That One Time We Kissed // Bishova College AU

You Snooze, You Win?

Panicking, Kate let out a string of curses. She stared at her phone incredulously. Should she listen to the voicemail first, or just call back?

"Fuck it," she mumbled, frantically returning Yelena's calls. They only came through fourteen minutes ago, so perhaps she would still answer. "Come on, come on..."

After moments that felt like hours, a voice answered, small and timid, "hey."

"Hey."

"So..."

Kate breathed a sigh of relief, her heart releasing some of its tension. "I'm glad you called."

"Me too." Yelena paused, taking a long breath. "Have you listened to the voice mail?"

"Not yet. I just woke up and saw you called."

"Don't listen to it."

"Okay... why'd you call me, anyway?"

"Just wanted to hear your voice, I guess."

Kate allowed herself to smile. "Well, here I am."

"Yeah," Yelena sniffled. "Here you are."

"Listen... can we talk? Doesn't have to be this week, I know you're busy, but I'd really like to-"

"Let me get you dinner," Yelena cut in. "It's the least I could do. I'll pick you up at seven tomorrow." She paused. "Wear something nice, Bishop."

With that, Yelena hung up, and Kate lay back in her bed, phone clutched over her chest. Holy shit, she thought, did that really just happen? Yelena comes through at the eleventh hour, right when Kate was on the verge of giving up. Smiling dreamily, Kate lifted her phone back up, gaze set on the 13 second voicemail Yelena left. Does she listen? Or do as Yelena asked?

Unable to stave off the curiosity, Kate pressed play.

"Hey, Kate," Yelena's grainy voice started. "You haven't picked up, so I'm assuming that means you might be done with me. And that's... fine. I understand. Just know I'm sorry, and I love you too." A long pause. "Shit. I- yeah. Yeah."

Stunned, Kate sat up. Maybe she should not have listened to the voicemail, because there was no way she could play it cool now. As one part of her harbored anxiety, uncertainty, another part, maybe a larger part, held out hope. Maybe they could fix things after all.

-

"For me?" Kate asked as Yelena stood outside her dorm, bearing a bouquet of daisies. The blonde wore an emerald green coat over a simple but classy white shirt; Kate donned an all black ensemble of a button up and dress pants. "You look nice."

"So do you," Yelena said softly, offering the flowers gently.

Kate took them inside, inhaling the sweet scent of the buds with a small grin. She reached down to take Yelena's hand as the pair left, but thought better of it, and the blonde winced. Kate sighed softly. This was going to be harder than she thought.

For the brunette, the struggle was finding the balance between the enthusiasm at finally seeing Yelena again while still remembering the rift between them. They hadn't seen each other in a month, they hadn't talked, they had effectively broken up. But at the same time, this was still the girl Kate loved. She knew Yelena, and wanted to show her she was still interested, still committed, but be warier than she normally would be.

As she walked next to Kate, hands in her pockets, Yelena's heart ached. She went AWOL for an entire month, hiding out in her plush sorority house bedroom; she had nowhere else to go. The solitude soothed her rattled brain, at least for the moment, and she returned to campus life rejuvenated, ready to finish out her junior year. With her thoughts at least somewhat sorted, all Yelena had left to mend was her tattered heart.

"I would've understood if you never called me back, you know," Yelena mumbled after the two sat down in a corner booth of a swanky restaurant. Soft jazz wafted through; light dim overhead. "But I can't tell you how happy I was to see your name on my phone again."

Kate smiled sadly, leaning back in the creaky booth. "Can I ask why it took you so long to call?"

She shrugged with a small sigh, struggling to find words. "I just... I think I felt like I deserved it."

"Deserved what?"

"To sit in my room. Alone. And cry." Yelena laughed despite herself. "I don't say this for pity. I'm trying to, you know, be honest."

"I know you're not telling me this for pity points," Kate assured. "I heard you had a tough month."

"I did. I really did."

"Look, Lena, I'm sorry if I contributed to that in any way." Kate sat up, leaning slightly across the table, eyes sincere. "I knew you were nervous about relationships from the start. It was probably a little irresponsible for you to have two Thanksgivings with me."

"That's not all your fault," Yelena replied, shaking her head. "It's mine, really. I agreed to go, and I didn't say anything when I got uncomfortable. I just... shut down. Like I always do."

"Okay, pause. We're gonna have to work on that."

"On what?"

"The way you talk about yourself. Look, we both made mistakes, but you can't be so hard on yourself. This is a new relationship, a first for both of us. It's gonna take time."

Yelena's eyes started watering, and her face crumpled. "Damn it, Kate Bishop..."

Without thinking, Kate moved to sit on Yelena's side of the booth, and the blonde melted into her side on instinct. Kate held the blonde close, one arm around her shoulders.

"What is it?" Kate asked, voice soft.

Yelena sniffled, composing herself enough to speak. "It's always you being so wise. Always the one coming up with compromises, and being so mature. I just feel like I'm not doing enough, like you deserve better."

"Lena, no..." Kate cupped Yelena's cheek, forcing the woman to make eye contact. "We both bring different things to the table. I don't think I know more than you or know better... I just think I'm better at vocalizing it. At least for now. We can work on it, okay?"

Yelena nodded, resting her head on Kate's shoulder. "I've missed you. You're so steady it hurts."

"I've missed you too."

"I'm sorry I disappeared. I got overwhelmed. I really, really wasn't expecting for Pepper to pop back into my life. It's a good surprise, of course, but it brought back a lot of memories."

"I'm sure it did. It came out of nowhere, really. It's a lot to process."

"Can I tell you about her someday? I don't know, is that dumb?"

"It's not dumb at all."

"Good."

Kate returned to her seat after Yelena calmed down enough to order. After a moment, she commented, "so, Lena, a little birdy told me to ask about Glossier. Please give me some good news."

Yelena frowned, and Kate's heart dropped. "No dice. It was a long shot, anyway."

"Shit, I'm sorry. It's their loss, though. They don't know who they're missing out on."

"Right."

"Got any other summer plans?"

"Other than finding somewhere to stay? Not really." The blonde toyed with her water glass, and Kate fiddled with her straw wrapper. "I don't know, I think Teen Vogue does a bunch of internships in the city."

"Oooh, sounds salacious."

"Eh," Yelena raised her glass, "here's to hoping I can commit libel while earning minimum wage."

"I'll drink to that." Kate smiled, worries smoothing over, heart leveling out. "Yeah, I'll drink to that."