16: School Can Wait, Katniss Needs Cuddles

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We've reached over 2k reads thank you so much everyone!!
I'd also like to specifically dedicate this chapter to Maxiallen because I've been teasing them about this chapter for a while haha here you go bby

HERE WE AREEEEE IN THE OLDEN DAYSSSS HAPPY GOLDEN DAYYYYYYSSSS
Hi everyone! I'm super super super excited for this chapter it is amazing and adorable and cute and fluffy and (mostly) angst free! Enjoyyyyyy

Could you tell that I edited this during the Christmas season lol :,))

Content warnings: fluffy rizz and a lot of words (almost 4,000- I love me a big chapter)


Kate can feel a tether inside her chest fraying as she resists the urge to grab Yelena's hand again for the rest of the day, and it's almost to the point where she might have to take an ice bath to bludgeon away the heat lingering on her skin. Because, like Yelena, Kate was practically dying for constant physical contact and assurance. Growing up in a fatherless penthouse and with a mother that distanced herself out of grief led to Kate's childhood being rather cold and lonely, and it hadn't been until college that she realized how much she loved to hug and cuddle.

And now that the spark had been reignited, it was threatening to absolutely fucking explode.

Yelena had barely let go of Kate's hand when they reached her apartment before immediately busying herself with feeding the dogs and starting up something in the kitchen. Kate thanked her past self for remembering to get groceries the other day, because her fridge and cupboards had previously been home to only a few overripe strawberries, expired pancake batter mix, and a plentiful supply of Kraft mac-n-cheese. If there hadn't been food to occupy the assassin with, Kate was genuinely afraid she would just up and leave upon realizing how useless her temporary little roommate was.

The two of them seem to skirt around each other as Yelena prepares something that smells divine and Kate offers to help, the archer being put to work with chopping meat she didn't even remember buying. One of them puts music on in an attempt to fill the tense silence, but Fanny starts howling along to it and Lucky follows suit. They turn the music back off, and the dogs provide the ambiance with their wrestling.

Yelena is just adding the finishing touches to what Kate thinks might be some kind of savory meat/noodle soup when her phone starts ringing from her loft bedroom. She realizes with a jolt that she's barely looked at the device since she got back from her Barton vacation, and hurries up to grab it. Sure enough, it's Clint on the other line.

"Clint, hi!"

"Kate! Hey! Are you okay?" Clint sounds worried and out of breath, his deep voice almost shrill.

"I- yeah, yeah I'm okay, Clint. Why, what's up? How are you?"

"Oh I'm fine, but you haven't responded to any of my texts since I dropped you off and I was starting to wonder if you were dead, or something. You usually jump at the chance to spam my phone."

"Oh, shit," Kate mutters, pulling her phone away from her ear and putting it on speaker to look through her messages. There are seven unread texts from HawkDad😎💘🏹, and she quickly reads through them. "Shit, Clint, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to ghost you- I just haven't been looking at my phone very much." Or at all, she silently adds. Other than the occasional Spotify listen, Kate hadn't touched any of the other notifications on her screen, which she now admitted was a bit of a mistake.

In her defense, though, she's been a little preoccupied.

"What's got you so busy, kiddo?" he asks, already calmer now that he knows she's alive.

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