searching and scanning for anything with Yelena to maybe increase her chances of finding her. It has become a daily routine since she had returned from the Barton's. Lucky was curled up at her feet, his fur brushing against her skin.
Kate honestly felt miserable. She was getting really lonely too. She did have Lucky who she did try to talking to at first but all he could really give her back were kisses and messes to clean. Kinda useless but has his perks.
Her daily 3 texts to Clint were either left on delivered or replied with reactions like a thumbs up emoji or a thumbs down. They do have weekly video calls however where she rants about her new trainee journalist life. About how even with the phrase she specifically highlighted in her resume: 'Best friend of an Avenger', she had to go through at least two years of training to become a professional. Clint was probably sick of her but hey, someone's gotta hear her rants.
The kitchen counters had nothing but a toaster, microwave and one singular fork. Her fridge was empty other than the 12 pack of Pepsi at the bottom and leftover chocolate from Christmas and it was February. Kate stared at her phone, helpless in her college sweatshirt and flannel pants. That was when she heard the sound of metal clanking on metal followed by the creaking of a window. She immediately turned her head around just to be greeted with a familiar face.
Well shit.
"Kate Bishop!" The blonde sang as she climbed into Kate's apartment, using her palms to push against the windowsill and enter. Her face had that same faux innocence to it despite what she had attempted doing just two weeks ago.
"Yelena?" Kate's eyes widened, her fingers still covered in Lay's crumbs as her face tinged pink realizing how disheveled she looked. Lucky got up to his feet and basically pounced on Yelena as she bent down and laid kisses all over his face. He wagged his tail around while Kate quickly got up and brushed the dust and crumbs off her shirt and hands, her eyes never leaving the Yelena and Lucky bonding as if they were long lost friends.
"Yelena, what are you doing here?" Kate's shoulders tensed a little, remembering that the woman before her could literally end her life within a millisecond. She couldn't deny she was happy to see her— like ecstatic to see her but it was kind of confusing to say the least. After all that stalking and she just appears out of thin air.
Yelena, still crouching on the ground and stroking Lucky's golden fur, looked up at her with that stupid grin. "Relax, Kate Bishop." She said in between showering Lucky with kisses, "You promised me that drink, remember?"
"…Right," The brunette crossed her arms while the blonde finally stood back up, still smiling like a Cheshire cat. She was wearing the same outfit from the last time she broke into Kate's apartment, but god did she look great in it.
"And also, I've been getting reports that a certain Bishop Security was tracking me." Yelena said slightly over a mutter, smirking as she glanced at Kate and then went back to Lucky. Kate felt a blush bloom all over her face til she was as red as a tomato. Her fingers gripped the hem of her sweatshirt, giving a crooked smile of embarrassment to Yelena.
"You're not very subtle, Kate Bishop." Teased Yelena, looking up at Kate while Lucky licked her nose and cheeks. Kate wanted to stop him, but she was too focused on the assassin crouching on her floor.
"Yelena—"
"Come, lets have our drink." She curled her fingers and sauntered towards the same table they shared that pot of Kraft, signaling to Kate to take a seat. Kate was taken aback when Yelena interrupted but she obliged and sat down across her.
From her coat, she whipped out a bottle with Russian words that Kate could not understand for the life of her which she could only assume was vodka and another brown bottle with a green label that was definitely beer. She handed Kate the bottle of beer after opening it with a bottle opener, slightly smiling while Kate just looked at her dumbfounded.
Beer, seriously? How weak does she think we are!
"You got me beer while you're drinking vodka?" She purposefully dropped her jaw in humor, slightly chuckling.
Yelena raised an eyebrow, "Who said this was vodka?" Her accent heavy on the word 'vodka'.
Kate soon realized that Yelena never said anything about vodka at all. A flush crept up her face as she sheepishly grinned at the widow, avoiding eye contact. "I mean, there's literally Russian words on that thing and like-"
"So you assume that every Russian liquor is vodka?" Yelena's voice suddenly became stern as she leaned in, her glare that was definitely making Kate's forehead slick with sweat.
Shit shit shit shit shit
Kate's breaths became quicker, her gaze traveling around the room. "I— Well— I didn't mean that— oh god that sounded rude— Uh-"
Her scrambled words were cut off by the sounds of Yelena laughing, almost hysterically. It was definitely to mock Kate but Kate couldn't really say or do much, instead just laughing softly as well. Yelena clapped her hands together once, leaning back in her chair. "Kate Bishop! You are so funny. It is vodka, and I got you beer because I know you cannot handle vodka." A wave of relief went through Kate knowing Yelena probably wasn't offended by her statement but now she was slightly offended by Yelena's.
She literally attended college parties every week and binged all kinds of alcohol. What was vodka to her? Okay, maybe she shouldn't go be too arrogant knowing what happened the last time she even whiffed a sniff at it. Symptoms included vomiting, indigestion, ten years of mortification…
You know what?
Fuck it. Maybe she could impress Yelena and prove her wrong…
Yelena poured the vodka into the shot glass she took out from Kate's cabinet for herself before Kate immediately reached forward and downed the drink in one gulp. Regret began to clench Kate's stomach as she felt the burning sensation go down her throat. She winced and squeezed her eyes shut for a good two seconds before taking a deep breath and looking back at Yelena who was grinning right at her.
"Son of a bitch, that burns! Where the hell did you get this?" Groaned Kate. The taste of the liquor from literal hell still lingered on her taste buds while Kate tried her best to rinse it down with beer. God, it's just liquor but it'll definitely leave a mark.
"From Russia but I saw it at the store, it's good, no?" The sarcasm of her words slipped out of her lips too smoothly. Her accent is so—
Get a grip, Bishop! You barely even know her and she literally just tried to kill your mentor last month?
You literally stalked her all day all night for like a month!
There was a moment of awkward silence between them that pierced the air.
Kate tried her best to study Yelena with her eyes, but her expression was just hard to read and she couldn't find out what the assassin truly wanted from her. Her face wasn't blank however, lips curled upwards at its corners into a smirk and pupils slightly dilated. She cleared her throat before speaking, "So, I know you aren't here to kill me because—"
"You would be dead already," Yelena interrupted with her chin pressed against her palm, her gaze never leaving Kate.
Kate nodded, "What do you want from me?" The brunette took another drink of her beer as she pressed her lips to the cold glass while Yelena thought before answering. The way her golden hair draped over her shoulders with that slight wave had Kate in a choke hold.
Has she always been this attractive?
Shut it, Bishop.
It's the way her green irises looked in the dim fluorescent light from the fairy lights in the room. Perhaps Kate didn't notice them before because she was too distracted by the fact Yelena was trying to murder Clint. She looked sort of tired; like she was going through something which wouldn't be much of a surprise after what Clint had told her.
Part of her felt pity for the assassin, but the other part begged her to back away.
"Kate Bishop, you are staring." Said Yelena in a slow and deliberate manner. Her heart jumped out of her chest while a jolt of shock from hearing Yelena's words snapped her out of her short reverie before a tidal wave of embarrassment came crashing down right after. Warmth spread all over Kate's cheeks, "My bad. So—uh, why are you here exactly?"
She focused on her beer this time, ensuring not to get distracted by Yelena. She twiddled her thumbs behind the counters while Yelena took another shot of vodka before answering, "It is my last day in New York before I leave for St Petersburg, I thought I'd visit."
"Ah, okay." Kate gave a smile with her lips pressed together into a thin line. There was another moment of silence between them that didn't feel comfortable nor uncomfortable. Kate then broke it with her signature move: small talk.
"So… what have you been doing the past month?" Asked Kate while Yelena continued drinking her liquor. The assassin put down the shot glass, doffed her coat and draped it over the chair, revealing the lean muscle of her biceps. Kate couldn't help but stare at them for a split second before bringing them back to Yelena's eyes but she had probably already noticed Kate's action.
"I went to see the tourist stuff. Very cool, Kate Bishop. Very crowded too, and noisy." Yelena said in between sips of alcohol. Kate still remembered what Yelena said about them the last time she broke in. (She was a bit embarrassed of remembering though) She couldn't deny that the assassin was somewhere on her mind for these two weeks. "And then I had to get another target which extended my stay for a few days." Her fingers tightened around the bottle.
"I see," Kate took another drink. She could hear Lucky mewing in the corner, begging for attention while they drank. The sounds reminded her of the visions of Yelena showering Lucky with affection.
Lucky trotted over to Yelena's side as she weaved her fingers through his fur and scratched the nape of his neck. He flipped over to face his belly upwards and Yelena rubbed it. Warmth filled her as she gazed upon them, "You're shockingly good with dogs." Kate commented while watching the endearing scene.
"I love dogs, that's why I'm good with them." Her eyes never left Lucky as he slightly fidgeted around, his tail wagging like crazy.
"You like dogs?"
Yelena scoffed, "Of course I do. Who doesn't?" Kate chuckled, Yelena continued, "I have a dog. Her name is Fanny and she's an American Akita. She's in Russia with my mama though."
Kate's eyes glistened in surprise that a black widow had such love for the animal. It was no surprise that Yelena could get Lucky to like her so fast. "I'm assuming you're visiting your parents?" Kate asked, remembering that Yelena was leaving for St Petersburg.
"Yes." The way he looked with her fingers in his fur looked so warm and cozy. He looked more satisfied than compared to Kate petting him. "I'm not looking super forward to it but…"
Her fingers are definitely so skilled…
Kate, why did you phrase it like that—
She tried to block the weird thoughts from entering her mind but something was pulling her back from it. She could hear Yelena going on and on about something but all she could focus on was the woman across her.
Lucky soon went back to the couch to lounge while Yelena took another shot while talking. What was that, her sixth? How the hell— never mind, she's Russian, they probably drink it as water and brush their teeth with it. She could smell a hint of Yelena's perfume; roses and vanilla with a slightly heady scent of spices. It was like a drug honestly, and so attractive. She kept wearing that unreadable mask whenever they had silence between them. One that Kate could never cut through. Or take off. There were bruises, cuts and scars on her arms— unsurprising for an assassin. You would have to squint to see them but the traces were there and visible enough for Kate's heart to clench.
"Kate Bishop, are you listening?" Shit, that was the second time.
Her face flushed into a deep red and her short admiring session was interrupted by Yelena's voice that sounded amused as a brow raised. "Sorry, I was just… thinking about something— yeah!" She pressed her lips together into a closed smile.
Yelena gave a look of skepticism and smirked, eyes staring into Kate's. The air around them thinned as Yelena separated her lips again. "As I was saying, I haven't really looked forward to seeing them ever since Natasha died but I thought I could at least check up on them." She puffed her cheeks out. Her smirk was wiped off talking about Natasha and got replaced by a slight frown.
Kate hesitated to speak as she looked at Yelena, brows furrowing as she watched her sniff. "I know we're just y'know, acquaintances but if you ever need someone to talk to, I'm here." She gave her most genuine, warmest smile as Yelena looked up from the shot glass at her, her eyes glistening. "Thank you, Kate Bishop, truly." Her voice softened at the 'truly', making Kate's heart flutter.
*
The two conversed over their drinks, talking about childhood stories, plans for the future and other topics like food, movies and music. They bonded over similarities like how they both loved sit-coms and traveling the world— as long as it wasn't for a job for Yelena. It was refreshing for Kate to see Yelena so relaxed as she talked. She was on cloud nine to see that. She still felt a slight unease at times when a voice inside her reminded her that Yelena was an assassin that takes orders and she may be her very target but hearing from Clint, a widow is never so open to someone unless she's willing to get to know them personally. The whole time was filled with the sounds of glasses clinking and laughing. It felt alive.
Time went by fast— like super fast. Kate could've sworn it was still ten but it was already one in the morning. Her bottle of beer was empty and Yelena's bottle of vodka was too, but it didn't end the conversation. It didn't come to an end until Kate let out a yawn and rubbed her eyes lethargically.
"I should go, you are tired," said Yelena as she stood up from her seat and threw on her coat. Kate watched her closely, her fingers still lightly wrapped around the bottle. "And I have to catch my flight." She sighed. Kate didn't want Yelena to leave yet. She enjoyed her company— like a lot. There was something about her that made Kate feel warm inside. A warmth not many have really made her feel before.
Her face dropped when she heard Yelena's words but she didn't realist it. Her tone when she spoke felt reluctant too. "You know, I hate to say this but I'll miss you."
Yelena guffawed at Kate's comment and held her stomach as she laughed. "Kate Bishop! Did you really think we'd never speak again?" She continued laughing while Kate was just confused. "I- I just thought you're leaving New York?"
"There's such thing as phones right? I thought you knew this!" Yelena had a shocked expression while Kate stared dumbfounded. "You have a phone?" Yelena chuckled at Kate's reaction, "Of course I do, how else would I have sent you the video of your mom and—"
"Let's not talk about that." Kate stiffened, her shoulders tensed. She didn't want to speak about the events of Christmas. At least nor about her mom. Nope, not today. Especially because the guilt still made her lie awake at night and stare at the ceiling.
Yelena looked slightly guilty, looking down at the table. This was the first time Kate had seen Yelena Belova like this. It took her aback. She tore out a piece from one of the sheets of paper scattered on Kate's table and handed it over to Kate. Kate grabbed a random pen lying around her living room and wrote down each number with shaking hands, double-checking the number before handing it to Yelena.
She folded the paper and put it into the pocket of her coat and made her way back to the window that was still unlatched and wide open. She hooked the grappling hook from her widow bites onto the ledge and turned back to look at Kate, "Thank you for the girls' night," Before Kate could even reply, she did that dramatic backwards fall off the ledge and out of the window. Kate rolled her eyes.
"You know you can use the front door!" Kate yelled in hopes Yelena would still be able to hear her but the only sound she got in return was Lucky barking at her.
She walked to the couch in dismay, sat down and sank right back into the position she was in originally before Yelena broke in, Lucky at her feet. She brushed his fur with her fingers before sighing, "I guess it's just you and me now."
*
Three days.
No calls.
Okay, maybe she's overreacting. Yelena must be busy, and she's thinking too much. They're barely-friends and it's normal for barely-friends to not talk to each other in three days… right? But now Kate finds herself pacing back and forth in her living room at seven in the evening, an unfinished plate of overcooked linguine on her kitchen counter. Lucky is probably confused under all that fur about why his owner is stressing out.
Kate has never thought of herself this desperate to have someone to talk to. She was extremely popular in college and even had a couple flings but now she has nothing— except for a slight hope that Yelena would give her a call.
Her body was tense, stiff as a ruler as her breaths became sharper and sharper each minute passed She wonders why didn't she decide to ask for Yelena's number instead. Perhaps then she could give her a call. But they both know that Kate would call Yelena immediately the day after their drink.
No.
Why is she acting like this? She had only known Yelena personally for four days but she was constantly on her mind almost every moment of them. God, she was becoming even more obsessed.
Just when Kate was about to give up…
A ring.
Kate has never been so happy to hear that annoying iPhone ringtone before. Like ever, but as her fingers wrap around the cool phone and she answers the call from the encrypted number…
"Yelena! Finally, god I thought you forgot about me—" Her shoulders dropped in relief, overwhelmed by bliss until she heard a voice coming from the other line that she did not want to hear.
"Kate?" The voice had a tinge of worry but still stern and still. Kate froze, feet rooted to the ground. She almost dropped her phone. Lucky ran to her feet and began mewing at her, concerned for his owner. All color drained from her face. How..?
"Mom?"
"I see you still pick up calls without checking who it is. You're just like your father." She mumbled under her breath but it was still audible to Kate. Kate's jaw clenched, gulping as she sat up in her chair. What could she even say to her? Oh, 'how does being in jail because of your daughter feel?'.
"I do not want to argue, I just want to talk about Christmas." Eleanor said, threads of unfitting calmness and collection woven through her words. Skepticism scribbled on her face like a dry-erase marker.
Taking a deep breath, "Okay," Kate sighed.
"We had some… issues last Christmas. Kate, I promise you that all I wanted to do was keep you safe." Her voice still had that same controlling, manipulative tone to it hidden under a mask of just a mother trying to keep her child safe. Kate wasn't buying it. How was killing Clint going to keep her safe? Blood boiled in her veins as she held herself back.
"You hired an assassin to kill Clint, what part of that would make me believe that you truly were?" The defensive tone couldn't be hidden from Kate's response, cold and tainted with fury.
"If Clint wasn't involved, none of this would've happened. I wouldn't be in prison and you wouldn't be wasting your life on being some vigilant-"
The line began to break up before Eleanor could finish her sentence. Kate's eyes widened, veins going to burst. Hearing her mother's words stabbed her and she felt the knife twist. No, no, she was not wasting her life, and she was no vigilante. She's a journalist now. She has some purpose. And Clint was her childhood hero, one of the only people keeping her on after her father's death even though they didn't know each other. Having the words of disrespect about Clint like that enter her brain felt like betrayal too. Kate stared at the wall for a while, her knuckles as white as alabaster around her phone. When the silence buzzed from the other line, static filled the space.
"Of course." Her voice was trembling despite how flat it sounded. "Of course you'd blame it on him," Kate set her phone down on the counter and clicked speaker. She bit her nails, her chest ached. It left a burning sensation at the bottom of her heart. Not the type to flood her heart with smoke, but the type to leave a smouldering mess afterwards. She didn't even get to hear the full message, but enough was said and heard.
"If not him, then who? If he weren't some Avenger, he wouldn't have given you the idea to start archery. He wouldn't have put so much faith in you to do this. This wouldn't have happened. I wouldn't be in prison!" Eleanor sounded as if she was holding in yells and shouts.
The guilt got back to her. It really was her fault. She thought it wasn't at first, telling herself over and over that it wasn't, but now hearing it from the victim really hurts. Holding back hot tears, she forced her lips shut together, hoping that Eleanor would not hear the small sniffs from Kate.
"He…" her voice noticeably shaking, "He protected me." The words came out smaller than Kate intended to, but Eleanor definitely heard them. Her heart pounded in her ear, waiting for Eleanor's response.
"He did not protect you. He dragged you into this mess, Katherine, into his world. And look where that has gotten you, living alone living off scraps of heroism that was never meant for you." That hurt— like really hurt. Kate's throat closed up. She didn't want to cry, not in front of her mother. The weight on her chest was unbearable, like poison taking its effect.
"You…" Her tongue was twisted for a second, "You don't know what you're talking about. Clint didn't drag me into anything. If anything, I dragged him into all of it." There was a tremor in her voice, the same 'boldness' in her words. If she hadn't put that Ronin suit on, none of this would've happened. Clint wouldn't have been a part of anything.
It was her fault.
The silence between the mother and daughter was loud, slicing the air even behind a screen. Kate's body was fully stiffened, unable to feel even a single hint of comfort from someone she felt comfortable around her entire life. "You'll understand someday, Katherine, when the people you 'save' stop thanking you and start blaming you instead." Her voice was clear, evidently thought through before the words slipped out of her lips. Before Kate could even respond, the line went dead. Kate frantically picked up her phone only to be greeted with her reflection fading into the black screen.
She tried saving her mom from Jack. She thought he was the issue, the problem. She dragged Clint into something only she suspected was the problem. And now her mom is rotting in prison and blaming her for everything. She bit her tongue as her body went limp against the chair.
That was when her phone suddenly turned on from a notification from her messages. She then saw the three missed calls from an unknown caller that definitely wasn't her mom underneath that tab. And then her phone rang again, vibrating in her hand. She hesitated, heart still heavy, then picked up without thinking.
"Kate Bishoooop!"
Chapter 2: scars pt.1 (phone call)
Notes:
pretty short phone call chapter (there will be more though)
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
"Kate Bishooop!"
"…Yelena?" Her voice almost cracks, catches and gives a half laugh. "You— You can't just do that," Her eyes were still swollen, stinging from the tears.
"Do what?" Asked Yelena, innocence in her voice. Kate could basically hear her smiling behind the screen. "Call you?"
"No— just, maybe a little heads up next time?" She accidentally sniffled, cursing silently beneath her breath.
"Ah, okay."
…
"Are you crying?"
Shit
"No, what makes you think that?" Kate chuckled towards the end, but Yelena didn't. She bit her tongue while a piercing silence filled the room.
"You're a terrible liar." Came the dry response.
"Ha, thank you."
…
"What happened?" Yelena's voice softened, full of concern, waiting for Kate's response.
"I…"
"You..?"
"I called my mom— wait no, she called me. From prison. She lectured me and, it just feels strange, y'know?" She released a breath she wasn't aware she was holding. "It all happened so fast. One day I'm accusing my mom's fiancé of murder and the next I find out it was her this whole time and now she's in jail… because of me." Kate felt comfortable around Yelena even though they had only really spoke like this once. It felt amazing, finally having someone like her to speak to.
"You blame yourself?"
Kate paused and hesitated. "I don't know." She puffed out a breath. "I guess? I mean, I did try to stop her, to help…" She let out a dry laugh to fill in the silence afterwards. "I should feel good about it, about bringing justice to her crime, but I don't."
A beat went by, with only the sounds of Kate breathing able to be heard.
"I see,"
"Mhm." Kate let her eyes wander, tracing every part of her apartment, from the kitchen cabinets to the lamp. She cracked her knuckles; a habit she had developed since she was young that she always did when she felt tense.
"I know what that feels like." Yelena sighed, kissing her teeth. "When I got blipped, I lost five years of my life and the first thing I found out is that Natasha died. I still blame myself for not being there and sacrificing myself instead."
Kate frowned, picked up her phone, climbed up the metal steps to her bedroom, leaving the unfinished plate of linguine for Lucky. She sat on her queen sized bed, leaning against the headboard with her legs tangled in the nest of purple satin sheets as she spoke, "It's not your fault Yelena, you shouldn't blame yourself." She bit her lip as she thought of what to say next. "You weren't there, and you couldn't be there. You couldn't control it. But, she wouldn't be happy to see you like this. She wouldn't want to see you living the rest of your life in regret."
Yelena didn't say anything, but Kate could still hear her sharp breaths from the other end. She couldn't imagine how Yelena felt compared to her.
"It's just that, I only had a year or so with her when we were young, then I got sent to the Red Room." Kate stiffened at the thought of the Red Room, though she hadn't experienced it, she heard enough horror stories from Yelena that day. "Then when I was freed, we had less than two years together before I got blipped and she sacrificed herself." Yelena heaved another sigh, but this time it sounded heavier, as if she had been waiting to tell someone about this.
"I get that. It's not really the same, but when the aliens came and my dad died, it just felt so sudden. One minute he was there, and the next he wasn't. And no matter how much time passes, I keep expecting him but I know he'll never turn up ever again."She picked at the thread of the blanket, words trembling as she spoke.
"I guess we share the same scars."
"Yep."
She could hear Yelena's soft titter from the phone, smiling to herself. Being able to relate to someone— not just someone; Yelena Belova, was hard but it's great to feel understood. Lucky soon came stomping into the bedroom and to his dog bed which obviously is purple. He curled up and tucked his nose next to his tail, eyes closed in seconds and breathing even.
"So, how's Russia?"
"Pretty boring. The food is great though. Amazing соля́нка and по́нчики."
"Okay, what the hell is that, translation please?" Yelena snickered at Kate's words, Kate flushed.
"соля́нка is this thick and sour soup for hangovers, and по́нчики are like doughnuts."
"You get hangovers? That's surprising."
"No, I just like it."
"Ah,"
"As I was saying, you should try it one day. Very tasty. Although the pickle juice in it might be too strong for your American taste buds." Kate rolled her eyes, but not in a rude way, more of a 'I-was-expecting-her-to-say-that' kinda way.
"Haha. Very funny. To be fair, I did try Russian cuisine once at a gal—"
"Uh uh, do not speak about gala European cuisine. They suck. Don't even get me started on your mom's Christmas party's stroganoff. That's like the easiest dish to make and they still screwed it up."
"Really? I thought it was nice," Kate laughed weakly, throat tightening. Of course Yelena had to bring up the Christmas party. Flashes of it ran through her mind— glasses clinking, rich people laughing, the chaos that erupted shortly after, Eleanor looking at her, tears welled up in her eyes as she was put into the police car.
"No. There's this place I know in New York that makes real stroganoff. The owners are from Russia and I used to go there often when I was in the city. Maybe when I come back, I could bring you there." Yelena's voice snapped her out of her reverie, but then she realized what Yelena had just said.
Holy shit she basically just asked us out—
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
Kate flustered, face turning redder than it was before— if it even could. She carefully considered her answer within two seconds before blurting out "I'd love to."
…
"How are your parents?"
"They're fine. Mama was very sad, my father too but they were proud that she died to save the world. And then my father gave me this long lecture about how I should follow her footsteps and be a hero too. Honestly, Kate Bishop, they'd love you."
"Really?"
"Mmm, but I'd doubt you'd wanna meet them."
"Why not?" Kate asked, knowing this was a sensitive topic to Yelena, voice gentler. "They would tell you the same things about how much glory you get from being a hero, to be someone that saves the world even if it destroys you."
Yelena laughed under her breath, but there was no humor in it.
"And I don't want that for you."
Kate's heart sank a little hearing that. "Why not?" Kate asked, half-smiling as she dipped her head deeper into the pillow and adjusted it.
"Because they'd make you move to Russia and adopt you and then I'll have to clean up your messes when you do your hero things."
"Okay the first one doesn't sound too bad but the second, ouch. Do you really not believe in me?"
"No no, I think you're incredible, Kate Bishop." Kate smiled at the compliment, grinning from ear to ear. " It's just that I think we both know the outcome of last Christmas." Her smile faded and her face dropped. Second time she mentioned Christmas… Every single time someone mentions it, she just gets bitten by guilt like a canine.
"What time is it there?" Kate tried to change the topic.
"3am."
"WHAT?!" Kate gaped. "Why are you still awake?" She said, composing herself from finding out Yelena was awake at 3am, sounding more lively than her. Kate could barely stay up til 1am and if she could, she'd probably be drunk as hell.
"To talk to you." A flush crept up Kate's face. Thank god this wasn't a video call, because if it was, Kate would be exposed immediately.
"Wow, I'm honored." She attempted to keep herself composed. Yelena Belova, staying up, to talk to us?
"Haha."
Kate chuckled. "It's only 8pm here."
"Oh, have you eaten?"
Kate bit her lip. She did eat, but she hadn't finished her plate. The call from her mom drained her appetite, and thinking about Yelena only made the emptiness sharper. "Kinda," she admitted, "I think Lucky finished the rest of my overcooked linguine."
"You should eat more, you sound dead."
"Thank you."
"Kate, I'm being serious."
"I'm fine," Kate chewed on the inside of her cheek, "I'm just tired." Her eyes drifted around her bedroom, gaze brushing the posters all over her walls and the string lights hung around.
"You don't have to lie, Kate Bishop."
"I know," She looked back at her phone and at Yelena's gray default profile picture. "Old habits." She smiled, lips pressed together to avoid frowning at the thought of her younger self not wanting to speak about such matters to Eleanor, inhaling a deep breath, giving an involuntary shudder
*
"When are you coming back?" Asked Kate, taking a drink of water. Three hours had passed. Yelena, still awake in Russia where the sun was probably rising and Kate, already yawning away at 11pm.
"Miss me already?" The water went down the wrong way. She coughed, blood rushing to her face from both the choking and the question. Shit, how did she catch on so fast? Kate was already flustered enough for the day. But this, this was a whole new level. Kate was genuinely spiraling all just from three words. She could already imagine Yelena smirking behind the screen.
"Well— I guess? You're just really fun to talk to,"
"Fun to talk to. Mhm, very convincing there."
Kate pinched the bridge of her nose and let out a long groan, "You're impossible," followed by a closed-mouth laugh.
"I take that as a yes."
"Okay, but seriously, when are you coming back?"
"In three weeks. I haven't really planned much yet but most of my missions take place in New York, so I figured I should just stay there for now."
"The dog will be happy," she diverted her gaze to Lucky, surprisingly sound asleep she assumed from hearing Yelena's voice on speaker. He didn't really sleep well these three nights, probably because of seeing his owner panicking every two minutes from not getting a call from Yelena.
"Lucky?" He stirred a little from hearing his name but still mostly stayed still on the bed.
"Yeah. He probably loves you more than me."
"You love me?"
"Wait— no— I meant it as in— oh god," stuttered Kate, scrambling to find words to not get teased again, which she failed to do. "I meant that he loves you more than he loves me."
"Kate Bishop, relax, it was just a joke." Okay, Yelena definitely sensed it. Play it cool, Kate. Play it cool. Yelena's voice was all smug and teasing. Kate could barely count the number of times she had felt her face bloom with redness.
"Okay, but seriously, he has been waiting by the window ever since our drink." The window that was still unlatched, as if she was still expecting a 5'3 Russian assassin to climb in even though she knows she wouldn't until three weeks later. Oh god, is this a coping mechanism?
"Oh really?" Said Yelena, amused.
"Yeah. I took him on a walk this morning and he went up to like four blonde women thinking it was you." Kate smiled at the memory.
"Four blondes? He's got good taste."
"Don't be flattered. One of them was like sixty." Kate guffawed, then bit the side of her lip, smirking.
"But he is very smart dog."
"Yea, a dumb one too."
"I see he takes after his owner."
Kate scoffed, "Hey!" She laughed softly, "I am not!" They shared a mutual laughter that was definitely a refreshing one from all of the dark talk they had at the start.
"It is late, Kate Bishop. Get some sleep, да?"
"Awh."
"Kate."
"Alright alright, goodnight Yelena."
"Goodnight, котёнок."
Notes:
im pretty sure i used the words laugh and smiled a lot in this chapter but i dont know what other words i couldve used haha
Chapter Text
Three days have passed since that call. Kate and Yelena have been calling almost every night since, chatting about the most random things ever, from discussing whether pasta or macaroni is better (Yelena was on macaroni's side) to more stories from the past. It was amazing, truly, having someone other than Lucky or Clint to talk to. It filled up some of the holes that Christmas dug in her heart, finally having a friend to talk to.
Ever since the clock tower incident, Greer and Franny, aka her only two 'real' friends, had cut all relations to her. Ouch, that definitely left a scar. Kate could count the number of people she talked to with one hand: Clint, Laura, Yelena, and Lucky. All the other people she knew also cut contact since Christmas. Maybe instead of just sinking into her worn-out couch and binging Brooklyn 99 every day, she should be focusing on, I don't know, getting a life?.
She and Yelena have been texting super often. Probably because she's one of the only contacts in her phone other than Laura and Clint. Pretty embarrassing, Bishop. But it was fine. She enjoyed Yelena's company—like, a lot. She finds herself thinking about the blonde woman way more than she should, and more and more as each day passes.
But then a sudden loud ringing, followed by buzzing, comes from her phone. Kate, still in bed, nestled in blankets over comforters of purple with her limbs tangled with sheets, doesn't realize until the third time it has buzzed on her nightstand. Letting out the loudest groan possible while stretching, she picks up her phone and hits accept on the call. She doesn't even bother seeing who the person calling her is. With one hand sloppily holding her phone to her ear and the other rubbing her eyes lethargically, "Hello…?"
"Good morning, Kate Bishop." Kate instantly recognized that voice, that accent, and that same singsong way of saying her name.
"…Yelena?"
"Rise and shine." Yelena replied with her smug voice and sarcastic tone. Kate clenched her face and managed to open her eyes. Sunlight crept through her curtains, shining onto her face, which she then used her hands to cover to keep it from hitting her any further. Lucky heard Kate's voice and ran up the metal stairs, his paws clanking against the steps, and sprawled onto the bed, licking her cheeks and nose.
"Ugh, it's so early… Let me sleep." Kate stirred around, her palm covering her eyes from the sunlight.
Yelena chuckled, "It's already nine." Kate rolled her eyes. Of course Yelena thinks nine is a late time to wake up. A yawn escaped her lips as she clenched her jaw and stretched her legs.
"God, you sound like my mom…" Kate, originally sitting up, fell back into her bed and into the pool of comfort and pillows again.
"Haha. Get up, котёнок. You need to eat so you don't sound so dead." The pet name, yet again, slipped out of Yelena's lips. Kate was way too tired to even try remembering how it sounded so she could put it into Google Translate.
"What does that even mean…" Kate was back on her back, her eyes closed and her mouth not fully closed. Lucky was still on top of her, basically begging her to get up for his morning walk.
"I'll let you find out yourself."
"Oh my god. You're impossible…" Kate muttered under her breath as she let out another yawn.
"What was that, Kate Bishop?"
Kate began to stutter. "Nothing, I'm getting up now…" She got up to her feet, feeling the fluffy carpet beneath her, rubbing her temples and glancing at the disheveled look of herself in the mirror, brushing her tangled brunette locks.
"Good." Yelena replied, amusement in her tone. "Now go feed Lucky before he kills you in your sleep and eats you alive, and then I'll have to dispose of your body." Kate snickered and headed to the bathroom.
"Okay, that was way too gruesome for the morning."
"Haha. Bye, Kate Bishop."
"Talk to you later!"
Kate hung up as she reluctantly grabbed her toothbrush and squeezed the minty toothpaste onto the bristles. She rinsed her mouth with water and brushed as she looked at herself again in the bathroom's mirror. Eye bags were forming in shades of purple and gray beneath her eyes, and she was wearing some old Hawkeye merch from 2019 as a sleep shirt. Okay, maybe Yelena was right about her looking dead. Her room was a mess, with sweaters and dirty mugs scattered around, like a tornado had passed through it. And yet, somehow, Yelena still called her. Still teased her. Still made her feel… seen.
She brushed her teeth slowly, fragments of her and Yelena's morning conversation echoing in her mind. Toothpaste foam gathered at the corners of her mouth as she replayed Yelena's voice in her head: Get up, котёнок. The word was stuck in her head. What was it supposed to mean? It didn't sound bad or like an insult. In fact, it sounded… kind of nice? It leaves a warm feeling in her heart whenever Yelena says it, but she still doesn't know what it means. Googling it may sound easy, but she can barely make out each syllable when Yelena says it with her thick-voiced accent.
It was strange how quickly they had managed to fall into this routine. Morning calls, midday texts, and late-night chats. Without fail, it happened every day, and it was honestly the only thing keeping Kate sane. Just even thinking about past moments with Yelena made Kate smile like an idiot. She hadn't realized how quiet her apartment truly was until Yelena's voice filled it.
Kate finally spat her toothpaste out and placed her toothbrush on the counter, splashing her face with ice-cold water as a wake-up call—both mentally and physically. She had work to get done today, mainly because new celebrity drama is circulating and she got put on proofreading duty again. Cons of being a trainee, am I right?
"Get a grip, Bishop!" She muttered softly but with a slight anger at herself that she was becoming so obsessed with this Russian assassin she had barely known personally for two weeks. She barely did any training for her journalist job, but she seemed to be able to write articles and articles about Yelena in her head every day. Her gaze darted to Lucky, who was sticking his tongue out and wagging his tail at her like always. "You're not really helping, buddy." She scratched his neck, and he made sounds of appreciation, rolling onto his back for her to rub his belly.
She got ready quick, throwing on a purple archery sweatshirt, baggy jeans, and some white sneakers while filling Lucky's dog bowl with dog food. He downed the bowl as if he hadn't eaten in weeks.
Damn, Yelena was right. If he waited any longer to get his breakfast, he definitely would've killed me by now.
Reaching down to stroke the nape of Lucky's neck, she pouts. "I'll be back in a while, okay?" She sighed, "Please, please, please do not mess up the house, okay, buddy?" He just tilted his head and stuck his tongue out at her, without a single thought in that fluffy head of his. "Great," He definitely did not understand a single thing coming out of her mouth, but hey, at least it's some sort of acknowledgment, right?
*
With her sneakers clicking against the pavement, Kate whipped out her phone to check Google Maps for directions to the nearest cafe. Apparently, it was only a ten-minute walk. But for Kate, it took a whopping twenty-five minutes. Wrong avenue, wrong road, wrong block—New York is soooooo confusing. It felt good to finally get outside. The sunlight wasn't beaming dangerously mercilessly on her, and the weather was surprisingly pleasant. The streets weren't too busy, and the cafe looked cozy. It was really decorated on the outside. String lights that were supposedly turned off during the day and a small standing chalkboard with their daily pastry menu.
She opened the glass door with the bell ringing in the background and saw that the inside was pretty empty but equally as decorated. Only about five people were in the cafe, taking up two tables while they did their work in silence. The only sounds that could be heard were the blending of drinks and lo-fi music in the background. Kate walked up to the counter and took a quick glance at the menu. They surprisingly had a good amount of options despite their small name. From plain old black coffees to extremely extravagant frappes, they had everything. The entire place smelled amazing, the aroma of buttery baked goods wafting around in the air. Yeah, Kate really should get out of her hobbit hole more often.
A teenage-looking boy soon came up to the other side of the counter from the inner room. He was a bit shorter than her and looked pretty young, as if he was still in school. He was slightly shocked to see Kate, but then he felt ashamed. He tried hiding it behind an uneasy smile, but Kate could sense it. "Hi—uh, sorry. I was cleaning something up from the kitchen. What could I get you?" He pressed his lips together into a fine line.
"Just an iced latte, please. Thank you."
"Alrighty…" He pulled out a plastic cup from below the counter as well as a Sharpie from the pocket of his black apron. "Could I get your name for that?"
"Kate. With a K."
He looked up from the cup and raised an eyebrow, staring at her. "I mean—yea, how else would you spell it?" He chuckled softly towards the end as he continued to write: Kate-with-a-K.
"You'd be surprised."
*
Kate sipped on her iced latte as her eyes skimmed over each word of the article, basically correcting an error every ten words. Her big-ass ego that probably isn't wrong thinks she shouldn't be just a proofreader, but The New York Times says otherwise. Her resume was pretty impressive… right? To be fair, she didn't have much to her portfolio except for an endorsement or two from some Bishop Security managers, a six-year consistent blog from 2017, and being an Avenger's best friend/partner. But somehow, she got hired as an intern and began proofreading for other journalists. It honestly sucked, like sucked a lot. Having to read through boringly written articles over and over about political or celebrity drama sounds fun, but it really isn't since she is not allowed to change anything major. Boohoo.
She rubbed her temples as she stared at the bright screen in front of her, her fingers tired from endless typing and then deleting and then typing and then deleting. It was kind of an endless cycle—a very painful one. The latte barely seemed to help her at all, and this article was ten pages long, while she had just finished the third, her coffee already gone.
It was not long after when the barista seemed to notice her frustration. A few minutes passed before another glass of iced coffee with a ton of whipped cream on top, chocolate drizzle, and Java chips was plopped on her table. The clinking of the glass onto the wooden tabletop snapped Kate out of her focus from the bright screen and onto the brunette standing before her. Confusion pooled in her brain and went down her throat as she couldn't really seem to find much to say.
"I didn't order anything," she told him, firm but not in a rude way—more of a getting-it-straight way.
"Oh—no, this is for you, on the house." He smiled with his teeth at her; Kate chewed on the inside of her cheek. "I noticed you looked… like you were dying, so I decided to make you this drink."
Kate diverted her gaze to the drink as he pushed it slightly towards her, still smiling. "I drank it a lot when I was studying for my finals last year," he said. "It's like a miracle."
"Really?"
"Mhm, loads of sugar and caffeine helped me get through calculus." He closed his eyes for a brief moment and chuckled under his breath.
She took another sip of the extremely sugary but rich cup of chocolate. "You're in college?"
"Yup," he sighed, "just started my first year."
"Nice." Kate just stared at the boy in front of her. "Take a seat."
He pulled out the chair from under the table and sat down. "Thanks, name's Peter. Peter Parker."
"Kate Bishop."
"That's a cool name!" His eyes glistened from the lights' reflecting onto his brown irises. Kate studied him and stared a bit too closely and intensely at the Spiderman pin on his apron. Peter looked down at his pin, and his ears tinged pink. "Big Spiderman fan." He pointed at it.
"Haha, no worries, I'm a big Hawkeye fan myself." She smirked, looking down at her sweatshirt. "I started archery when I was younger because of him." She whispered and used her hand to cover the left side of her lips, "He and I are actually really great friends."
"Oh my god, you're friends with Hawkeye? That's sick! All I do is try and spot Spiderman around New York. It's really hard, so I keep my camera around with me just in case. I have a fan page of him too!"
"Oh my god, I need to see it!"
Peter grinned. "I'll airdrop it to you; give me a sec…"
*
"So, a rough morning?"
Kate nodded. "Yeah. I've got tons of work."
"Ooh, what do you do?" Peter asked.
"I'm an intern at The New York Times. I'm currently just proofreading some of the latest celebrity drama news. It's really boring, not gonna lie." She frowned and shrugged her shoulders.
"No way, you're a journalist?"
"Well, kind of. I'm a trainee and won't be a journalist until maybe two years later."
"Oof, I heard their expectations are high." He gave a crooked smile.
"Yep, real high, you're not wrong." She kissed her teeth and pouted. "But, it is my dream job other than being an Avenger, so, yeah."
Peter's eyes widened as he looked down onto the table, frowning stronger than Kate did. He exhaled out of his nose and looked back up at Kate's confused expression.
"Are you okay?"
He smiled. "Yep, yep. Just tired. I had tons of homework last night since I have a project due tomorrow."
"Dang, good luck. College is hard, but you'll get through it. I believe in you, kid."
"Okay, you cannot call me a kid! You're a kid too!"
"I'm 23, but okay…" she smugly laughed.
"Touché."
"Haha."
*
Okay, so Kate finally has friends outside of Yelena, Clint, Laura, and Lucky now. That's… great! Actually, 'friends' is an overstatement. 'Friend' is the right word. Now, she has somewhere to go every morning instead of rotting in her bed and watching TikToks and sitcoms all day. She. Has. A. Life!!!
About a week has passed since her first meeting with Peter. He's actually a really chill kid. She's basically his free-of-charge tutor now since he drops by every day for her to teach him math—even though she forgot most of the formulas and weird stuff. But, hey, she's socializing!
Thanks to Peter, Lucky now gets free pup cups and treats every day. Woohoo. Now, Lucky expects one every single day. Ha, at least it's free. Kate would go broke in a month if she had to pay for those overpriced cups of whipped cream.
But now she was doing yet another proofreading project. Her room was cleaned after both Yelena and Peter berated her for it. And there she was, sitting at her desk in her dark room with only one small desk lamp to fill in the darkness. She ground her teeth as she typed about some new minor political news that apparently needs documenting. So, maybe it was a mistake being a rising journalist? Especially for one of, if not the, biggest news outlets in America? Her job should be fun, but this? Is boring as hell.
Kate clenches her fist tightly, ready to vent all anger on her Ikea wooden vinyl desk, until her phone begins violently vibrating and ringing on her desk.
"Oh my god, what do you want!" She said, decibels away from shouting.
"Woah. Calm down, Kate Bishop. Did I call at a bad time?"
"Yelena?"
"Mhm?"
Kate immediately blushed, embarrassment coursing through her veins. "I am—oh god. I am so sorry; I was just really, really mad at something. I didn't mean to yell at you…"
"Uh huh, so who were you yelling at, huh? The poor phone?"
"No—I'm just really frustrated with work. They have me proofreading like two articles every single day. This is so painful." Kate heaved a long and deep sigh. "I was yelling at myself for being so stupid."
…
"Don't worry, I will forgive you. But only because you sound super pathetic right now."
"Wow, thanks." Kate muttered. An involuntary smile crept up her face.
"See? I knew my timing was perfect."
Lucky trotted to Kate's side from hearing Yelena's voice, barking loudly. "He's excited to see you."
"I know. 'Four blonde women.'"
"Are you really going to bring that up every time?"
"Yes."
Kate groaned.
"Why, Kate Bishop? Do you not do that too? I thought all dogs take after their owners."
"Okay—no, that's just creepy."
"Haha. So you aren't excited for me to come back and ruin your boring life?"
"First of all, you wouldn't ruin it and second, it is not boring. I became friends with some barista working at the cafe near my block."
"Wow, Kate, I'm impressed, but should I be jealous of this barista?"
"Nah, he's just a kid, I'm literally helping him with college projects."
"When can I meet him?"
"What?"
"You heard me, I need to make sure he is not a murderer and won't kill you."
"Okay, so meeting him is possible but please, please, please don't interrogate him. You'd scare him off."
"I'm just joking, Kate Bishop. I'll find out about him myself."
"That's even worse!"
"Alright, alright, I'll stop."
"Thank you."
*
"This sucks, I hate proofreading over this writer, this is my forth time already this week…" Kate held in a loud groan and said it more into a whine.
"Haha, good luck, котёнок."
"When will you tell me what that means?" Asked Kate.
"It means 'kitten'."
Kate's face became incandescent from all the blood rushing to her face. So THAT'S what it means. She bit her top lip with her bottom teeth and stopped spinning her chair around hearing that.
Kitten.
Kitten.
KITTEN?!
She could hear voices speaking, but they were all incoherent due to the noise in her head. Her shoulders tensed and she stiffened at the name— no, just at Yelena in general. Is it getting hot in here?
"Kate Bishoooooop! Are you there?"
Okay, fuck.
"Hi—uh, sorry, I was distracted."
"Aw, maybe I shouldn't have told you. Do you not like the name? I thought it was really cute…"
"N-no, I think it's… uh… nice…?"
Kate was embarrassed to admit how much she actually liked the name. Whenever she heard it slip out of Yelena's lips, she felt her heart flutter. But now that she knows the meaning, the butterflies in her stomach tripled in population.
"Good. You scared me there." Yelena joked.
"Mhm,"
…
A few beats pass.
"You're very quiet there, котёнок. Did I break you?"
"No, no, I'm totally fine! Just… really focused on my proofreading."
"You are a terrible liar; have I told you that?"
"Yup… multiple times. Very encouraging there, 'Lena."
"Haha. I actually never used that name on anyone before."
"Wow, I'm so honored."
"Mhm, you remind me of one too."
"Oh really, how?"
"So you know how cats like knocking things off tables—"
"Okay, we get it."
"What? I was going to say you're cute like one too." Kate's face couldn't get redder than it already was; actually, it could, and it was every second.
Yelena Belova, Calling us CUTE?
Kate, you're overreacting; shut up.
No, we get our own pet name from her, one she hasn't used on ANYONE ELSE before. How can we calm down!?!
"You're unbelievable, do you know that?"
"Yes," Yelena simply answered.
"That wasn't—you're supposed to deny that!" Kate laughed and grinned like a teenager talking to her middle school hallway crush.
"Why would I deny the truth?"
Kate groaned loudly and pinched the bridge of her nose before her head fell into her hands. "God, I actually hate you so much."
"You say that every day, Kate Bishop, but you still answer my calls."
And God, she was very right.
Notes:
peter is here!!! lemme know if i mischaracterized him since as you guys know, im new to the fandom so i have this really big fear of mischaracterization…
hope you liked the chapter!!!!
Chapter 4: hot sauce
Notes:
This chapter was supposed to be way longer, but I thought the pacing would be weird since most my chapters are only 2k - 3k words
So I decided to split this chapter into two, the next one a continuation of this : )
Sorry for mistakes, it’s currently 1am and i am so tired
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
March 02
Missed call from Kate Bishop x2
Kate Bishop: Helloooo?
Kate Bishop: R u there?
Kate Bishop: Nvm
Kate Bishop: Gn!
delivered-unread
March 03:
Kate Bishop: Lena?
Kate Bishop: : (
Missed call from Kate Bishop x3
Kate Bishop: please answer me
Kate Bishop: Lenaaaa?
Missed call from Kate Bishop x2
delivered-unread
March 04
Kate Bishop: Lena, are you okay?
Kate Bishop: I'm starting to get real worried…
Missed call from Kate Bishop x7
delivered-unread
March 05
Kate Bishop: Yelena
Kate Bishop: Are you in danger? Do you need help?
Kate Bishop: I mean not like I can do much but
Kate Bishop: you are seriously scaring me.
Missed call from Kate Bishop x5
delivered-unread
March 06
Kate Bishop: r you alive?
Kate Bishop: bc i dont think you are…
Missed call from Kate Bishop x3
Kate Bishop: ok, im being serious, please answer me.
Missed call from Kate Bishop x4
Kate Bishop: Yelena pls stop this
Kate Bishop: Answer me
Missed call from Kate Bishop x7
delivered-unread
*
March 07
"Okay, I give up, do you even need help with this project?" Kate groaned and rubbed her temples helplessly, staring at random geometrical diagrams.
"No, not really. I just don't wanna do it in my dorm. My frat boy roommate keeps using his drone to shoot my stuff when I'm working on it." Peter sighed as he spun his pen around, the kitchen counter covered with papers scattered across it. "He claims he's 'testing out his new invention' but it's definitely just to piss me off. And that drone is definitely from Target."
Laughing hysterically, she clapped her hands together once. "Couldn't be me. My old dorm mate was this nerd that wouldn't leave her room, but it was pretty chill between us." She smirked, "I heard she's working for NASA now."
Peter's jaw dropped, "That's insane! You're lucky you even had a normal roommate. This guy literally goes to parties everyday and brings back a girl back every night." He frowned and looked back at his laptop, taking a sip of his Pepsi, "But I did manage to propose a switch of roommates to the residence life department for my next term and it's currently under consideration." Kate smiled as she looked back down at the worksheet.
"Haha, now back to the math problem, what the hell am I looking at again?" Kate pointed at the weird shapes and lines on the paper with erased pencil markings still visible underneath them. She spun around on her stool and bit the tip of the pencil, perplexity written over her face.
"It's geometry. You should know this! You're literally an archer, aren't angles your thing?" Peter's attention drifted to the many archery competition medals and trophies on her shelves, along with the comically large amount of Hawkeye posters pasted on the walls.
"Okay, you cannot use that against me. It is very different because archery does not involve trapezium looking things and weirdly shaped triangles," Kate scoffed. Lucky was in the corner of the living room, indulging in a large cup of whipped cream with kibbles inside, the whipped cream getting all over his face.
"Alright, fine." Peter frowned jokingly, staring intensely at the diagram before his pen began to glide across the paper in ribbons of ink as numbers and letters began to get written onto it.
"So, while I'm doing this, tell me about that assassin friend of yours that likes coming through the window." Kate flustered immediately, rubbing the back of her head. Peter definitely noticed but he kept writing like nothing mattered.
"Oh— you mean Yelena? She looks… forward to meeting you." Kate gave a decorative smile to hide her extremely flustered expression.
"I'm excited to meet her too, is she scary?"
Kate pondered for a moment before answering, "Well, not really. At first she was but then over time she became pretty nice." Kate involuntarily smiled but didn't realize it, Peter still focused on his work.
"Oof, do you think she'd be mean to me?" He paused his writing and looked up at Kate, holding his pen between his third and index finger.
"Probably not. Unless you're a threat to her, or apparently me too." She softly and incoherently murmured the 'or apparently me too', pouting at her laptop screen. Peter didn't say anything for a while and filled the short silence with the sounds of typing and scratching of the metal pen tip on the paper.
"I think it's safe to say I am nothing but a college student and a barista." Peter laughed, but there was only very little humor in it. Kate raised an eyebrow, but didn't dare say anything else and continued talking.
"Anyways. Just a heads up, she carries like ten knives on her everywhere she goes, and the last time we met, she was doing all sorts of tricks with them." She rolled her eyes and leaned her chin against her palm, eventually rolling back them to Peter.
"Oh my god, that's so cool! She's got to teach me those." Peter gaped as he dropped his pen on the table. Kate raised her eyebrows and bit the corner of her bottom lip.
"Haha, well, she doesn't trust me with any of her knives so I doubt she'd trust you with them." Kate laughed as she glanced at her phone another time, as if waiting for a call or text from Yelena— but she was, she really was.
"Eh, maybe it's just you being not careful?" Teased Peter, not looking up at all from his papers and worksheets as he wrote lines of equations. "Remember the clock tower incident?"
"Okay that was one time!" Kate shuddered involuntarily at the thought of the clock tower incident and the harsh tongue-lashing she received from Eleanor last Christmas, and also the fact that that incident is the reason why all her credit cards were cancelled and still are.
"Yea, but I would be way better with knives. She'd trust me more than you, I can sense it."
"Oh my god," She snickered.
Kate exhaled sharply out of her nose as Peter wrote his last few lines of digits.
"Alrighty Kate. Thanks for letting me do my work here, but I gotta head back to my dorm before my roommate is home." He swiftly swept his papers into his backpack as well as his laptop, grabbed his Pepsi can and stood up."No problem man, see you tomorrow?"
"See ya tomorrow!" He walked towards the door and gripped the doorknob, twisted it and walked out the door quickly, shutting it behind him. Kate's tensed shoulders immediately dropped. Not that she was uncomfortable around Peter, more of she was worried about Yelena. Their usual nightly calls have stopped for four whole days. Okay. Maybe Kate was being absolutely ridiculous, but not to sound paranoid or something, but Yelena has also not been replying or even reading her texts. She wasn't delusional or anything along the lines of that in fact. She was concerned. Like really concerned for her. Biting her nails, she nervously held her phone, refreshing her internet every five seconds, just waiting for that gray bubble of text to appear on her screen. But as she was about to put her phone down— she heard a horrible noise.
Leaves rustling, metal creaking. Kate thought it was just Lucky at first, but then she saw him sound asleep on the floor.
Shit.
Kate grabbed her bow and an arrow with caution, stepping slowly from the kitchen counter to behind the couch, stationing herself as she pulling the string, waiting for whatever was to come. Adrenaline rushed through her body and mind. She aimed it at the window as it slowly creaked open. She didn't hear another sound, until she heard one she'd been dying to hear.
"Kate Bishoooooooooop!" A hand holding a full grocery bag reached over the open window, dropping it onto the ground with a thump. "I'm baaaccckk!" Yelena grunted as she climbed over the window sill and fell onto her feet onto the floor.
"That boy is finally gone…" Yelena picked up the bag from the floor and walked towards the kitchen. She was still wearing her white suit, stained with blood at her calf. Kate froze from seeing it, color draining from her face. "'She'd trust me more than you,'" Yelena mocked Peter's voice, words, accent. Kate threw her bow onto her couch— something she'd never done before— and fought the urge to shout. Rage coursed through Kate's veins.
Yelena ignores us for five days and now she's back like nothing even happened?
"Where were you? You haven't answered my texts or calls— you didn't tell me anything before you disappeared." Kate's eyes never left the assassin in the room as she choked on her words.
Yelena frowned at her, guilt being a bitch to her face. Yelena stiffened, looking down which surprised Kate, "I'm sorry, котёнок. I was busy with work."
Kate looked down at the blood on Yelena's suit, stained crimson with an obvious splatter. Oh god, was it hers? Kate flinched, worry shooting through and around in her head. "'Lena, your suit—" Kate was about to crouch down to check it out before Yelena pressed a firm hand against her collarbone to stop her, pushing her back.
"Don't worry Kate Bishop, it's not mine." Yelena referred to the blood with her finger pointing towards it. "I had a mission just now, the man got defensive but he was quite stupid. He cut himself on accident and made my job easier, but people stared at me." Yelena laughed to herself as she took out what looked like ingredients from the grocery bag. "New York people are so rude, they like to stare so much. Kate, you have that habit too, you know?" A flush crept up Kate's face, warmth immediately blooming beneath her skin into a soft red.
"Do I?"
The groceries laid scattered across Kate's counter. Macaroni, pre-grated cheddar and Gouda cheese, cream and spices. Confusion wrapped around Kate's mind like a ribbon. "Yes, you do, Kate Bishop. A very bad habit. But I will spare you since you're weird like that and it's not your fault either." Kate pressed her fingertips onto her cheeks, feeling the heat building up beneath it.
"Uh huh, so what are these for?" She crossed her arms and stood next to Yelena by the counter.
"You hadn't eaten dinner right?"
Kate's eyes widened in shock. "How— How'd you know?" Her shoulders tensed further, as if a single twitch of an arm would end her life. "I was waiting outside the window for a while. The target lived nearby, and I looked inside to check if you were home every fifteen minutes but all I saw was that kid doing his work and you looking at your phone." Yelena puffed out an exhausted breath, "Then I overheard you telling him that you hadn't eaten yet so I went to get ingredients to make you food after he left."
HOLY SHIT SHE'S MAKING FOOD FOR US?
AHHHHHHHHHHH
Kate— no, stop. You're overreacting, you're supposed to be mad right now.
Kate was spiraling. Like, her mind was a whirlpool and she was in the middle of it. Her cheeks have reached its peak of redness, knees slightly shaking. She couldn't hide it, not at all. Her gaze traced the ingredients on her table to the stray pieces of hair coming out of Yelena's braid. Accelerated breathing and overheating of the face were both symptoms of flatter, but this? This was not normal. Okay yes, Kate was definitely infatuated, and might have a crush on someone she'd only gotten to know for a month, but god was it painfully hard to hide now.
Her gaze brushed over the ingredients again then back to Yelena, blue eyes met green, or was it green eyes meeting blue? "Wow, thanks, I didn't know you cook?" She smiled warmly at the widow.
Yelena opened Kate's cabinets and took out the same pot she used last time. "Kate Bishop, I made macaroni for you before, no?"
Kate could hear the smirking in Yelena's voice despite her back facing Kate. She filled the pot with water from the sink, placing it on the stove and turning on the heat, preparing to boil the macaroni. "I mean, you made boxed mac and cheese," Yelena poured the noodles into the water, "Anyone can make that."
"Haha, you're so funny Kate Bishop,"
Grinning like an idiot, Kate took a second to analyze the ingredients on the table— especially the spices. Paprika, onion, garlic, basic stuff, but a game changer for mac and cheese. Cream, heavy as always and the empty Barilla macaroni box was lying next to it. Kate could barely cook, but watching Yelena's precise movements, using a singular metal fork to do all of that was like watching a witch at her craft. The careful measurement of cream as she poured it in, the contradicting carefree method of just measuring the cheese and spices by heart impressed Kate. Like, really impressed Kate. Who knew a black widow, trained to get information and, well, kill, was this good at whatever the hell she was doing with her stove?
It was sad to realize her silent admiring session came to an end. Yelena humming a melody and the sounds of mixing filled the silence. Lucky had already woken up, sticking by Yelena's side, definitely hungry for something as he wagged his tail around.
"I'm gonna go feed him, call me when you're done?"
"Okay," she continued humming.
"Come here buddy," she stroked Lucky's fur and directed him to the living room where she picked up the bag of kibbles and poured it into his dog bowl positioned next to the couch. He trotted in circles with his feet as if he was scolding her for not feeding him in morse code.
"Dude— chill." She whispered to him as his face immediately dived into the bowl.
Kate leaned against the couch, stealing a glance of Yelena still stirring the macaroni and humming. It was soft, but she could make out the melody of American Pie with the rhythmic clang of the fork scraping the metal pot. Soothing was the word to describe this scene, warming Kate's heart.
Lucky looked up at her mid-bite, tilting his head with kibble crumbs stuck to his nose, staring at her with those big-curious, judgmental golden retriever eyes. Kate froze as if she was caught red-handed.
"What?" Kate's face immediately reddened, "God— just, eat your food." Her voice wasn't too soft, but muffled and probably couldn't be heard over the humming and sizzling of the stove and the faint click of a cap.
"Kate Bishop, come here, I need your help."
Kate nearly tripped over the leg of her couch in a rush to get up and make her way to the kitchen in a jiffy. The living room and kitchen were sharing one open space, but somehow the few steps between them felt like a runway she wasn't prepared to walk. Clearing her throat and brushing her sweater for any crumbs, she stood behind Yelena, combing through her hair with her fingers. Yelena scooped the macaroni into the fork, guiding it above her other hand and blowing it slightly. Steam wafted through the air but so did an aroma that could send Kate into heaven.
"Try this," Yelena said with a suspiciously innocent smile, "Let me know what you think." Yelena brought the fork to Kate's mouth.
The archer didn't hesitate, immediately separating her lips and taking the scoop, but something was definitely wrong. Heat built up on her tongue that not even the amazing taste of the sauce could cover up. It was burning. The taste of vinegar and spice shot her taste buds. Kate tried her best not to flinch, giving a very obvious uneasy grin to Yelena, but all she got back was a smirk. That's when she saw it, the glint in Yelena's eyes, a spark of mischief.
Fuuuuuucccckkk.
"How is it?" She asked in faux innocence, knowing exactly what she had done.
Kate struggled to speak, babbling out whatever she could, though she knew it sounded incoherent. No, she couldn't be weak now, at least not in front of Yelena, she could cry it out later. "It— its great! Very, uh, unique!" Her lips quivered.
"Haha, do you need water?"
She nodded frantically. Yelena already had a glass prepared behind her on the counter. Kate's fingers gripped onto the cool glass in no time, chugging it down as the burning sensation soon diminished.
"I love hot sauce, do you?"
"You're messed up, you know that?"
Notes:
I thank my amazing friend lenaa_belovaa for the idea of the ending (ILY)
Since I already have a base draft from the cut parts of this chapter, the next one will probably come out faster
Hope this chapter wasn’t too bad for my current state : D
Chapter 5: sleepover
Notes:
OK kindaa rushed because its 1am rn and i wanna get this chapter done and over with since i had severe writers block yesterday and panic deleted like 40 paragraphs…
:’D
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
"You're messed up, you know that?"
"Yes. You've told me that enough times already, котёнок." Yelena snickered beneath her breath, stirring the macaroni with the same fork. The sounds of kibbles clinking against metal by Lucky and the heavenly sloshing sounds of macaroni filled the room. "It's a bit overused, Kate Bishop,"
Kate face palmed, scrunching her nose, staring at Yelena's stupid face as she grinned. "Okay, but it's the truth, alright?" She leaned against the counter as Yelena took a non-spicy scoop of macaroni from the pot, her free hand's fingers gently grasped Kate's chin, lifting it up and bringing the fork to her lips. Kate's will bent instantly, taking the next scoop despite the betrayal from the last taste. "Mhm, whatever you say, котёнок."
Yeah, so Kate needs to control her facial expressions. The overwhelming feeling of Yelena's fingertips on her skin sent pleasant shivers down her spine. The pet name only made it worse. Almost crimson cheeks, butterflies fluttering in her stomach, what more could she say? Yelena's cooking was actually amazing. The spice covered up the taste the last time she tried it, but this time was different. The seasonings aligned like a syzygy and the eclipse was the amazing ending flavor— smoky but hearty.
Wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, Kate almost gaped from amazement. "Oh my god— that's amazing," Yelena was still standing in front of her and way too close for comfort. Okay, maybe comfort isn't the best word because she would give anything to stay like this forever, but their faces were inches apart. Smirking, Yelena backed up, Kate fought the urge to frown. "I told you I could cook." She went back to stirring and mixing the macaroni again.
Kate couldn't keep her eyes off one thing though. It wasn't Yelena's eyes or the way she looked when she was patiently making the macaroni for Kate, but more of the painfully hard-not-to-notice blood stains on her calf, especially because her suit was white.
"Hey— uh, if you'd like, you could borrow some of my clothes," She scrambled to find a good and non-flirty reason. "The blood is kinda disturbing."
Yelena raised an eyebrow and looked back at her. Her face was serious at first, but then she smiled. "Thank you, Kate Bishop."
Kate flushed immediately as if she could even anymore. "Yeah— no problem at all, sweatpants are in the bottom drawer and shirts are in the first." Yelena turned back to the pot.
"Okay, but let me finish cooking first, I'm almost done, then we can eat." She flashed a warm smile to Kate, turning off the heat in one swift twist of the knob. "Kate Bishop, please tell me you have more than one bowl?" Yelena opened her cabinets, looking for the bowls.
"Yes, uh, they're in the bottom cabinet." Kate bit half of her bottom lip watching Yelena crouch down and search for the bowls. When she did find them though, Kate expected herself to stop staring, but she wouldn't. No, actually, she couldn't. Yelena slowly stood up and filled the two bowls up with macaroni and slid one of them across the counter to Kate.
"Let them cool for a minute." Yelena washed her hands while speaking.
Kate's eyes flicked down to the blood again, "Right, my bedroom is there, just take whatever you need." Yelena looked back at her as she wiped her hands on the kitchen towel, "Thank you, Kate Bishop." She walked to the stairs to Kate's bedroom and climbed them before shutting it behind her. Kate's hands automatically reached her eyes, covering her face from the deadly fluster. Get it together, Bishop! So maybe having a really attractive assassin in your home isn't the smartest thing for both your safety and your heart. Kate watched steam rise from the macaroni, still hearing faint humming from the bedroom. Thank god she cleaned it yesterday, Yelena would revolt at the multiple coffee mugs in her room.
After about like, five minutes, Yelena stepped out of her bedroom and climbed down the stairs wearing a pair of gray sweatpants and one of Kate's purple archery shirts. They looked big on her, and she looked really, really small in them. She let her hair down in waves from the braid, slightly messy.
She tried to keep herself cool and steady, "You look good in my clothes…" she murmured softly, her heart racing.
Shit, did we say that out loud?
Okay, but she probably didn't hear us, right..?
Yelena padded down the last step, eyes never leaving Kate's, sweatpants hanging a bit too loose at her hips. Kate's clothes swallowing her frame made her look soft, not like the fierce assassin she always looked on a daily. Yelena froze for a second when the words slipped out of Kate's lips, but it was long enough for her to catch it. A slow smirk formed on her face, her eyes lit up like Christmas morning.
She definitely heard us.
"Oh really? I'll keep that in mind." Her accent was thick and her voice was smug. Kate wanted to slap her so bad, but at the same time wanted to kiss her senseless. Something inside Kate was beating the shit out of her, for falling for someone she'd only known for what, a month? Kate just pressed her lips into a fine line that curved upwards at its corner, but inside she was internally screaming, soul leaving her body for good.
The archer was malfunctioning. Her entire system felt like a Bill Gates' secret code scrambled up on a 1994 Windows computer with error messages popping up every millisecond. She panicked, almost forgetting oxygen was a necessity in her life. She fumbled for air, words, for anything to just let her disappear into thin air. Her knees felt like jelly and her hands were useless, so was her heart, pounding in her ear.
"I—uh— I mean—it's the— shirt is like— big— so— um—clothes— are— yeah!"
What the fuck did we just say—
Yup, we're done for.
Yelena raised both eyebrows, her expression showing that she was thoroughly entertained. "Kate Bishop, are you okay?" She chuckled in between, "You look… red."
The height difference between them didn't matter, nothing mattered. Kate's brain was overheating, her face developing seven shades of crimson, possibly an eighth. Of course she was red, of course she was.
"I'm— I'm not— I mean, it's just warm in here!" Kate stammered, the words almost coning out sloppy. She waved her hand in the air, pretending to fan herself as if it did anything to defend herself. It was like, 40°F outside. "Like, really warm. Overheating. Global warming— you know..?" She laughed dryly towards the end.
Yelena's eyes shined in the dark from amusement. Kate could tell she was holding back her laughter, or brutal comments. She fidgeted with her fingers because she knows she absolutely sucks at lying, only to Yelena, but what could she possibly have done?
Yelena stepped closer slowly, deliberately. Kate still freaking out, didn't even dare hide her face from the blonde, her breaths almost ragged. "You know, it isn't warm, it's actually very cold, but if you say so," she took a seat across Kate. The bottle of sriracha was perfectly positioned in between them, Yelena grabbing it and drowning her macaroni in it. Kate furrowed her eyebrows in disgust, Yelena noticed but took a bite anyways. "Stop staring and eat, Kate Bishop, before I have to spoon feed you again."
"Rude,"
*
"So… how long have you been in New York?" Kate took a scoop of her macaroni.
Yelena pondered for a moment, "About six days," she puffed a breath out. "I had a last minute mission. It was so boring. I had to take out this man who was the leader of the underground mafia or something. He was on the run from me for five days and I had to go to three galas to find him. Do you know how many men tried to get with me?" Kate's heart slightly fell when she heard of people hitting on Yelena. Oh god, is this jealousy? She almost flinched but stayed composed, "They failed, obviously, but I did make them feel like it was working. Mainly because they had connections to that guy who I needed to find so they were technically making my job easier." Yelena grinned at the thought.
"Ah, so, uh, I'm assuming the blood on your suit is… his?" Asked Kate.
"Mhm, he lived two blocks from you. I made sure to finish the job further away from yours though so that you wouldn't have to see blood splatters outside your house." Yelena's eyes darted back to Kate's, eyes that Kate swore were peridot enchanted her.
"So that explains the stalking?"
Yelena's jaw dropped in shock, or maybe it was sarcastic but still, her jaw dropped. "Stalking? Kate Bishop, enough with the accusations!" She almost chuckled, holding it back. "First, you accuse me of breaking in which I didn't even do because I didn't break anything, and second you accuse me of stalking you!" She scoffed.
Kate bit her lip and blushed furiously, smiling crookedly. "I'm pretty sure you waiting outside my window and eavesdropping on me and Peter's conversation is stalking."
Yelena pouted as she chewed on her food. Kate took a few seconds to study her. The way her shirt looked on her, the way her hair perfectly complemented her eyes, her cheeks very slightly flushed.
"Well, okay fine. I was stalking. But it was to make sure that boy wouldn't pull out a knife and stab you." Yelena flashed a look of skepticism to Kate.
"Okay, I don't think Peter is like that. He's really just a kid, he probably wouldn't even hurt a fly." Kate chuckled, taking in taste of the creamy cheese sauce. "By the way, this is really good, I'm genuinely shocked you could cook."
Yelena's face lit up. "Really? Thank my mama then, she taught me how to make it and then ordered me to make it for you."
Blank was the word to describe Kate's mind. Yelena's mother, knowing who Kate is. HUH? Kate blinked frantically, her cheeks stained red, lips separating. "Wait, wait, wait. Your mom knows me?"
Tutting, Yelena's voice softened. "Yes, Kate Bishop. Maybe it's because every day she has to see me on the phone, staying up til past midnight to talk to some Kate Bishop girl whom I also coincidentally call котёнок." Yelena smiled with her lips closed. "Then, she interrogated me about you, I made up some ерунда about how we met, and now she won't stop talking about how I finally have friends." Yelena mocked her mother's voice towards the end.
Kate's heart was racing, like as if it was running for the Olympics. She doesn't know what to feel, flattered? No, no. She was pleasantly surprised. But also flattered. She rubbed the back of her head and looked down to hide her smile. "Wow— I'm so honored."
Yelena nodded, her cheeks swelling from cheesing so much. "Haha. My daddy also loves you even though he doesn't know you. He calls you Американская девушка."
"Okay, please translate."
"American girl."
Kate scoffed in fake offence. "That's a name." Her macaroni was almost finished, the bowl only having two to three spoonfuls left.
"Haha. Do you have any drinks? I'm so thirsty." Asked Yelena as she stood up with her empty bowl. Kate finished her last bit and followed Yelena. "Yeah, in the fridge." They placed their bowls in the sink. "I have Pepsi." Yelena opened her fridge to only see about five cans of Pepsi, an unopened bag of ice and the Christmas chocolate Clint had given to Kate, the sticky note with sweet words still on it. Yelena grabbed two cans, passing one over to Kate who accepted the offer. The two women made their way to the couch to watch something. The couch was definitely made for one but must've scammed her and said it was made for two, because her and Yelena's shoulders were brushing too much and their knees were pressed together. But somehow, it wasn't uncomfortable. Fuck, it kinda felt nice feeling this close to Yelena.
Kate was wilding out while Yelena calmly picked up the remote and entered in Kate's Netflix password, but then it hit her. Kate never told Yelena what her Netflix password was.
"Hey, so, where did you get my password from?"
Yelena just simply shushed her as she passed the remote to Kate. "You can pick what to watch." She smiled warmly— too warmly, at Kate. Kate was already unhealthily flustered at everything that had happened today. But she sorta liked it. No, she liked it a lot.
*
Things that Kate had done today: 1. Get spoon fed by Yelena. 2. Share clothes with Yelena. 3. Binge the entirety of 10 Things I Hate About You with Yelena. Okay, so maybe Kate was going insane in the presence of a really, really attractive and interesting blonde assassin. Kate has had crushes women before, but none of them felt like this. Developing a crush within a month or two is normal— for a middle schooler. Kate was a fully grown adult, but was falling for Yelena harder than anyone she'd ever liked in middle school or even high school.
They shared subtle glances throughout the movie, and their skin brushed against each other's way more than expected, each touch sending electric waves through Kate's veins. They cracked jokes, discussed in between the movie, maybe even flirted a bit.
It was not until the end of the movie that Kate finally got herself out of the pit of full crushing mode or stopped drowning herself in the sight of Yelena's irises in the fluorescent lights. "Do you have anywhere to stay?" Kate asked.
"Why, do you want me to stay?"
If Kate's face could get any redder, it would have already. Yelena wasn't lying, but admitting that would be something Kate would not like to do on such a perfect night with such a perfect woman…
"You can if you want, couch is free. I could get you a pillow and a blanket and you could crash here for the night?" She tried to sound friendly and NOT flirty like as if she had nailed her past few attempts.
Yelena smiled with her teeth. "Alright, I will, thank you, Kate Bishop."
"Yeah. Totally— just let me get them real quick." She shot up from the couch immediately, almost tripping on Lucky who barked at her, running up the metal steps to her bedroom and getting a spare pillow and blanket for Yelena and maybe taking an extra moment to breath into her sleeve.
Okay, you're fine.
Totally fine.
Completely normal behavior around a gorgeous woman who could kill you any second but cooks for you and watches cringey romcoms with you.
Kate went back to the living room, blanket in hand and pillow in the other. Her steps slowed when she saw Yelena already lying on her couch.
Correction: Yelena was sprawled on the couch, laying on her side with her palms pressed together, her knees curled up to her waist. Her hair was messy, fallen a little more to frame her face in the best way possible. Softly. Her expression was calm, she looked cozy, warm, comfortable.
Kate's chest squeezed.
She cleared her throat. "I— uh, brought you the uh— blanket, pillow. You can get comfy— or comfier—"
"Kate Bishop, you're rambling again…" Yelena hummed and stirred, opening her eyes drowsily to look at Kate.
Kate's stood rooted to the ground, frozen. "…Right, sorry."
Yelena smirked at her sharply. "I forgive you, you're cute when you ramble."
Okay; that's it. Kate has officially shut down.
Immediate system error.
Critical error.
Kate made a noise somewhere between a scoff, a squeak and a laugh. A dying one. "I— okay. You know what? Goodnight." She tossed the pillow and blanket to her, Yelena catching it effortlessly and placing it behind her head, of course, because physics and gravity don't apply to beautiful women apparently.
"Goodnight котёнок."
Notes:
My eyes hurt sm oml but hope this chapter wasn’t too bad
Also i had to use Fahrenheit in writing for the first time soooo yh 🦅
Hehe
Chapter 6: stars pt.1
Notes:
Its literally 2am. I have something really important tomorrow morning but who cares, am I right?
Really short chapter imo, but hey, theres Clint !!!
Idk if you can tell (you probably can) but I enjoy having the chapter names relate to the lyric title. Fun fact, I don’t even listen to Taylor Swift, but this lyric from cardigan would make an amazing title for this fic sooo now I’m expanding my music taste for this heh
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Kate flopped onto her sheets, phone waiting for an answer and on speaker. The other line picked up on the second ring, sounding half dead.
"…Katie, why are you calling me at—" Clint paused to check the time, "Okay. Two in the morning, what happened?" He paused again, seeing the flood of text messages from Kate on his lockscreen. "And why did you text me 'HELP, IM GOING TO COMBUST' three times? Are you in danger again?"
Kate groaned into her pillow. "No, no. On second thought… maybe it's not that important?" She laughed dryly towards the end.
"Oh god. What did you do?" His voice sounded ten times more awake and she could hear the rustling of sheets from the other end.
"Okay, so the text messages were all an exaggeration, but not really because I'm physically not combusting on the outside— more of the inside, but it adds to the plot, y'know?" Kate sighed.
A female yawn and murmur could be heard from the other end. Clint tutted. "Make this quick, Laura's waking up from you."
"Ooh, could I speak to her instead?"
"No."
"Fine." Kate frowned, taking a deep breath before speaking. "So, uh. hypothetically what would you do if there was a hypothetical person who was paid to kill someone you care about by someone you also care about— again this is all hypothetical, but what if you two started talking and now you're developing serious feelings for them and don't know what to do about it?" Somehow the words slipped out of her lips faster than what her mind was thinking. Her voice wasn't rushed, it was clear, but her brain was a literal mess.
…
"You can just say Yelena's name, you know?" Clint said after pondering for maybe fifteen seconds.
Kate shuddered, then she winced. "Okay, you caught me, but I didn't want to… you know… offend you? Because— of the whole uh, Christmas thing that happened…"
"It's alright, Kate." Clint sighed, but it wasn't annoyed, more like he'd been expecting this conversation. "I was mad, not now but I definitely was during Christmas, but I was mainly mad at the people who lied to her, everything that put us there."
Kate chewed on the inside of her cheek. "I— I just thought you'd have flashbacks or something. I mean, you literally could've gotten killed. By her." She picked at the thread of her blanket.
"Kate." Clint's voice softened to something painfully comforting. "She spared my life. She could've shot me there and then, and then she didn't. We spoke for less than a minute, and then she left. She is a good person."
Kate's breath hitched. "Really?"
"Really," Clint replied firmly. "Yelena isn't the person who tried to kill me, she's the person who realized not to."
Heaving a sigh of relief, her shoulders relaxed. "So, it's totally cool if— I uh like her? Oh god, that sounded so cringe." She face palmed and clenched her eyes shut.
"You like her, it's okay. It doesn't affect me but you must know… they're complicated people with tons of baggage. Trust to them is… hard to believe, but I'm glad Yelena is… okay with you,"
Kate bit her lip hard, hearing Natasha's name. "Well I think she's okay with me? I mean, we talk every day almost without fail, and she's been practically living with me for like a month and a half." She ground her teeth. "It was supposed to be a one time thing, I let her crash at mine for a night, but now my couch is practically her bed." Her cheeks flushed from the thought of Yelena sleeping on her couch in her clothes. "And then she brought her stuff over, which technically wasn't a lot, but Clint, you promise you're not gonna freak out about this in the morning?"
…
"Kate, I've known since march." Kate blushed furiously, her cheeks heating up immediately.
"Wait— what?"
Clint chuckled. "Remember the texts you sent me? 'Is it normal for a really hot assassin to ghost you for three days?' I'm not an idiot, kid."
"Oh my god— I thought you forgot about that!" Kate whispered, mortification coursing through her veins.
"I did not." Clint said sharply and simply. "Laura remembers it too." Kate's eyes widened.
"You told Laura?!"
"You were on speaker,"
Kate groaned even louder. "I am never, ever speaking to you again." She weaved her fingers through her hair and buried her face into the pillow.
"You've said that plenty of times, kiddo," Kate could hear Clint smirking from the other end from the teasing tone of his voice. "But good news for you, based on everything you reported to me every time we call when Yelena's not home, she definitely likes you back."
That had Kate jolting up and sitting up on her bed immediately.
"WHAT?"
Holy fucking shit.
"Well, for starters," Clint began speaking as if he was reading a grocery list. "She called me last week to ask what your favorite restaurant was so she could bring you there, and I'm pretty sure that's considered a date. She even said 'Don't tell Kate Bishop.'" Flashes of the memory ran through Kate's mind. Retro diner, full house, really, really delicious burgers, strobe lights and Yelena's gaze. "Hmm, what else… she threatened a kid and his mom for almost running you over with a scooter at the park." Kate almost wanted to burst out into laughter, even though that moment might have been the most embarrassing moment of her life. "Oh, and she cooks for you almost every night."
"Okay, maybe that's enough, but don't friends do that? I'm pretty sure it's very platonic behavior." Kate defended, refusing to believe that Yelena likes her. "But what the hell do I do?"
"Simple," He calmly said, "just stop 'combusting' and talk to her?"
"But what if I don't even know if I actually like her? What if it's just infatuation or— something."
Clint just shook his head, dipping further into his bed. "Then, I don't know what to tell you kid. Romantic advice isn't really my sorta thing."
"Damn, but seriously, I genuinely don't know what to do, because I know there's definitely some sort of chemistry between us. Like, she makes flirty comments all the time, but what if I'm reading this wrong? What if she doesn't actually have the same feelings for me and maybe that's just, I don't know, her sense of humor?"
Silence filled the room for a moment before Clint spoke. "Wait it out, see if you really do like her, then you speak to her. That's what I did with Laura." Kate could hear Laura laughing from the other side and faint, incoherent mutters with her voice.
"Okay, okay. I don't wanna keep you up, so… talk to you next time?"
"Talk to you next time."
Hanging up the phone, Kate fought the urge to let out a loud groan. Liking someone was one thing, not knowing what to do was another. Clint's words reverberated through her mind, 'she definitely likes you back'. Trains of thought derailed from left to right in her mind, fingers gripping the blankets tighter. One part of her was growing obsessed with Yelena, the other was telling her to rethink everything.
The chemistry between them was real. The subtle glances they exchanged, accidental or even intentional touches that made Kate's heart flutter like crazy. Yelena became soft around Kate. She didn't act like the scary Russian assassin that Kate once knew. No, now she's just… Yelena. Then, a dryness crept up her throat.
Maybe we just need water… yeah! Water will help us sleep.
Kate got up and headed to the kitchen with slow, deliberately soft footsteps. Yelena was still sound asleep on the couch, a good thing since for the first two weeks she'd not been able to sleep, and if she even could, it was a really, really light one. But now she was sleeping, not stirring, still and relaxed. Hair messy and spread across the pillow, body curled up under the blanket.
She placed a featherlight touch on everything her fingers made contact with. The knobs of her cabinet, the cool glass she took out, the metal tap at her sink. But then she heard stirring, rustling of sheets, soft whimpering. She turned around as saw Yelena half-sitting up and watching Kate. Fuck, how long has she been staring? Her legs were still tangled with the blanket and her eyes were tired, but she was just silently observing Kate.
Was Kate seeing this right? Kate rubbed her eyes, making sure it was not just a trick of her eye, but no, Yelena was awake. Realization hit her hard when she realized it was her that woke Yelena up— the tap!
Kate flushed immediately, frantically turning off the tap and almost tripping on air in the process. "Sorry— for uh, waking you up."
Yelena's lips curled into a faint smile. "No, no. It's okay, don't apologize." She stood up and slowly made her way next to Kate in the kitchen.
"What are you doing awake?" Asked Yelena.
"Nothing, just, thinking about some things."
"Mmm yeah, figured. I can hear your brain churning, Kate Bishop. It's very loud."
Rolling her eyes and taking a sip of water, Kate looked at Yelena, blue eyes met green. "Thanks, couldn't have expected you'd say that." Yelena was laughing, wholeheartedly, laughing. The action made Kate's heart beat faster, watching the other woman with affection.
"That was good— that was a good one, Kate."
She couldn't help but smile at the remark, taking yet another sip of water, a bigger one. Cold water went down her throat, as well as what she could've replied to Yelena with.
"Are— are you okay? Uh, how'd you sleep?"
Yelena looked at her and smiled. "Better than usual." Something in Kate melted. Her heart? No, something else. Actually, maybe it was her heart. She didn't know why. She didn't wanna know why. The words thumped into Kate's chest like a defibrillator. She couldn't stop the grin tugging at her lips when she heard what Yelena had said.
Yelena padded into the living room, Kate following her behind with her glass of water in hand. The assassin rubbed her eyes with the back if her hand and sank into the couch, leaving room on the other side for Kate to sit. Kate gladly took the offer and placed her glass on the coffee table in front of the couch. Their knees were brushing, shoulders too, like the first night of Yelena's stay. She could feel Yelena's warmth radiating through her skin, through her sweater. Kate tried not to scream, failing internally.
The blonde turned to face Kate, "So… what are you thinking about?"
You.
Kate— no.
Kate hesitated. Yelena looked effortlessly beautiful in this light. It was unreal. Nope, too close, it made telling the truth about her feelings harder.
"Life," Kate lied.
Badly.
Extremely badly.
Yelena cracked an eye open, unimpressed. "Again, you and your terrible lies. It's okay, you tell me when you're ready." Kate's heart pounded with warmth, her soul getting lost in Yelena's eyes.
Kate let out and embarrassingly shaky laugh. "You sound way more comforting when you're half asleep, you know?" She watched as Yelena weaved her fingers through her blonde locks, then playing with the widow bites around her wrists.
"Mm, good." She smirked. "Means I trust you."
Kate's eyes widened immediately, jolts of electricity shocking her in all the best places possible. Panic. Shock. Electrocute. Okay, so Clint might be right. Yelena is okay with you. Befriending a widow was one thing, trusting them was another, way harder thing to achieve.
"You do?" Kate almost sounded timid from the comment, her cheeks blooming red.
Yelena nodded. "Yes. Why else would I be staying in your house?" Her eyelids looked heavier, as if they were about to fall anytime soon.
"Trust, wow, that's great…"
"Mhm, mhmmm…" Yelena hummed again, this time gradually slower as her eyes shut, head tipping lower and lower until it was leaning on Kate's shoulder.
Kate's shoulder.
Okay, so this was really happening. Kate froze, Yelena just curled up closer to Kate, breaths even, comfortably using Kate as a pillow. Kate was short circuiting, like, exploding on the inside.
"Are— are you..?" She didn't finish her sentence, seeing Yelena slightly nod, nuzzling deeper into Kate's arm. Kate puffed out a breath, just watching the assassin lay by her side in comfort, ignoring the absolute panicking loser she was leaning on. Yelena Belova was sleeping, sound and quiet, on Kate, as if her night couldn't be any worse— worse for her mental health, but great at the same time. She enjoyed it. Feeling Yelena safe in her presence, providing a place for her to stay. She loved it. She loved it a lot.
But back to Yelena. Yelena Belova really had fallen asleep on her. Full weight, full trust, full meltdown for Kate Bishop. "Oh my god." She whispered to herself.
Yeah.. this is fine! Totally fine. Totally normal behavior as friends.
Kate made a sound that frankly sounded like a dying toaster. Kate craved the comfort of her bed again, but honestly?
It had Kate seeing stars.
Notes:
Thank you for all the kudos and sweet comments from the last chapter by the way! I was genuinely so happy to read them !!
Hope that you liked this chapter !!!
:D
Chapter 7: thirdwheeler
Notes:
I wrote half of this on a plane and the other half in China.
Istg I feel my mandarin speaking skills getting worse every second as I kept speaking and writing in English.
But hey, chapter out!
Get ready for faster chapters these few weeks as I have back to back flights and trips :D
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Days passed, then weeks, then months. Before the archer could even realize, summer was beginning and Yelena was still being a parasite to her apartment. Not that Kate was complaining though. The left side of her closet was now owned by the widow, half of it being Yelena's clothes, while the other being most of Kate's favourite sweatshirts. But no, she didn't mind at all. Fuck, she couldn't mind it at all.
Her once miserable not-even-able-to-be-considered-living space became filled with something not even Kate could describe. Peaceful mornings, late night chats. A few things Kate had learned about Yelena were that she was a really, really good cook, and she literally watches anything Kate puts on. Kate did try learning from Yelena once, that ended in disaster. It made her almost combust in embarrassment, but just the feeling of being guided by Yelena made it better.
"Okay, so you add in half a teaspoon of paprika." Yelena watched Kate as she struggled with making the roux for their macaroni and cheese. To be fair, it had been ruined for a while now, it's just that Yelena didn't feel like saying anything to hurt Kate's feelings. Kate fiddled around with the cutlery, "Aha!" She poured the seasoning into the spoon and added it into the mixture of flour and whatever else she put into it that Yelena told her to.
As the red powder dissolved into the mixture, something felt really wrong, the color was totally different, becoming more of a bronze than the light orange she expected. "What?" She stared at the pan in pure confusion until she realized. "Oh my god, I think I messed up." Kate said just above a whisper, Yelena smirking at her reaction.
"Actually, you messed up from the second step, but it's okay, it's just a roux and I can fix it. Also, Kate Bishop, that is not a teaspoon, that is a tablespoon." Yelena chuckled, Kate laughed along with her.
And the two grew extremely fond of each other. Yelena eventually learned to call Kate’s apartment home which made Kate go insane for a few days. She distinctly remembers ranting to both Clint AND Peter on the same day when Yelena was walking Lucky. Oh right, Lucky was elated to have Yelena there everyday. He gets infinite cuddles and kisses now. But one thing still wafted through the air— the tension.
It’s the way Yelena looks into Kate’s eyes that makes Kate’s heart jump around, the kind acts of service she does for her. It was hard to tell if those were romantic or platonic, (im sorry im making kate so oblivious LOL) but she knew something was definitely there. Or maybe it was just a fragment of her delusional imagination.
It was amazing to have Yelena’s company. She finally had someone to talk to about her infuriating journalist-trainee proofreading assignments. But Kate knows most of her attempts to talk ends up in Yelena just taking over and getting mad at the person who wrote the article in the first place.
“I don’t get it. Who even needs to know about this?” Yelena’s eyes skimmed past the many lines of words on the article about some launch of a new Burger King burger. “Who even eats Burger King?” Her accent was thick when she was confused or frustrated, her fingers using the mouse to select a huge chunk of text, trying to delete it.
“Hey! I can’t delete this.” She tutted at Yelena and put her index finger to Yelena’s lips. The bold move caught Yelena off guard at first; but then Kate blushed. Hiding the obvious blooming of heat on her cheeks, she frantically cleared her throat and continued. “Believe me, I’ve tried. Many times. They will just add it back in, then the whole thing would sound choppy, and then they’ll blame it on me.”
Yelena frowned, “Then why do you wanna do this boring job? You have no control, you’re just reading this weird news.”
“Well, if I just continue doing this, then I’ll eventually become a real journalist and I can do that thing where you go up to celebrities and politicians and shove a mic into their face.” Kate innocently said, offering a closed smile to Yelena.
Yelena sighed, but in a good way. “You’d be soooo annoying, but it is okay, it is what you wanna do, да?” She looked back at the screen and clicked undo.
Kate nodded her head. “Mhm.”
Diverting her gaze to Kate, she smiled warmly. “Then I believe in you,”
Yeah, so things are looking great at Kate’s apartment. Really great.
*
"Heyyyyy Peter, wanna get stroganoff with me and Yelena later?" Yelena was beside Kate, sinking into the couch as their shoulders pressed against each other. Yelena was watching Bluey on her television, (Kate has teased her countless amounts of times for watching it but Yelena doesn't seem to care) looking very, very engrossed. Hearing Kate's words, Yelena paused the show, turning her head to look at Kate, Kate glancing back at her and smiling back to her
Peter paused for a second. "Yelena? You mean your girlfriend?"
Kate blushed furiously, her face turning incandescent. Yelena noticed, snickering in the background as she watched Kate spiral. Girlfriend? No, no, no, no, no. Panic coursed through Kate's veins. Maybe Kate did wish for that to be true… But to be fair, they have done weirdly romantically platonic things together, but that doesn't mean anything. She turned to see Yelena, smirking with her face totally smug. Yelena definitely heard it, oh shit we are sooo fucked.
"What! No— no, she isn't—" She looked at Yelena, placing the phone off speaker and holding it close to her ear, ensuring that Yelena cannot hear any bullshit (that Kate might want not to be just bullshit) Peter was saying. Her hand fell onto Kate's knee, the feeling of her touch crawling up to her thighs, sending shock waves through her spine. It was only to get closer to the phone , to eavesdrop on Kate and Peter, but god did it make Kate's heart race. She put the call on mute and playfully slapped Yelena's hand on her right knee, but it didn't let go.
"Kate Bishop, what did he say?" She pouted teasingly, face going nearer to Kate.
"Nothing, you're just hearing things." Kate defended, lightly shoving Yelena back to her side of the couch (that they have already designated since Yelena's arrival whenever they stay up to watch shows) and placing the call off-mute. "My bad, I had to take care of something." She glared at Yelena.
"Okay, but I swear she was? You guys live together and you keep talking about her whenever we hang out. And don't get me wrong, I'm just saying this so that I know I'm not crashing any date or anything—"
"Okay, please shut the fuck up."
"Geez, sorry."
"Oh my god, you sound like Clint."
Peter chuckled, "Hey, I'm just telling the truth! You literally call me when I'm in lectures to tell me things like Yelena falling asleep on you, Yelena appearing in your dreams—"
Yelena looked slightly surprised, then flattered. Kate panicked seeing Yelena's face, then she put the call on mute again, clearing her throat.
Fucking eavesdropper.
"You dream about me, Kate Bishop?"
"Okay, no, don't think of it that way." She moved her head further away from Yelena so that eavesdropper couldn’t eavesdrop anymore. She sighed.
Kate tried changing the topic. “Back to what I was saying, you two should totally meet! I forgot about it, my bad, I remember I did promise you that you could meet her, but you had finals and all that, I didn’t wanna disturb you.” Her tone was awkward, but friendly.
Peter paused for a moment, then he spoke.
“Kate, my finals finished a month ago.”
Oh shiiiiit.
We’re a terrible friend.
“Oh my god, I am so sorry. I was so busy with work and—“ she too a glance at Yelena, Yelena noticed but didn’t do anything. “I— I didn’t know.”
“Nah, it’s alright. The good news is that I’m gonna be living alone for the rest of my time here. Frat boy dropped out apparently.” Peter laughed, followed by Kate.
“That’s great. Well, so are you up? For stroganoff?” Asked Kate.
“Mhm. I hadn’t tried it before, but sounds good!”
“Alright, we’ll see you later.”
*
Blue eyes stared too intensely at green, as if the two women were transmitting some secret message through mind reading. Yelena was calm for some goddamn reason, the corner of her lip curling upwards. Kate couldn't read Yelena's face, it was as unreadable as a wordless textbook. Then, green eyes diverted to the side, skimming over something then back to Kate. Her gaze was sharp, not stern, almost comforting, but Kate didn't feel any reassurance from it.
Don't, you'll scare away the kid.
He's fine, he's just eating!
Are you sure?
Ye—
"Are you two okay? You've been staring at each other for like five minutes," Peter said between bites of stroganoff, a crease in his eyebrow.
Yelena's lip curved upwards into a smirk. "Yes, we are, aren't we, котёнок?" Her tone was smug, Kate wanted to slap the shit out of her. Kate just gulped, then took a deep breath while clearing her throat. "Y-Yup! We are fine, totally fine." She nodded her head frantically. Kate looked down at her plate of stroganoff, then at Peter. Giving a crooked smile to hide the awkwardness in the air, she took a bite of her food.
"So, Peter Parker, how many weapons do you have on you?" Yelena asked, her expression stern and slightly unsettling. Kate kicked Yelena's leg hard underneath the table, but she didn't even flinch, just smirking at her. Peter looked genuinely confused, but shocked as well.
"Weapons?" He looked down at his outfit: a basic grey college t-shirt and some black sweatpants. "I don't think so." He said in sarcasm as he hid an uncomfortable smile with a faint one.
Yelena looked unfazed, tilting her head. "Uh huh. Nice pants,"
Peter stuttered, "Thank— Thank you..?”
"Sweatpants can hide guns, or explosives, or both." She simply said, little to dry humor in her voice.
"Explosives? Why would I—" Kate's eyes widened. No— no— Peter, PLEASE. Just go with the flow, she tried to communicate to Peter through her glare.
"Peter—" Kate sighed. "She does this with everyone," she calmly but almost tiredly said. "She even interrogated my mailman."
"He looked suspicious!" Yelena argued.
"He's like seventy!"
Yelena scoffed, rolling her eyes and sipping on her pepsi. It grew even more silent between the three with Peter suddenly having great interest in the art of ceilings and Yelena focusing on the fizzling of her drink.
"So— uh, what did I do?" He looked actually worried he might've done something to offend either one of them, furrowing his eyebrows. Yelena looked up from her glass to his eyes, her pupils no longer giving off the intimidating look.
"No, you didn't do anything." She took a sip, "You are Kate's friend, I need to make sure you aren't going to kill her in her sleep because then I will have to hide the body." Now it was Kate's turn to roll her eyes. God, it sounds like Yelena cares about her.
Wait, does she care about us?
Are you fucking dumb?
"Isn't that what you said about Lucky?" She kissed her teeth, recalling the memory of that call.
Yelena just nodded.
…
"So… did I pass?" Peter almost shakily asked.
"Yes. But you talk too much."
Kate scoffed again. Diverting her gaze from Peter to Yelena, "That's rich coming from you." Yelena talked a lot. Even when she couldn't speak to Kate when she's doing her work, she would talk to Lucky as if he could understand her. Kate didn't expect it at first, but Yelena loved to talk, now the irony was there.
Peter let out a shaky but relieved laugh. "So, we're good?"He slowly brought the fork of stroganoff to his lips, waiting for Yelena's response. He seemed uneasy at first, but he looked more comfortable around Yelena hearing her intention. "Because I really wanna learn your knife tricks."
She blinked at him, slow and deliberately.
"Hmm, then we are." Peter heaved a long sigh of relief so suddenly that Kate thought he might faint. Yelena then speared another forkful of her stroganoff, adding something to what she had just said, almost too casually. "But if you break any of them like how someone did," she glared at Kate, "I will break your hands—"
"That's her version of 'Yes, let's be friends.'" Kate interrupted adruptly. Yelena shrugged.
Peter laughed nervously. "Cool, cool. Cool, cool, cool, I can work with that."
The blonde cracked the smallest smile, the blink-once-and-you'll-miss-it kinda smile. "Good. Maybe I'll teach you after lunch."
Notes:
I choked on water five times writing the last part. I don’t even know how but maybe I’m becoming a water bender with this new talent.
Also, thank you for the song recs from the last chapter, my Kate Bishop playlist is jumping with joy :}
Chapter 8: rooftops
Notes:
Hey guys so I apologise for the super short chapter… Im having severe writers block and will continue this interaction next chapter
I wrote this instead sleeping on my flight
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Manhattan's liveliness from dusk to dawn needs to be studied. Seriously. Lights of different colors flashing everywhere, all the clubs flooded with people, the traffic horrendous as ever. Saying it out loud made it sound real bad, but when you're in the moment with someone you dearly yearn for next to you makes it ten times better. Kate's rooftop was quiet most of the time as neither Kate nor the pizza place below her apartment used it. But somehow, the view of New York City's nightlife from there was beautiful.
Fall arrived, shades of orange leaves fell from trees and the breeze was calm. The brunette and the blonde were scrambling around the rooftop, draping blankets on mattresses against walls in the corners. Peter helped drag a small coffee table up the stairs to the rooftop while the two women decorated the area. Pillows, a projector to watch movies on the wall coincidentally in front of them, it was perfect. With string lights to add a bit of flair and light to the dark area, the rooftop was complete.
Kate swept any dirt off her hands by sweeping them against each other while at the corner of her eye, Yelena was carrying a bag of beer bottles. She placed them below the table and sat down. Kate's eyes were fixated on the way her hoodie looked on Yelena and the way her flannel pants hung at her hips. Purple and green really did look great together. Her hair looked almost majestic in the low light of the fairy lights and her eyes just stood out amazingly. She looked so effortlessly gorgeous even in such casual clothes that Kate didn't realize she was staring.
"Kate Bishop, I know I said I didn't mind you staring, but don't you think it is kind of weird?" She smirked as her voice went smooth and low, almost as if she were purring.
Kate quickly thought of an excuse, foraging in her mind for something. Over the past few months, Kate had finally learned to control her flustering whenever Yelena says something that makes her want to combust, but inside, she crushes even harder. Rambling was one thing but in her mind was another. "Well, that's my favorite hoodie." She pointed at Yelena's torso.
Yelena looked down at her outfit. "I didn't know there were rules to your closet," she shrugged. "You wear mine all the time…" she said slowly and teasingly.
Blushing furiously, Kate just brought her palm to her face. "It's okay, just, return it when you're done." She gave Yelena a faint smile as she continued repositioning the pillows. Kate didn't know this, but Peter saw the whole thing. He set down the pizza on the table as Kate fixed the last pillow down, then nudged Kate with his elbow.
"So… I know I asked you this last time, and I know you denied all allegations, but are you really sure I'm not crashing any date?" Whispered Peter. "I mean, it's getting kind of obvious and I'm kinda scared that I am."
"No, no. You aren't and we aren't dating." She said firmly.
Peter nodded slowly, watching her carefully. Kate opened her mouth, but no words came out. She had something to say, but it felt as if it got stolen from her right as she tried to say it. "Sometimes when we hang out, I just feel like I'm disturbing something. Don't get me wrong though, I love you guys, but I don't wanna be in the way, y'know? But hey, just checking."
Right as he was about to step away, Kate pulled him back. "I know that can—" she exhaled, "I know it can look like something else."
Peter bit his tongue and chewed on the inside of his cheek. "Well, does it feel like something else?"
Kate's gaze drifted to Yelena sitting at the spot they set up together, by the pillows, looking at her hands. "I don't know," she replied, voice steady but soft and honest. "Sometimes— or most of the time, it does. It's confusing."
"Look, I don't wanna get into your business too much, but you can tell me anything, really."
"It's just, I can't tell if I actually do like her or if it's just— I mean, I totally do like her right now, like its kinda embarrassing how much I do, but I don't know if it's real or not. And I don't think she's into me like that either."
He squinted his eyes, almost in a skeptical way. "Are you sure? I think she is." The two of them glanced at Yelena again.
"Nah, I'm like, totally out of her league." Kate chuckled but there was little to no humor in it.
"Well, if you ever need anything, I'm here, alright?" He gave Kate a reassuring smile.
Her eyes flicked to Yelena again, but this time she was staring right at them with an impatient look in her eyes. Frowning, "Are you two done? Pizza is getting cold…"
Kate's eyes widened.
God, how long has she been staring at us?
Kate blinked, heat crawling up from her chest to her face. “Uh, yep! We’re coming,” she called back out to Yelena, her voice cracking so slightly. Yelena raised an eyebrow as she tapped on the cardboard pizza box. The tapping reverberated in Kate’s head, as if Yelena was counting how many seconds it would take for them to come over to where she was sitting. Kate swore she could sense that stare from anywhere, but when she talked about her, it seemed to be false.
Peter leaned in to her ear one last time. “Yeah, so, she definitely heard some of that.”
“Fuck,”
“Hey, it’s okay.” Peter mumbled beneath his breath but it was loud enough for Kate to hear. “Just breathe— and be cool.”
Kate inhaled a long and deep breath as she walked towards Yelena and sat down next to her, so close to the point she could feel her warmth radiating onto her. Polyester was pressed against polyester but feeling Yelena’s skin underneath made it feel invisible. Yelena’s hand fell onto her knee, a habit of hers every time they sit together. Kate got used to it, but this time, she felt a flush creeping up to her cheeks. Probably because from the side, she could see Peter’s eyes grazing over it. The sudden touch made her heart skip a beat, maybe even two.
Get it together, Bishop!
When Kate finally mustered up the courage to turn her face towards Yelena, she only saw the blonde already looking at her, or maybe at Peter, but probably at her.
Okay, on second thought, let’s not…
Her inside voice was weak against what her brain told her to do, and what her brain told her to do was her ultimate move: small talk, again, like what the second time Yelena broke into her apartment for that drink. It worked last time, but who can say if it works now?
“So, uh what are we gonna do?”
Yelena looked at Peter, then at Kate.
“Well, I was thinking, we eat the pizza before Peter takes the crusts off them.”
Putting his hands up in the air as if he was caught red handed stealing, he quickly pointed out, “Woah, woah, I do not do that…” Yelena raised an eyebrow, “Okay, maybe I did once, but that was one time!” The three shared a mutual laughter while Yelena reached over to grab the paper plates and distributing them around, Kate first, then Peter. Then, she reached below the table, wrapping her fingers around the cool glass bottles of beer, opening one of the bottles with the mouth of the other and passing it to Kate, then placing the other in front of her on the table. Kate opened the box of cans of Pepsi and passed one over to Peter which he gladly accepted, popping open the can with the tab. Yelena brought the bottle to her lips and took a sip while Kate just watched, mesmerized by the way she drank, the way her lips looked on the glass, thinking about what it would be like if the glass were her lips instead—
Okay, Kate, enough.
She shook her head to herself, wanting to just scold mind for thinking about it. Blue eyes scanned around the room before stepping off to the next station from her train of thought. “So, when I mean what we’re gonna do, I meant other than eating.”
“We could play spin the bottle,” Peter gestured with his fingers to the Yelena’s beer bottle and suggested before Yelena quickly interrupted.
“Parker, I am not playing your dumb high school game.”
“First of all, I’m in college. Second, it is not dumb! It’s actually kinda fun.”
“O-Or, we could watch a movie?”
Notes:
Before you ask, yes, i am gonna make Kate the stupidest person ever when it comes to being able to tell whether someone is into her
Thank you for reading, and again I AM SO SORRY I ENDED THIS SO ABRUPTLY
Chapter 9: beer
Notes:
Guess the time that I wrote this… yes… 12.31am…
This chapter is finally done, idk why it took me so long to write but im so glad its finally over with.
I think i changed a bit of the plot like 4 times while writing this soooooo yeah…
Enjoy
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Okay, so maybe The Conjuring wasn't the best decision Kate had made that night. It was probably the worst, actually. Kate was never a horror movie kind of person. Most of the things she watched were either just sit-coms, rom-coms, or reality TV. But somehow, sitting next to someone she really, really likes, and is too much a of scaredy cat to make a move on, makes it ten times scarier because she has to worry about her nervous system going haywire from the show and the fear of being uncool in front of Yelena.
Yeah, you could say that the blanket the two women shared was in very different states at the same time. On Kate's side, her fingers gripped the hem almost every second of the movie while on Yelena's, it was simply draped across her lap. Her nails dug into the fabric, definitely leaving scratch marks while she progressively got closer to Yelena.
And then Kate flinched again, shoulders practically glued to Yelena's at this point.
Another jump scare hit, and Kate let out a sound that sounded like it came from a hybrid of an alien and a cat.
Yelena snorted, "You don't have to suffer, Kate Bishop," She chuckled at Kate who was squirming next to her, "We can watch something else."
Kate felt Peter's eyes on her as she looked up at Yelena. God, he's gonna roast me so hard later— But all that really mattered was the glint in her eyes, the tiniest hint of concern laced in her voice, the voice that gets her head over heels every time.
She shook her head and leaned back up, but she didn't back away from Yelena. "No, no. I'm perfectly fine," she forced a very crooked and very awkward grin to both Yelena and Peter.
"You're gripping the blanket like it owes you money," she raised an eyebrow.
Kate loosened her grip by half a millimeter and then she gave Yelena a faint smile. "There, see? Not scared."
"Wow, very convincing Kate Bishop. You have that look on your face." The corner of her rose tinted lips that has Kate in a chokehold curled into a smirk. Kate could feel a flush forming on her cheeks, but she just crossed her arms and scoffed. "This movie isn't even scary, I've seen worse things during missions. Like this one time, I was chasing this guy and he hid for twenty minutes, then when I found him, he was cut open and I saw all his organs, just spread across the table, and his eyes—"
"Okay, that's way too gruesome."
Yelena frowned playfully, "But I was getting to the good part! I bet Peter Parker would want to hear it…" she looked over at Peter who's pizza slice was suddenly so interesting that his eyes couldn't leave it. His eyes flicked up once, his mouth filled with pizza, half chewing as he spoke, "Don't look at me,"
Heaving a sound that was between a groan and a sigh, Kate leaned closer to Yelena and nudged her, "Let's just watch it, I can do it."
"Alright, but if you scream again, I am turning it off."
*
Well, it's safe to say that Kate definitely wasn't able to keep her mouth shut. Yelena too, but instead of screaming, she was cheering. For what? Kate doesn't know either, because 95% of the movie was spent on adrenaline and her nervous system shutting down. Peter wasn't really verbal at all during it, however she could feel his gaze on her whenever she grabbed onto Yelena. But Yelena didn't turn the show off like how she said she would've. No, she just watched Kate squeak every time something happened, scary or not.
But then six cans of beer later and after her throat began throbbing from the hoarseness after screaming every five seconds, Kate was sure she would just pass out. Yeah, she thought that alcohol would soothe her nerves, but really, it just made her clingier and clingier to Yelena, which was really, really embarrassing.
Peter had been quiet for the last maybe thirty minutes— a little too quiet. As the movie finally ended and the end credits were playing, he swiftly packed up his things.
"Parker, where are you going?"
He just gave a crooked smile, "It's getting late, and I— uh, have an early shift tomorrow. You two should get some sleep."
Kate looked up at him. "Goodnight Peter…" Her voice dragged.
"Goodnight guys," he walked towards the stairwell and headed down.
Now, Kate and Yelena were alone. Kate's cheek was pressed against Yelena's side, and she was humming to herself. Yelena's fingers threaded through her locks of brunette, lightly scratching against her scalp in ways sober Kate would've killed to feel. The blanket of city surrounded them while Yelena just watched Kate.
"Should we head inside?"
"It's nice out here,"
"Mm, but I don't want you falling asleep on concrete, котёнок…"
Kate shifted. She lightly stretched as she got up from the position she was in, nodding to Yelena. Then, what Yelena's words meant finally processed in that overwhelming, overheating brain of hers. "I wouldn't!" Kate protested as she stood up from the mattress, almost tripping from the blanket tangled with her and Yelena's legs. Yelena then got up too and used one of her hands to hold Kate's wrist and guided her to the stairs. Kate's head fell onto Yelena's shoulder again as they walked down the stairs.
"You're warm," she mumbled beneath her breath, but Yelena definitely heard it.
"Are you always this easily drunk?"
"Correction, I'm not drunk, because if I were, I would've passed out already." She tried to make light of the situation, jokingly saying as she laughed somewhat dryly.
The door of Kate's apartment loomed over her and unlocking it to open the door felt like a puzzle, but eventually she entered the warm space. By now, it was probably 1 am. It was no surprise Yelena wasn't tired, since she was able to stay up a whole night when she was in Russia to talk to Kate, but for Kate? Her natural wind-down time is at 10 pm, which compared to 1 am for her is really drastically different.
Now, Yelena had already guided Kate to her bedroom and both of them were sitting on the edge of the bed. Lucky was sprawled on one side, sound asleep surprisingly, and they sat on the other. It only came to Kate that both of them were in her bedroom, sitting on her bed together when Yelena got up. She almost reached her hand out to pull Yelena's arm back down, but then the blonde noticed and then her voice was soft, smooth like velvet, as she spoke to Kate. "Relax, I'm just getting you some water."
Her shoulders relaxed as she sat down leaning against the headboard, knees up and just watching Yelena as she walked down the steps and into the kitchen. She could hear the faint sounds of glasses clinking, water from the tap and the footsteps of Yelena. As her eyes anchored on the assassin walking back into her bedroom, holding the glass and passing it to her, she took a drink immediately, the taste of beer on her lips fading away.
Yelena sat by Kate's feet. The silence pierced the air. Lucky was almost silent for the first time and only sound that could be heard in the room was the sound of inhaling and exhaling. Kate's mind was genuinely a mess right now, or literally whenever she was tipsy. Alcohol does weird things to her, especially since her break from binging drinks in college. Maybe it was just the presence of Yelena and the feeling of her warmth directly on Kate. Then, something snapped in her brain. Like a wire, when someone is defusing a bomb, but Kate couldn't tell if it was the right one.
"Yelena?"
She turned her head slowly to face Kate, her eyes full of care and her smile warm. "Yes?"
"I like when you're with me."
The blonde didn't react strongly, or at least not visibly to Kate, her smile just widening. She exhaled slowly— so slowly she hoped Kate couldn't hear the shakiness of it.
"You are drunk." Reminded Yelena to Kate firmly.
"Mmm, yeah, but it's true…"
"You should go to sleep, да?" She quickly changed the subject when Kate's voice began to drag again. She could tell Kate was tired, but Kate couldn't. Kate nodded, allowing Yelena to guide her from a sitting position to a lying down one. Yelena knelt before her, unlacing Kate's shoes and placing them by her bedside table, grabbing the blanket and tucking Kate in.
When Kate finally settled under the blanket, Yelena was about to leave, but then her instincts told her to not let her go, and she listened, grasping Yelena's wrists with her fingers and pulling her back not painfully but strongly enough for her to stop in her tracks. Her fingers curled in the hem of the sleeves of her hoodie on Yelena.
"Will you stay..? For a minute?" She gave her best puppy eyes as if they were as good as Yelena's.
Yelena froze, then nodded once.
"One minute…" Kate patted on the right side of the bed, inviting Yelena to come sit next to her. Yelena, accepting the invite, walked over to the bed and sat down, Kate nuzzling into her side.
The archer closed her eyes, "You always take care of me." Her voice was almost sloppy and slightly incoherent, but Yelena definitely heard it crystal clearly.
The widow's hands twitched, then she looked down at Kate, getting too comfortable with someone she shouldn't be comfortable with. "That's the problem." she whispered under her breath, too quiet for Kate to hear. Kate, already drifting, mumbled something that was suspiciously twisted around Yelena's name before sleep pulled her under.
And Yelena stayed longer for just one minute.
Much longer.
Notes:
I love domestic Yelena so much idk why LOLOL anyways hope it was okay
Chapter 10: соля́нка
Notes:
hi. i wrote this while doing badminton training. UGH. Anyways, thank you guys so so much for all the kudos and hits!!!
Also, get ready for faster chapters since i have a trip soon
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Kate woke up to sunlight creeping from the gap in between her blinds and shining onto her face. She was facing towards the other side of the bed that had an obvious dip in it; the sheets were slightly wrinkled and the blanket was folded. A lingering familiar warmth remained, then the smell of something sour wafted through the air. She tried to push herself to sit up, but her soreness pierced her back like a bitch and her head was throbbing.
Clenching her eyes as she attempted to stretch, flashes of last night came back to her. They were blurry, but enough for Kate’s cheeks to start burning up. Okay, maybe six cans of beer was way too much for one night. After all, she wasn’t just some college kid anymore with way too much free time and alcohol tolerance. But then it hit her. She remembered the feeling of her fingers wrapping around Yelena’s arm and her cheek pressing against it, the scent of orchid and vanilla wrapped around her.
Before she could get up, she heard footsteps coming from the metal steps up to her bedroom, then the creaking of a wooden door, followed by Yelena’s voice.
“You’re finally awake,” Yelena made her way towards Kate, holding a bowl of something red, like soup. An aroma found its way into Kate’s nostrils and blessed her sense of smell. It smelled sour, like the scent that wafted through the air earlier, except it was way stronger now. But then Yelena’s words came to her.
Finally?
“What—” Nope, it was way too early for this. Or was it? She turned her head to look outside her window again, but the sun punched her again to face Yelena. “It’s like seven—”
“Kate Bishop, it’s twelve in the afternoon.”
She almost gaped in shock, threading fingers through her messy hair and scrambling to look at the time on her phone. With a loud groan, she buried her face into her hands, her voice muffled.
“God… how long was I asleep for..? Eleven hours?”
“Eleven and a half, but it’s okay.” Yelena corrected, then simply smiled at Kate. Setting the bowl of soup on the bedside table, Yelena continued. “You were making so many small dying noises in your sleep, Kate Bishop. Very dramatic, very pathetic…”
Kate peeked through the fingers covering most of her face. “I do not!” She tried to defend herself.
“You do. Like a baby kitten abandoned by its mother. But it is okay, it was really funny, and I know if you weren’t making those sounds, you’d probably be dead.”
Arching her eyebrow, Kate just stared at Yelena. God, she looked great even after having to deal with her bullshit.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” She pouted.
Lips curling into a smirk, “It’s okay, don’t worry your pretty head too much.” She nudged the bowl closer to Kate. Kate barely had enough time to comprehend what words had just slipped out of Yelena’s lips and the fact that she was just called pretty by someone she’d kill to be called pretty by, because suddenly, a spoon of the soup was brought to her mouth by Yelena.
Yelena’s hand hovered below it so as to not spill. The tip of the spoon grazed Kate’s bottom lip as she slowly opened her mouth and separated her lips to take the scoop. The taste was surprisingly pleasant despite the sour smell, aromatic and with a perfect kick of spices.
Wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, Kate savored the taste and her gaze diverted into Yelena’s eyes, a glint of care in them that Kate recognized from last night.
“Mmm, that’s so good… What is this?”
“соля́нка. I told you about it, no?”
Nodding slowly, Kate recalled the memory. “Ohhhh, the one you like? For hangovers?”
“Да.”
Yelena spoon-fed her another scoop, blowing on it before feeding it to her and giving her an affectionate smile. “It works like a miracle, yes?”
The warm, hearty soup slid its way down Kate’s throat before she answered Yelena. “Mhm… wayyyy better than cold pizza.”
Yelena furrowed her eyebrows in disbelief, and in slight disapproval too. “You eat cold pizza for hangovers? What kind of psycho are you, Kate Bishop?”
“Okay, so, first of all, not everyone has time to prepare soup to drink after a night of drinking, and second of all, cold pizza is a very common hangover meal in America.”
Scoffing and crossing her arms, Yelena rolled her eyes. “You Americans and your disgusting habits.”
Kate broke out into laughter as she watched Yelena sit down on her bed, crisscross applesauce. “Anyways, this is really good, did you make it?”
“No. I bought it from the stroganoff place. The lady wishes you to get well soon.”
“Okay, that’s really sweet of her, but I am not sick!” She pouted playfully to Yelena, the bowl of soup half empty.
“I don’t think so, Kate Bishop. You were very interesting last night. You said interesting things too.” Kate froze mid-spoonful of her soup, almost choking. Yelena instinctively patted her back as she coughed. A million thoughts raced through Kate’s mind. Interesting? Kate knew she wasn’t the type to think before talking when she was tipsy, but for Yelena to consider it interesting? She did something wrong.
Oh god, what did we say to her— what if she knows we—
NO, WE DO NOT LIKE HER, THIS IS ALL A JOKE AND WE NEVER LIKED HER—
“I— okay, uh, so this is very awkward.”
The corner of Yelena’s lip curved into a smirk, her expression a bit too smug for comfort. “Indeed it is.”
“Did I say something stupid?”
“No, but you were honest.”
“Okay… I am super embarrassed right now.” Her face really showed it. Reddened cheeks, basically overheating by now, and her pupils were dilated. “So… I understand if you don’t feel the same, really, uh… this is hard… and I really don’t wanna make things weird between us, so I just hope we could put everything behind us and— I— I am so, so sorry if I crossed a line, I—”
“Kate Bishop.”
Kate looked up from spiraling despite wanting to die.
Yelena wasn’t frowning, she didn’t look angry or anything, but she looked amused.
“You did not confess your deep love to me, don’t worry.”
Her entire soul left her body right then and there. “Okay good— wait, no— I swear— no— I did not mean— okay I did, but— I swear that’s not what I meant!”
Yelena raised an eyebrow. “So… you were not worried you told me that you loved me?”
“I— Okay, no, I mean— I wasn’t, I— I just—” she groaned louder into her hands again. “Let’s just pretend I didn’t wake up today, how does that sound?”
The two women stared into each other’s eyes, the silence piercing the air a bit too deeply. “All you did was tell me you liked it when I was around. That’s it.” Yelena finally broke the silence.
Oh.
Oh.
OH???
“Okaayyyyyy… so that wasn’t what I expected I’d say when drunk… but hey! At least I was telling the truth..?” We are so fucked, genuinely, Kate. She laughed awkwardly at Yelena as she looked back at her soup.
Yelena laughed once too, then she looked down. “You are impossible, котёнок.” It sounded light, but didn’t have much humor in it, as if she wanted to say something else. “Finish your soup, I’ll clean it later.”
Kate just nodded, her cheeks still burning furiously and her heart pounding in her ears to the point she almost didn’t catch what Yelena had said to her.
*
The apartment was quiet. Way too quiet for comfort. The only sounds that could be heard were water splashing and scrubbing. Yelena was silent, the first time ever. She’d usually be humming or talking to Kate; never once was she this quiet. Concern was an understatement for Kate, especially after her extremely stupid slip-up this afternoon. She sat on the couch, pretending to look at her phone while secretly watching Yelena scrub her bowl a bit too aggressively.
“I can see you staring, Kate Bishop.”
Kate frowned. “I’m sorry, I just feel guilty.”
Yelena turned around, soap bubbling at her rubber gloves. “Why?”
“You’re just really quiet… and I felt that maybe I made you uncomfortable with what happened earlier, and I just wanna apologize again for that…” Kate folded her arms, her elbows falling onto her knees hard, biting her lip, a sore feeling in her heart that hurt more than her back when she woke up.
“It’s okay, Kate Bishop, I am okay.”
“You sure?”
“Yes.”
It came too early, too instant, right after Kate finished what she was saying.
“Okay… so why are you quiet then?” asked Kate, voice full of genuine care; it almost made Yelena shudder. She made her way across the living room to the kitchen and leaned against one of the counters while Yelena finished cleaning up.
“I got a call earlier. I have a mission on Christmas Eve, and I feel bad because I might not be able to spend it with you.”
“Oh.” Kate swallowed.
“But the target would be at a Christmas gala, full of rich and snobbish people, and I need a date, someone believable.”
Kate laughed weakly. “Damn, you know how to make a girl feel special.”
Yelena turned, her expression sharpening. “Kate.”
“I’m kidding,” she put her hands up. “I know what you mean.”
Yelena sighed. “I would ask someone else, but I trust you, and you’re somewhat reliable.”
Her jaw playfully dropped. “That’s dangerous info to give me…” She lightly chuckled.
“Yes, I am aware.” Her lip twitched.
The air between them thickened. The shine in Yelena’s eyes grew as she looked into Kate’s. “So… will you do it?”
Kate smiled with her lips closed. “Yes, yes, I will be your fake date.”
Yelena exhaled—relief, guilt, all of the above; hell, Kate wouldn’t know. But then she smiled back at Kate, and it looked genuine. “Thank you,” she said softly.
And Kate didn’t trust herself enough to say another word.
Notes:
I have actually tried solyanka before. That shit was so sour but so good oh my god
Thank you for reading!