Wednesday frowned as she and Kate stepped out of the train station and into the main streets of New York City.
People were walking by with bags filled with Christmas gifts for their friends and families. Kids were pointing out Christmas lights as their parents ushered them along the streets to get them out of the cold. Everybody seemed to have that festive cheer, though, and Wednesday couldn't help but want to cry as she grabbed Kate's hand.
"I miss Christmas with my mom," Wednesday said, looking at her best friend.
"I know," Kate said, moving to rest her chin on Wednesday's shoulder. "I miss Christmas with her, too. When do you want to go and see her?" she said.
"Christmas Day?" Wednesday said unsurely.
"Of course," Kate kissed her cheek. "I'm gonna call my mom, tell her we're here," she said.
"Okay," Wednesday said.
Kate moved her hand to intertwine their fingers, leading Wednesday across the zebra crossing while she put her phone to her ear.
"Hey, mom," Kate said. "Yeah, we're in the city. We were gonna stop by our place and then come and see you," Kate said. She looked at Wednesday. "Mom wants us to go there first," she said.
"Sure," Wednesday nodded.
"We'll be there, soon, then," Kate said. She ended the call. "Mom said Jack is there and she wants to talk to us about something," she said.
"Must be important, if she's including me," Wednesday said.
Kate rolled her eyes.
"You know she thinks of you like a daughter, too. I mean, you've been stuck to my side ever since we were five years old. We're bonded, Wes," Kate said.
Wednesday shrugged.
"You sure she wants me there? Talking about something with your mom's boyfriend seems like a family thing and I'm not her family," Wednesday said.
"You're my family," Kate said firmly. "So, you're coming. Unless you don't want to?" she said.
Wednesday sighed and let Kate pull them to a stop.
"It's not that I don't want to be there. It's just..." Wednesday trailed off.
"It's still hard seeing me with my mom," Kate said.
"Yeah. I mean, at least both our dad's are dead so I don't have double the issues," Wednesday muttered.
Kate wrapped Wednesday into a hug and kissed her temple.
"Wes," she whispered.
"I'm fine," Wednesday shook her head.
"Wes," Kate said again. Wednesday looked up at her and Kate's gaze softened when she saw Wednesday was close to tears. "I know this is hard and I know sometimes my mom makes it seem like she's trying to replace April's spot in your life. We'll go and see what she wants and then we'll go back to our apartment, bake brownies and cuddle. Okay?" Kate said.
"Okay," Wednesday nodded. "You promise we'll cuddle as soon as we're done?" Wednesday said.
"Yes, you big baby," Kate laughed, cupping her cheeks.
She brushed her thumbs over Wednesday's cheekbones and smiled softly.
"You know I love you, don't you? And I'm here for you," Kate said.
"I know. I love you, too," Wednesday said, resting her forehead on Kate's shoulder. "But your mom will not be happy if we keep her waiting, so let's go," she said.
"Good idea," Kate sighed, tugging Wednesday down the street.
"Hi, Mr Roosevelt," Wednesday smiled at the doorman of Kate's mom's building.
"Hi, Miss Elliot, Miss Bishop," he said.
"Hi," Kate smiled, stepping into the building with Wednesday still clinging to her hand. "How's it going? Good? Wife, kids, all good?" she asked.
"Wonderful, wonderful, Merry Christmas!" Mr Roosevelt said.
"Merry Christmas!" Wednesday smiled, letting Kate drag her towards the elevator.
The two girls stepped out into Kate's mom's penthouse. Wednesday tugged her jacket off and hung it up, doing the same with the coat Kate offered her.
"Hi, my girls," Eleanor smiled as she stepped out of the study in a long red dress.
"Hi, Mom," Kate said.
"Hi, Eleanor," Wednesday said.
"Oh, you look amazing," Kate said, stepping over to Eleanor to zip up the back of her dress. "What are we looking all fancy for?" she asked.
"Charity auction," Eleanor said.
"Ugh," Kate made a face. Wednesday smirked, leaning against the doorway.
"I know, right? All those poor people and nonprofits relying on the more fortunate," Eleanor rolled her eyes at Wednesday, making her giggle.
"That is not what I meant and you know it. Stop ganging up on me, the pair of you," Kate pointed at Wednesday as she stepped away from her mom.
"I didn't say anything. That's not fair," Wednesday said.
"As much as I love having you home for the holidays, I'm not thrilled that I'm about to replace an irreplaceable clock tower," Eleanor said, leading them towards the dining room. Wednesday shifted awkwardly.
Eleanor was not fond of their dares, never had been, and Wednesday knew she would get the blame before Kate did because Eleanor was the kind of mom who thought her kid could do no wrong. Wednesday didn't blame Kate for it, but it did kind of ruin her opinion of Eleanor because she didn't bother trying to actually parent Kate.
She couldn't hate Eleanor for it, though, because of everything Eleanor had done. She may not be the best mother, but she had practically moved Wednesday in after her mother had died and her father went off the rails. She'd been the one to remember every event Wednesday had on and was the only person there, other than Kate, to support her. Eleanor may be a half-assed mom, but she had extended her love to include Wednesday and she did love her for it, even if she was too overbearing sometimes.
"It was a bell tower," Kate said.
"The Dean said it had a bell and a clock, and overachiever that you are, you managed to destroy both. I hope this wasn't one of your dares, Wednesday Elliot," Eleanor turned to Wednesday.
"It wasn't," Kate said quickly, wrapping her arm around Wednesday's waist and tugging her into the dining room. "What can I do to make it better, Mom?" she asked.
"I started by cancelling your credit cards, and we're going to have a much longer talk about this tower that you destroyed, without joking. I know young people think they're invincible, and rich people think they're invincible and you two have always been both. So, take it from someone who hasn't, you're not. You will get hurt. So please, don't go out looking for it," Eleanor eyed the two of them. "Wednesday, I know it's not my place to say it, but I promised your mother-"
"I'm sorry," Wednesday's eyes dropped to her converse. Kate squeezed her waist to try and keep her calm.
"Sorry, Mom," Kate said.
"Okay. You get that from your father, you know?" Eleanor smiled slightly at Kate. She turned to look at Wednesday. "And you are just as wild as I remember April being," she said. Wednesday kept her eyes on the floor. "Why don't you two start making it up to me by putting on those dresses in your bedroom and coming with me tonight?" Eleanor said.
Wednesday looked at Kate, who shrugged. Wednesday nodded.
"We will," she said. Kate reached into her pocket and pulled out a medal.
"Alright, well, um, on another note, I got a new one for the case," Kate said.
"US Open Martial Art Championship," Wednesday grinned proudly, her mood doing a full 180 as she saw the medal Kate had worked so hard to get.
"You're amazing. I still remember when you got your black belt at 15. We might have to retire some from when you were little to make room. Huh?" Eleanor smiled at Kate.
"I like those," Kate said.
"I do, too, hon. I do, too," Eleanor said.
"What's with all the swords, Eleanor?" Wednesday asked curiously, looking at the swords decorating the penthouse.
"Girls, uh, there have been a few changes while you were away this semester," Eleanor said awkwardly.
"Ta-da!" Jack, Eleanor's boyfriend, slid into the dining room in a suit with a red rose between his teeth.
"Jack?" Wednesday and Kate said.
"Oh," Jack laughed awkwardly, pulling the rose out of his mouth. "What an unexpected surprise," he said.
"All surprises are unexpected," Kate said.
"That can't be right. Is it? Nice to see you again, Katie, Wednesday," Jack grinned, offering them the rose.
"That was in your mouth," Kate grimaced. Jack chuckled.
"So it was," Jack said.
"We cannot be late, so go change. Meet us at the hotel and we'll talk there. Okay? Shall we?" Eleanor said, looking from the girls to Jack.
"Let's. We'll see you at the party," Jack smiled at them.
"See you there, my girls. Lots more to talk about," Eleanor grinned, walking out of the penthouse with Jack.
"You have any idea what they're hiding from us?" Kate looked at Wednesday.
Wednesday looked back at Kate and shrugged.
"Whatever it is, it can't be as bad as anything we've had to deal with before," Wednesday said.
"Agreed. I am not wearing a dress," Kate said, tugging Wednesday upstairs.
"I'll wear one. You wear a suit. It'll shut your mom up enough if one of us wears a dress," Wednesday said.
"I love you, you know that? Thank you for encouraging me not to bend to the stupid idea of forcing women to wear dresses just because of a tradition established under a misogynistic society," Kate said.
"You're welcome," Wednesday smiled.
"Wes, we gotta go!" Kate yelled upstairs to Wednesday.
She had finished getting ready within twenty minutes, but Wednesday insisted on wearing makeup if she was wearing a dress and the dress Eleanor had picked out for her didn't really look very nice on, so she'd changed dresses four times before settling on the one she was currently wearing.
"Wes, we're gonna be late!" Kate shouted.
"I'm literally doing my laces up, shut up!" Wednesday yelled back.
She finished tying the laces on her Docs and stood up off Kate's bed, looking at herself in the mirror.
She was wearing a tight purple glittery dress that went to mid-thigh and showed off her boobs really well. She, of course, had pulled on a pair of tight shorts underneath that couldn't be seen through the dress, purely because she got clumsy when she drank and she had a feeling she would be drinking tonight.
She'd paired it with her black leather jacket and her black Docs. She'd curled her blonde hair and clipped a few strands back with a purple hairclip in the shape of an arrow that Kate had bought her a few years ago.
Wednesday grabbed her phone and shoved it in her jacket pocket, running downstairs.
"See? I'm done," Wednesday said, jumping off the last step and doing a spin for Kate. "You like?" she said.
"You're purple," Kate said, eyes firmly on Wednesday's chest in her dress.
"I am. I picked this dress because purple is your favourite colour," Wednesday said.
"Fuck, Wednesday," Kate breathed, dragging her eyes up to meet Wednesday's. "Do we have to go? Can't I just," Kate stepped forward, the tips of her fingers brushing the end of Wednesday's dress, "Take this off you?" she whispered.
Wednesday's breath caught in her throat but she forced out a laugh, wrapping her arms around Kate's waist and keeping them straight to put some distance between their bodies.
"No, you can't. We're going to this party and, maybe if you don't drive me insane, I'll let you feel me up," Wednesday said.
Kate groaned and rested her forehead against Wednesday's shoulder.
"You just look so beautiful," she said.
"Stop trying to get in my pants, Katie baby," Wednesday said.
"I'm not," Kate said. "Well, I am," she said. "But I really think you're beautiful," she said.
Wednesday's smile dropped, but Kate didn't see it from where her head was resting.
Wednesday was fine with them joking, she was fine with the flirting and the fact they hooked up because she knew it was all pretend. But when Kate was honest like that, when she genuinely looked like she would stop breathing at the sight of Wednesday, it sent Wednesday into overdrive.
She knew it was pretend. They were just best friends. Just best friends who hooked up for most of their lives and had the inability to ever date anyone because the person usually got freaked out about how close Wednesday and Kate were before anything had the chance to turn into more than friends.
"I love the suit," Wednesday said, stepping back from Kate and fiddling with the silver rings on her fingers.
"Wes?" Kate looked at her carefully.
"What?" Wednesday said, refusing to meet her eyes.
Kate cupped Wednesday's chin and gently pulled it up, forcing their eyes to meet. Kate was staring at her with pure concern and worry and it made Wednesday's heart race in her chest.
"Do you want to go home? We can turn our phones off, ignore my mom, go and bake brownies and cuddle until you feel better?" Kate said.
"No, I feel fine. I'm just... Christmas, you know?" Wednesday said, running her hand through the end of her curls.
"I know. C'mon. I'll do my best to make this event worthwhile and then we'll have brownies and cuddles," Kate offered Wednesday her hand.
"Fine," Wednesday sighed, grabbing her hand.
Kate grinned and tugged her towards the front door.
"Got everything?" Kate said.
"Yep. Daggers and all," Wednesday pat the garter belt holding four daggers on her left thigh.
"Did anybody ever tell you you're a little paranoid sometimes?" Kate smirked at her.
"No. Why? You hear something?" Wednesday smirked back at her.
Kate laughed and dragged her out of the penthouse.
"There's my favourite smile. Let's go," she said.
Wednesday gently moved the champagne glass in her hand, the golden liquid inside spinning as she watched the party going on around them. Kate was leaning beside her, the two stood against a pillar, and had one hand in her pocket with the other wrapped around Wednesday's waist to hold her close.
Neither were good at parties or social interactions. Wednesday had been the social butterfly of the two as kids, but losing her mom made Wednesday colder than before. She never changed how she was with Kate, though, so Kate didn't think it was anything to worry about. Wednesday was just comfortable with a small circle of people and Kate didn't mind being one of the only people in the circle.
"Excuse me dear, would you-" an old man in a suit walked over to them.
"Sorry, I'm not a waitress," Kate said quickly, having been mistaken for a waitress multiple times due to her all-black suit.
"You're the little Bishop girl," the man eyed Kate with a smile.
"Yes, I am," Kate forced a smile.
"Armand. Armand Duquesne," the man said.
"Ah," Kate nodded in fake realisation.
"You used to come to my brownstone for brunch," he said.
"Oh, build your own blintz bar," Kate realised.
"Precisely," Armand smiled. "And you must be Kate's girlfriend. Eleanor talks about you a lot," Armand looked at Wednesday.
"Wednesday Elliot," Wednesday forced a smile.
There was no point trying to convince him they weren't actually dating. They were never going to see him again, considering the fact they'd only come tonight to make things up with Eleanor, and it was easier than explaining their complicated relationship.
"Oh, August's little girl! Nasty affair, that was. I'm sorry for what happened. Where's your brother?" Armand asked. Wednesday stiffened beside Kate.
"Thank you. Uh, he's with his family," Wednesday said. Kate squeezed Wednesday's waist gently.
Armand seemed to sense this was a tough subject, so he turned back to Kate.
"You know, it's unfair. I never looked that good in a tuxedo in my life. I'd appreciate it if you wear something a little more lady-like for the wedding, so we won't be competing," Armand eyed Kate's suit.
"What wedding?" Kate and Wednesday asked.
"You don't know? Eleanor and Jack," Armand said. Kate's mouth dropped open slightly and Wednesday looked across the room to where Eleanor and Jack were laughing. "Oh! Those secretive little love birds!" Armand laughed.
"Can I offer you some champagne?" a waiter approached them.
"Thank you!" Armand said, taking a glass. "Believe me, I've done everything in my power to talk him out of it. When he gets something set in that little mind of his, he can be quite determined," Armand said.
"Oh. Seems like he won the jackpot," Kate said.
"You think so? So does he. I'm not so sure," Armand laughed.
A little boy walked over to them.
"Armand, I wanna go home. I'm bored," he said.
"That's no way to talk, Armand. That's not the way you were brought up. Come and say hello to Miss Bishop and Miss Elliot," Armand said.
"Hey," the kid said awkwardly.
"Hello," Wednesday said.
"Another Armand, I see," Kate looked at Armand.
"Yes. I'm Armand the third and he's Armand the seventh. I believe that's quite sufficient. Well, uh, I'm gonna make my excuses because it seems that you need to have a chat with your prize of a mother. Come on, Armand. Come on, boy!" Armand said, pulling little Armand away from the girls.
"Want me to come here or wait?" Wednesday asked.
Kate grabbed the champagne from her hand and put it on the table, tugging Wednesday across the floor to her mother and Jack.
"I guess I'm going with you," Wednesday mumbled.
They reached Eleanor and Jack, who turned to smile at them.
"Hi, girls. Wednesday, you look gorgeous in that dress. Purple is definitely your colour," Eleanor said.
"You're engaged?" Kate raised her eyebrows. Eleanor's face dropped and Wednesday looked at her Docs, shuffling them against the floor awkwardly.
"Oh, well, I guess the beans are out of the bag," Jack chuckled awkwardly. Eleanor looked at him.
"Can we have a little moment?" she said.
"Oh, of course, it's almost time for my other engagement anyway. Bye," Jack kissed Eleanor's cheek and walked away.
"Do you want me to leave-" Wednesday started.
"No," Kate and Eleanor said quickly.
"Babe, I'm sorry. I'm sorry you found out this way," Eleanor said quietly.
"I don't know, Mom, this is just like... Fast," Kate said.
"Yeah, yeah, it's fast, yes. But, you know, it's kind of nice being swept up in the romance of it. Is there a part of you that could be happy for me?" Eleanor asked. Kate didn't answer. "Kate, you must understand how I'm feeling," Eleanor pleaded slightly.
Wednesday frowned as she looked between the two of them. Did Kate like someone and just hadn't told Wednesday? No, she wouldn't do that. She told Wednesday everything, especially the things she would never dare tell Eleanor, which was usually people she liked because Eleanor would produce a list of faults to do with the person within ten minutes.
"Yes. Yes, mom, of course," Kate sighed.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I wanted to tell you two first. I'm sorry," Eleanor said.
"We're going to get some air, mom," Kate said, grabbing Wednesday by the waist and tugging her back.
"I understand," Eleanor nodded.
"Yep," Kate muttered.
"Come back and find me, okay?" Eleanor said.
"We will," Wednesday nodded.
Kate tugged her out of the room and they left the building. Wednesday sighed when the cold December air cooled down her warm cheeks.
They walked out of the fence and saw a dog with one eye sat outside alone. Wednesday gasped and knelt down in front of him, holding out her hand.
"Hello, honey," she said softly.
The dog sniffed her hand and then licked it, letting her start stroking his head.
"You know, Katie, you have to dare me back. You could dare me to steal this dog so we can have an adorable pet," Wednesday said, turning to Kate with a pout.
Kate smiled softly at the sight of Wednesday with the dog.
"As adorable as you two look together, you are not getting off with an easy dare. I destroyed a clock tower-"
"Bell tower," Wednesday smirked.
"It had clocks, too, and I destroyed them both. You are not getting the dog," Kate said.
Wednesday huffed.
"You're so mean to me. She's so mean to me," Wednesday turned back to the dog and stood up, giving his fur one last ruffle.
She turned back to Kate and raised an eyebrow.
"You okay?" she said.
"It's just... Wow!" Kate sighed, running her hand through her hair.
"I know," Wednesday said, wrapping her arm around Kate's shoulder. Kate leaned into her side.
"You'll be my date to the wedding, won't you?" Kate asked. "You will be the only thing that makes that day bearable," Kate said.
"Of course I'll be your date. Now, we should get back inside. My legs are getting cold and I'm regretting wearing a dress this short," Wednesday said.
"I'm not regretting you wearing it," Kate smirked.
"No sex to cheer you up," Wednesday pointed at her, walking back towards the building with a teasing smile.
"But it'll make me really happy," Kate pouted, following Wednesday back inside.
"No," Wednesday said.
Kate sighed and looked at Wednesday with a frown.
"Is it too fast? Is she just marrying him because she misses having someone there?" Kate said.
"Well, her remarrying is better than the alternative. She could do what my dad did and then we'd be orphans together," Wednesday said.
Kate's frown didn't leave, though she did give Wednesday an exasperated look. Kate didn't 100% approve of Wednesday using humour to deal with her trauma, but only because Wednesday used humour so she didn't have to process her true feelings about what happened when she was younger.
Wednesday sighed and walked over to Kate, cupping her cheeks.
"Look, I know this is really hard to process because it seems to have come out of nowhere. I know you're terrified of things changing. But they won't change, not really. Sure, Jack will be there more than before and he isn't the smartest tool in the shed, but he seems harmless. And you will always have me," Wednesday said.
Kate wrapped her arms around Wednesday's waist, pulling their bodies flush against each other. Wednesday bit her bottom lip as she felt Kate's fingers rubbing circles into her hips.
"I know. You're right," Kate mumbled.
Wednesday studied her for a few seconds before leaning in, kissing Kate softly. Kate closed her eyes and deepened the kiss.
Wednesday melted against Kate as she let herself get lost in the kiss for a few seconds. Her lips were so soft against Wednesday's and Wednesday could taste the strawberries Kate had stolen out of Wednesday's champagne glass.
Wednesday pulled back and looked at Kate, trying to ignore the sinking feeling in her stomach as she realised she was falling more in love with her life-long best friend than ever before.
She knew the feelings would never be returned, but she couldn't help from taking part of Kate's teasing and affection because it meant that she would get to have her best friend in a different way, even if it was just for them to distract each other and would ultimately do more harm than good at this point in their friendship.
"You always make things make sense," Kate mumbled against her lips.
"I know. I'm just that good," Wednesday said. "C'mon. We said we'd find your mom and I don't want her mad at me. She let go of the tower for tonight but she knows it was my dare," Wednesday said.
"Let's go," Kate said, tangling their fingers together and leading her back inside.