Hello!! I need to cuddle them so bad I will die
Content warnings: talk of alcohol, depression, almost panic attack, the gays gaying so hard
It took Yelena a moment to even realize that the apartment wasn't empty when she ducked in through the window. But she spotted Kate's combat boots and purple flannel dumped by the door, and Lucky's head appeared by the stairs. She smiled softly at him and continued to scan the open space for the archer.
"Kate Bishop?" Yelena called out softly, a little apprehensive about the silence. In the brief time she had known her, Yelena realized that Kate loved to talk. Not in a bad way, per se, but she always had a lot to say and a lot to feel about everything. And if she wasn't talking, she was humming, or laughing, or making strange little noises with her mouth. The quiet was strange. Yelena knew Kate wasn't always in the best headspace, of course, as she had found the woman's medications and a few notes about therapy and some other sensitive topics (which Yelena put away immediately once she realized how personal it was).
"Kate Bishop!" Yelena walked further into the apartment, greeting Lucky with a pat on his head. There was a grumble from Kate's loft bedroom, and Yelena headed up the stairs. "You better not be naked, Kate Bishop, because I'm coming up and Lucky doesn't need to be scarred so early into his life."
Kate didn't respond, and when Yelena got to her bed, the archer didn't move from where she lay face down in her pillows, completely prone.
"Are you dead, Kate Bishop?"
"I wish I was," came a garbled voice, her fingers twitching.
Yelena's brow furrowed, and she stopped from where she had been about to turn Kate over onto her back to poke at her cheeks and make her stand up. Something was clearly wrong with the archer, who looked more bedraggled the longer she looked.
"Kate Bishop," Yelena said softly, letting her mother shine through as she carefully sat on the bed, "are you alright?" She dared to rest a hand on Kate's back, her fingers pressing softly into the nook of her shoulder blade.
Kate jolted at the contact, her head flying up to look at Yelena. Her dark hair fell over her face in a messy wave, and Yelena brushed it away with her free hand, concern pursing her lips. Kate's eyes were large and watery, the blue shining with tears both unshed and not. They stuck to her thick eyelashes and she almost seemed to glow, and Yelena thought it was very strange to think that when her friend (they were friends, right?) was clearly upset.
"Kate, what happened?" she asked gently, her thumb rubbing a gentle circle into the nape of her neck. Yelena could feel something strong bubbling in her stomach. She didn't know how to comfort. No one ever taught her, and the only person who could've was gone. And yet here she was, trying anyway.
Kate stared at her, her bottom lip stuck out in an almost pout that Yelena was tempted to poke at. She didn't realize that her fingers were still hooked behind Kate's ear to keep her hair out of her face until she leaned into her palm, eyes closing as a fresh wave of tears overtook her.
This was where Yelena's limited capabilities fell short.
Kate seemed to notice Yelena's hesitant expression, because she pulled away and pressed her face back into her pillows. "Sorry," she mumbled, voice wobbly and borderline sobbing. It was clear she was making an effort to calm herself, but her shoulders quivered and the tautness of her muscles told Yelena just how much she was struggling.
The assassin may not be good at girls, but she was good at alcohol.
"Let's go get those drinks, Kate Bishop. I do not know what ails you, but a good beer or two and plenty of vodka will help you feel better."
"It's only 3 in the afternoon," Kate whined, head twisting to show half her face so she could see Yelena.
The Russian barked a deep laugh. "Ha! Kate Bishop, don't be silly! It's every time of the day somewhere else. In Russia we drink as we please and no one has say over us."
The archer only screwed her eyes shut and frowned, tears still pricking her eyes. The crying had flushed her cheeks and her ears, and Yelena found a sense of something very alluring in the rosy tint to her tan skin, even if Kate being upset made her upset too. For some reason.
She sucked in a breath and brushed her knuckles under one of Kate's eyes, catching a tear before it could slide down the bridge of her nose. "Come on, Kate Bishop," she said softly. "Let's get you all dressed up and enjoy ourselves in the city. Girl's night out. Dinner and drinks and movie on me."
Kate seemed to quiet a bit at this prospect, opening her eyes again to look at Yelena. "Girl's Night Out?" she repeated back meekly.
Yelena nodded, wondering what on Earth she was getting herself into. "You owe me that drink, Kate Bishop. And I am remembering you mentioned ice-skating. Show me your corner of New York. Take your mind off of what bothers you."
Kate had absolutely not said a single word about ice-skating, but Yelena wasn't about to take it back.
"I'm terrible at ice-skating," Kate whispered, but Yelena grinned, knowing the archer had given in to her whims. (What whims, Yelena?)
Lucky barked excitedly as Kate slowly dragged herself out of bed, and Yelena couldn't help but agree.
————
"Kate Bishop, why do you Americans take so long to get ready?!"
"I've only been in here for ten minutes, Yelena!"
The blonde groaned amicably and bonked her head on Kate's bathroom door, silently urging her friend to hurry up. Yelena had already rummaged through her own stash of clothes and found an outfit she deemed more than appropriate for a night on the town, PLUS a full face of makeup. As always, she was flawless.
"Ten minutes is so longgggggg, Kate Bishoooooop," she groaned loudly, popping the 'p'. Kate laughed inside the bathroom, her voice already lighter than it was when Yelena had first gotten back.
"Entertain Lucky until I'm done."
"Ugh. Fineeeeeee."
Yelena knelt on the floor and beckoned Lucky over to her, cooing and rubbing his ears softly while letting him smother her in kisses, still careful of her makeup. "Your mama is very slow," she murmured to him, scrunching his face up in her palms and staring very seriously into his eye. He grinned, licking at her chin.
"Okay, I'm done!" Kate called out, a moment before she opened the door and stepped into the hallway.
"About time, Kate Bish- oh." Yelena blinked and stood up in one swift motion, looking Kate up and down. The archer was in form fitting black slacks, white DM platforms with embroidered roses, and a puffy black turtleneck sweater underneath her purple flannel. It was a rather simple ensemble of clothes, but Yelena couldn't help but remember how striking Kate had looked in her glittery black dress at Eleanor Bishop's charity gala, the night everything seemed to go to shit.
Normally, Kate would've noticed Yelena's silence, her heated stare, how it took her just a little longer than normal to gather her composure- but she was having similar thoughts as well. The assassin had donned a blood red dress with a knee length ruffled skirt and beaded sleeves that reached her wrists, and a buttoned up high collar accentuated her sharp jawline. Black thermal tights covered her legs, and her tall black platforms put her only about two inches shorter than Kate, as opposed to the usual five.
"You're slaying," Kate said stupidly, her jaw feeling a little too slack and cheeks a little too warm.
Yelena tilted her head and graciously ignored her fumbling, seemingly completely unfased. "You clean up nicely, Kate Bishop."
They both kind of just stand there and look at each other for a moment, neither willing to break the spell they had fallen into. Lucky is the one to shatter it, of course, as always, but both women are too flustered to even know what to think, and instead they busy themselves with separate tasks. Kate refills Lucky's food and water while the pup watches on eagerly, and Yelena steps back with a cough and excuses herself to get some water. She disappears into the kitchen, and Kate can hear the tap running and some splashing, like Yelena is washing her face.
"Be careful with your makeup, it's too good to ruin this soon!" Kate calls out to her, daring to speak after giving the moment a second to air out. The blonde looks up from where she's leaning over the sink when the archer follows her into the kitchen, and Kate's mood immediately flips when she notices how sick Yelena looks.
"Yelena? Are you okay? What's wrong?" She rushed to her friend, letting her hand hover over her back for a moment before gently rubbing in between her shoulder blades. Yelena's arms are quivering as she leans her weight into them to keep her propped up, but she draws her ruby painted lips into a thin line and shakes her head. Drops of cold water slide off her nose and her chin, but her immaculate makeup doesn't budge.
"I'm fine, Kate," she chokes out, her voice throaty and low like she's holding back tears, and Kate's worry only grows when the woman presses a hand to her stomach.
"Yelena, if you're feeling sick, it's probably best if you just stay in-"
"No, Kate Bishop." She sucks in a deep breath and squats down, keeping her hands on the counter and leaning her head against the cupboard to breathe and get away from Kate. She was so distracting. What was wrong with her? "I am fine. Just a-" She almost says it's 'just cramps', because Kate doesn't know that Yelena didn't have a uterus (not that she ever really wanted one anyway) but she clamps that down. It felt silly and childish.
How did she explain herself? Hi Kate Bishop, I'm feeling warm and safe and almost happy for the first time in a while and I'm not even drunk and I think it might be because of you and it's making me nauseous in a scared of good things kind of way. No. What the hell even...?
"I just need a minute," she eventually managed to get out, once the bile and taste of blood on her tongue had sunk away. Kate didn't press, which she was immensely grateful for, and she could make out the woman retreating to tend to Lucky as he promptly tipped his water bowl all over the floor.
A minute or so later, Yelena manages to stand without the thought of Kate's smile sending her into a guilt-ridden spiral, and she joins her at the table where Kate is trying to teach Lucky how to gently take a treat from her hand. She glances up and sees the blonde, and gives a soft, hesitant grin, the tilt of her eyebrows soft in a way that melts something in Yelena.
"Are you alright?" she asks again, ever so aware and considerate. Yelena can only nod against the archer's almost cloying sweetness. "Can I do anything to help you feel better?"
Normally, Yelena would completely brush that question off, but there's something nagging at her.
"Would you let me do your makeup, Kate Bishop?"
This takes her by surprise, and Kate sits up taller. She usually opted for minimal makeup when she went out, if any at all, because mascara could make her eyes feel too thick when she needed to see where she was shooting and archery practice always had her sweating it all off, anyway. "Um- yeah, sure! Why not?" She internally grimaces at herself, but something heavy slips away from Yelena's expression at her permission and Kate feels a little fuzzy.
Yelena directs Kate to the couch and rummages around in a closet that Kate was only partially aware of, coming back out with a makeup bag and small mirror. An almost girlish grin curls her mouth rather prettily, and Kate melts at the sight of it.
The assassin indicates for Kate to scoot closer to the arm of the couch to give her more wiggle room, and Yelena sink into the cushions on her knees next to her, makeup palette and brush already up and ready. The archer gulps at the devious glint in her eye. Yelena was definitely feeling better, that's for sure.
A few minutes in, Kate is just grateful that Yelena hasn't killed her out of impatience. The archer had never been good to put makeup on, much to the chagrin of both her mother and her college friends. (Where were they now?) She always tended to blink at the wrong time and scrunch up her eyes and sneeze directly in the poor victim's face. Luckily, she's able to help that last one, and Yelena seems to always know when she's about to sneeze anyway, because they've avoided catastrophe three times due to her perceptiveness and quick reflexes.
"Sorry," Kate mutters sheepishly after one such occurrence, her nose still tickling and her eyes threatening to water, ruining whatever Yelena had been meticulously applying. The look on Yelena's face told her that she was annoyed, but her voice held a very different message.
"Oh, Kate Bishop. You are hopeless," she muttered good naturedly, a fondness in the words that had Kate glowing. Surprising the both of them, Yelena shifts around and straddles her darker counterpart's lap in one fluid motion, the strength and warmth of her thighs settling into Kate.
Kate, predictably, is losing it.
Yelena's blood red dress hitches up and pools around her waist, and even though her legs are covered, Kate tears her eyes away with burning cheeks and meets an inquisitive gaze.
"Everything alright, Kate Bishop?" Yelena mutters, a smirk tugging at her lips.
Kate nods her head in what she hopes is a calm matter, and Yelena giggles softly, shrugging and getting back to work. Kate is so busy keeping her eyes up (which is a completely different problem, because Yelena is stunning) and her hands as far away from Yelena's hips as possible that her brain doesn't even remember to sneeze or flinch at the cold eyeliner and dusty powder.
"Aha! I have done it again!" Yelena cries out victoriously, her eyes glowing as she surveys her work. It's a simpler look, only made tedious by Kate's constant fidgeting, but it was effective nonetheless. A deep purple smokey eye, thick lashes, sharp winged eyeliner, some contour and blush to make her cheekbones pop, and silver glitter along her eyes, nose, and jaw to draw attention to the angles of her face.
Maybe Yelena was a little too good.
She scrambles off of Kate hurriedly, the other woman immediately missing the warmth, and hands the small mirror over so they can both appreciate her work. Kate whistles slowly and turns this way and that, admiring herself for a moment before looking back to Yelena. The dark makeup made the blue of her eyes pop, the color sharp and exciting.
She smiled brightly. "Thank you. Feel better?"
Yelena took a moment to realize what Kate was even talking about, but she eventually nodded and headed to the door in a daze, grabbing her coat.
"Let's get going, Kate Bishop." She managed a grin. "Ice-skating, and then dinner, and then I will show you the proper way to drink vodka."
"Sounds like a plan."
THEM?!?!!!?!? AGH
Also it's important to rememer a piece of dialogue from this because it is repeated in the next chapter and it gets even gayer <33
Translations: none
Kate Bishop counter: 17
QOTD: Do you like to wear makeup?
This chapter's meme(s):
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