Work Text:
Was it casual when you wrote my name in calligraphy all over the pages of your journal?
“Didn’t know you were into calligraphy.” Yelena says one day over dinner, sort of shrugging as she fiddles with the hem of her sweater.
Kate looks up from her bowl, mindlessly stirring up her soup. “Oh, uh, yeah. It’s kinda therapeutic,” she smiles. “I like writing out quotes. Or, words that sound nice to me.”
“What kind of words?”
“Just… words that feel right. I guess.” Kate feels her cheeks heat up, and she takes a shy sip of her now lukewarm soup.
Yelena nods to herself, a quiet curiosity bubbling beneath her calm exterior. “Like my name?” She offers. “Does that feel right to you, too?”
Kate’s hand stills, eyes finally meeting Yelena’s. “Yeah,” she says, softly. “Your name’s… nice to write.”
Was it casual when you took me to your childhood rink over the holidays? When you held my hand and promised me it was going to be fun?
“Here,” Kate pushes the glass doors to the rink open and steps aside to let Yelena in. “It’s not the fanciest place, but I grew up right here, in this little ice-rink.”
“This is nice,” Yelena remarks as she leans over the edge of the dasher boards, looking out into the ice. The rink is empty, save for the echo of their hushed whispers. “I’ve never skated.”
Kate tilts her head. “Really?”
“Yeah,” Yelena hums. “Just, not my thing, usually.”
“But… you’re really good at ballet.” Kate tilts her head again and turns to look at Yelena. “I heard dancers tend to like ice-skating. Or, uh, I guess more specifically, figure skating. I thought you’d be into that. I can picture it really well.”
“Huh… You’re picturing it?” Yelena raises an eyebrow at her, one corner of her mouth upturned. “Do you normally picture lots of things about me, then?”
“No! No, I mean— I can… As in, like…” Kate grimaces and drops her head onto the railing, shrinking into herself. “I mean, it’s not hard to… imagine. Because you’d suit it so well, Lena. Does that make sense?”
“Ah, so you’re complimenting me,” Yelena smiles and drags the tips of her fingers along the railings as she circles the rink. “You’ll make a great teacher, I’m sure.”
Yelena might not be the best at ice-skating— she may be the worst, actually —but skating makes Kate happy, and she’s happy wherever Kate is.
“Hey, why don’t we get ourselves one of those penguin aids?” Kate says, smiling at Yelena in a way that makes Yelena’s heart skip a couple of beats. She watches as Yelena clings onto the railings for dear life, moving an inch every now and then by shuffling her skates along the ice.
“The one meant for the little kids? God, no!” Yelena scoffs as she continues shuffling ever so slowly, brushing her hair out of her face every now and then with a huff. “I got this.”
“I know you do,” Kate smiles as she skates off into the middle of the rink. “Watch and learn!”
She makes her way to the middle, leaving Yelena alone by the wall. Carving effortless arcs into the pristine surface, the sharp hiss of her blades against the ice echoes throughout the empty rink. Yelena clings to the edge, breath hitching as she watches in awe.
Kate does an entire routine on the ice, with twists and turns and jumps that Yelena doesn’t know the names of, but she knows they are impressive as hell . Under the glow of the floodlights, Kate looks almost ethereal, and Yelena can’t seem to tear her eyes away from the girl. She watches in awe as Kate skates back over to her, looking like an angelic being as she glides across the ice and back to Yelena’s side.
Yelena looks up into Kate’s eyes. “Wow,” she says, before smirking playfully. “You’re terrible at this.” She laughs as Kate punches her in the shoulder lightly.
“Dude, you’ve barely moved an inch,” Kate looks down at Yelena’s skates and shakes her head, trying hard to repress the smile creeping up on her lips. “I guess you do need the penguin, then.”
“Oh, I’ll show you.” Yelena huffs and narrows her eyes in determination, pushing the sleeves of her sweater up to her arms. The cold air nips at her exposed skin, but her focus is razor-sharp. She isn’t going to simply stand on the sidelines and watch Kate perform all these twists and jumps.
“Go slow, okay?”
“Now, watch,” Yelena squares her shoulders and with a final glance at Kate, she pushes herself off from the railings and takes off towards the middle.
It’s a shame, though, because she doesn’t make it very far.
Yelena’s tumbling forward, the ice below her feet rushing up to meet her, and with sudden clarity, she realizes that this is it — that she’s going to meet her end on some grimey, half-melted ice rink in Ohio with a stomach full of subpar caramel chocolate latte — when a grounding hand wraps around her torso and hauls her upwards, saving her from certain catastrophe.
“Oh my,” Kate starts, “You alright?”
And Yelena is, really — except she’s suddenly gone lightheaded at Kate’s words, her voice just as heart-stopping as it had been when she’d bumped into her three years ago.
“Kate,” she breathes, failing to keep the awe, or shock, out of her voice. “My God.”
Was it casual when you crawled into my bed in the middle of the night? Was it casual when I brought your own hand up to your chest to let you feel it beating for me?
Kate’s asleep in Yelena’s bed.
And no, it’s not because they only have one bed to share in their hotel room. There are two, in fact. Yelena peeks over the top of Kate’s left shoulder to find Kate’s supposed bed still neat and tidy. Untouched.
She looks down at her own bed and finds a mess of tangled limbs and crinkled sheets. Nice. No wonder she’s been feeling hot and stuffy all night. Thanks to a certain Kate Bishop who’d conveniently crawled into Yelena’s bed in the middle of the night.
Just as Yelena’s about to go over her options and think about what she’ll do with the sleepy girl in her bed, said sleepy girl rouses slowly and rolls over onto her back, eyes fluttering open lazily.
“You’re in my bed.” Yelena narrows her eyes as Kate yawns into the sheets. It’s cute, but Yelena would rather die than say that out loud.
“Oh, yeah,” Kate widens her eyes momentarily, before fluttering them shut again, a satisfied smile settling on her face once more. “Yeah, I am.”
Yelena’s jaw hangs open as she gestures towards the empty bed, then back at Kate. “And that’s your bed.”
“Mhm, my bed…” Kate smizes at Yelena lazily and sinks lower down into the bed, snuggling up against the sheets. “My bed.”
“No, when did you get here? Why are you even in my bed?” Yelena tugs the sheets higher over Kate’s chest begrudgingly as she settles back down and lays shoulder-to-shoulder next to her. “It’s really cramped in here, Kate.”
“And I really missed you, Lena.” The words come out faster than he’d expected them to.
Yelena laughs, as if the notion is ridiculous. “We see each other everyday though. I’m always here, no?”
“It’s not the same though…” Kate rubs at her eyes and gets up slowly, taking in the way the morning sun shines on Yelena, how the soft hues of morning play across her locks, each strand catching the light like spun gold. “I don’t know. Sorry.”
“You’re silly.” Yelena bumps her knuckles against the tip of Kate’s nose, shaking her head. “You could’ve just asked to sleep here with me, you know?”
“You would’ve said no.”
“But you’re still here,” Yelena chuckles as she peels the covers open and finds Kate with one leg slung across her own. “And what makes you think I would’ve said no?”
Oh.
Kate doesn’t even notice it when Yelena starts shifting closer, until she has her face tucked into the crook of Kate’s neck. Soft breaths, hot on her neck. Yelena’s arm snaking under her shirt and traversing her torso.
Kate also doesn’t notice it when she starts frowning herself. Yelena’s fingers run across her forehead, fingertips lightly smoothing out the creases. “What are you thinking about, Kate?” She giggles as she settles into a small frown herself. “If you keep doing this, you’ll end up with a ton of wrinkles. That’s not going to be nice.”
“Sorry, just… thinking…” Kate laughs softly. Yelena shrugs and her hand comes to a stop right where Kate’s heart is underneath her shirt.
“Kate, are you nervous?”
“What?”
Yelena grins. “Your heart, here, feel it for yourself.” She drags Kate’s hand up to her own heart and presses her open palm there, flat against her pounding heart. “Why are you nervous?”
“I’m not,” Kate says nonchalantly, although she knows it’s a flat-out lie. The beads of sweat on her hairline give it all away, really. And Yelena sees all of it.
Yelena feels her breath hitch when Kate parts her soft lips in partial protest. Like she wants to say something. And all Yelena wants to do is shut her up with a hot, hurried kiss.
She chooses to stay quiet, and she can’t help but wonder what it would feel like to kiss Kate on the lips. Imagining the warmth of Kate’s mouth against her own, how her own chapstick would leave an imprint on Kate’s lips, how they would taste afterwards, how Kate would lick at her lips and taste Yelena on them.
“I’m really not nervous, Lena.” Kate laughs again, this time louder, as she pulls away shyly and bites her lip subconsciously. “It’s a morning thing. I, uh, yeah…”
“Kate, do you have any idea what you’re talking about right now?” Yelena chuckles and shakes her head again. Kate watches her blonde locks fall over her face in the cutest way possible, watches as her eyes crinkle up into amused crescents.
“Maybe?” Kate mumbles under her breath.
“Can I kiss you, then?”
Yelena doesn’t give her the time to respond, because she’s pulling Kate closer by her neck the next moment and pressing a soft kiss to her lips. And it feels exactly like how she’d imagined it to be. Pillow-soft, pliant, and an inviting warmth that spreads throughout her chest, filling her with a mix of emotions.
Kate moves her lips gently against Yelena’s in response, all lightheaded and exhilarated at the sensation as she deepens the kiss and tastes the cherry-mint flavor of Yelena’s lips.
After a while, Yelena pulls away for air, and Kate tries to chase her lips. She ends up in something between a puppy-like pout and a mouth hanging slightly open as she blinks lazily at Yelena.
Damn, she’s good at this.
Without thinking, Yelena leans in again and kisses her back to appease her. This time, the kiss is more certain, more assured. Like s she’s pouring all those years of yearning and affection and want that had been building up for so long into the kiss. She knows she’s doing something right when she feels Kate’s hand come up to cup her cheek and caress it ever so gently. Every second fills with a sweetness that Yelena wishes she could savor forever.
When they finally break apart again, they’re on their backs, breathless with their hands slowly finding each others and intertwining beneath the sheets.
The air feels different now.
And the hotel breakfast that morning tasted a lot like cherry-mint flavored chapstick.
Was it casual when your mom invited me to your childhood home?
“My mom wants to meet you.” Yelena says it as she pulls the t-shirt that she’d flung to the ground earlier (while she was busy kissing Kate in bed) over her head. Kate sucks in a breath as she runs her fingers through her hair. It shouldn’t make her feel excited in the way it does, not when the two of them have been more than clear about the nature of their relationship.
Casual.
We’re supposed to be casual.
Nothing serious. No commitment.
Is it?
“Oh, uh,” Kate isn’t quite sure how she should respond. She shrugs, buttoning her jeans as calmly as she can.
“You don’t have to. Just promised her I’d ask.” Yelena says, turning around to dig through Kate’s dresser. She pulls out an oversized tee from Kate’s old figure skating academy and tosses it her way. Kate catches it and tugs it over her head.
“You’ve been talking to her about me?”
“Well, I’ve mentioned you.” Yelena smiles and shrugs. “It’s no big deal. She’s met all my friends.”
“Huh,” Kate breathes out as she straightens her shirt out with her palms. “Friends like me?” Kate asks. She isn’t even sure what she means by it.
“Friends like you…” Yelena’s eyes flicker away from Kate’s, like she’s thinking about it. “No, I guess she hasn’t.”
Kate hums and nods. That little spark of hopefulness in her chest rekindles itself again.
“It’s whatever, honestly.” Yelena comes over and picks up Kate’s glasses, placing them gently on the bridge of her nose. “I tell my mom about you. You write about me in your little calligraphy journal.” Yelena shrugs. “We’ll call it even.”
“I don’t even write about you!” Kate calls out, but Yelena only chuckles in response as she heads out of the bedroom.
kate
can u wear that sweatshirt i got you two xmases ago
read 10:21am
?
sent 10:22am
the blue one
merino wool
read 10:25am
does your mom like blue or something?
sent 10:25am
no
i like blue
read 10:25am
i meant your mom, dummy
sent 10:27am
ok fine yes maybe she does
whatever
wear the blue sweater
read 10:27am
Kate does not wear the blue sweater.
Yelena chuckles when she sees her, like she knew from the get-go Kate wouldn’t have worn it anyway.
Kate is wearing a blue summer dress, though. It looks good. She looks good.
Yelena’s mom lives in a little house along a beach in Cleveland. The road is long on the way there, and their cherry-red rental 2007 Cobalt purrs gently as they trail out of the city and onto the freeway, meandering along the coastlines. Kate watches as the scenery unfolds before her eyes, taking in the quaint beach houses and weathered signs.
Yelena trails her hand from her side right up to Kate’s thigh, resting it there as she hums a quiet tune to herself with the other hand on the wheel. It’s not unusual for Yelena to touch her like that. She’s always been clingy, but now, as they’re both driving out of the city to meet Yelena’s mother, things start to feel different.
Things are different.
Kate wants to believe that for herself.
Yelena’s mom is small and delicate as she stands in the doorway while their car pulls up in the driveway. She’s a bundle of joy, face alight with a cheesy smile as she waves at them with uncontained excitement. Her eyes crinkle into crescents, and Kates sees now, just how much of her is in Yelena.
“Huh, that’s funny. How’d she know we were coming today.” Yelena breathes out as the car comes to a stop. Yelena smiles back at her with a small wave. “I was going to give her a surprise.”
“Mother’s intuition, I guess.” Kate shrugs as she smiles bashfully at Yelena’s mom through the windscreen.
“That’s kinda creepy, you know, how she knew.”
“No, it’s kinda cool, actually.“ Kate watches as Yelena’s mom beckons them inside from the doorway. “I think your mom’s cool.”
Yelena chuckles.
“Yeah, you would.” Yelena gives her thigh a playful pinch too before she gets out of the car and heads up the stairs to the porch. Kate jogs over to her side, and their hands briefly brush against each other’s, but that’s about it. Yelena never intertwines her fingers with her like she wished she would.
“Oh my, look at your hair,” Yelena’s mom frowns as she runs a hand through her hair, all frazzled and tangled now. “You should’ve done something about it!”
She says this as she ushers the both of them inside the house, still tinkering with Yelena’s blonde locks.
“Nah, I think it’s fine.” Yelena shakes her hand off of her head and pats her head down in feigned annoyance. “Kate likes it messy anyway, so it’s whatever.”
Kate’s never explicitly told her she liked it like this before.
But she supposes it’s to get her mom off her back for now. That’ll have to be it. She follows up with a quiet nod of acknowledgement and a shy thumbs-up. Yelena’s mom shakes her head and chuckles.
Yelena’s mom introduces herself warmly and embraces Kate in a warm, bear hug. Kate has to bend down slightly to let her hold her around the shoulders.
It’s a nice feeling.
It’s nice, being welcomed like this. The dining table is lined with home-style cooking, and Yelena’s mom talks all about Yelena, pulling out childhood albums and certificates from Yelena’s ballet academy.
Much to Yelena’s annoyance, of course. She pouts as her mom pulls out a goofy picture of her in her grandma’s heels. Kate laughs, much to her amusement.
At some point, Kate nearly forgets she’s here with Yelena, until she’s reminded of her presence when she turns her head in Yelena’s direction and notices the uncharacteristically soft expression on her face.
It makes her stomach flip. Makes heat gather in her cheeks when she sees Yelena looking at her like that.
Yelena excuses herself for a bit when she gets a call from work. She shakes her head and smiles, signaling for the both of them to carry on without her.
Yelena’s mom speaks up after a while, stopping at a page of Yelena in the stands of an ice-rink, holding up a peace sign as she smiles at the camera. “You’re good for her, Kate.”
Kate doesn’t say anything. She looks at the picture in the album. It’s her childhood rink, the one in Ohio. The rink with the half-melted ice and the penguin aids. The rink where a certain bright-eyed girl had once sat in the stands as she cheered on figure skating athletes.
“Has she ever talked about…” Kate starts, “What I am… to her?”
“A friend. A really good friend.” She smiles to herself as she flips a page. “But I think it's certainly more than that, no?”
“We are friends. Yeah.” Kate tries to explain, “But I’m not her girlfriend or anything. I don’t think I’m good for her. I don’t think I can be good for her.”
“Well, I think you can, Kate.” She caresses the back of her hand gently with the most tender-loving smile on her lips. “I think you’re really good for her.”
“I care about her a lot.” Kate speaks up after a beat, albeit quietly. She lifts her head back up ever so slightly. “I really do.” She wants her to know that she could love her daughter, if she’d let her.
She’d love her in a heartbeat.
“I know you do. Yelena cares about you too, you know that, right?” She turns to check the back door, in case Yelena’s come back. “She’s just so stubborn. And scared.” She whispers, shaking her head with a smile.
“Me too.” Kate sighs. “I guess we both are.”
Not long after, Yelena comes back in, sliding her phone back into her pocket as she narrows her eyes at the both of them.
“Now, what have you two been up to?” She tuts playfully as she folds her arms.
“Nothing.” Her mom shrugs playfully, a glint in her eye as she glances at Kate. “Anyway, it’s getting late, you two should leave before it gets dark.”
They say their goodbyes to each other, and she makes them promise that they’ll visit her again soon. Yelena nods and brings along the tupperware containers of borscht her mom’s made for her.
Yelena holds Kate’s hand the entire way home. Kate squeezes it tight.
Was it casual when we both camped out by the shore in our cherry-red Cobalt, and you just wouldn’t stop trying to find galaxies in my eyes?
It’s a random Tuesday night when Yelena brings it up again. They’re still in their rental Cobalt, and the silence is suffocating, to say the least.
(Don’t ask them why they’re in a parking lot at three in the morning without a single soul in sight.)
“You’ve never thought about it?”
“No, Yelena. I literally have never thought about it.”
“Not even once?”
“No.”
“Hmph.” Yelena shifts in the driver’s seat, plastic bag rustling in her lap. She reaches in and scoops another mouthful of pistachio ice-cream. Then, she reaches towards the middle console without looking away from the waves breaking on the shore, hand blindly trailing for her drink. Kate watches, fighting the amused smile that’s working at her lips.
“I think you’re lying.” Yelena states simply as her hand finally finds her drink and she brings it up to her lips for a sip. The smile on Kate’s face falters for a moment.
“When have I ever lied to you?” Kate scoffs, looking out the window. The trees are making shadows dance across the tarmac in the light of the street lamps.
“Like, when you told me they didn’t have salted caramel ice-cream when I’m pretty sure they did.”
Kate bursts out laughing, and she has to cover her mouth when she does so.
“God, I assure you, Yelena, they did not have salted caramel at the store. Only pistachio. And bubblegum. Which we hate, you know.”
“Ha-ha, very funny,” Yelena rolls her eyes and stuffs a big chunk of pistachio ice-cream into Kate’s mouth. Kate scrunches her nose up at the taste, and Yelena laughs.
“Are your eyes brown?”
“What?”
“Because you seem extra full of shit tonight, Kate Bishop.”
Kate turns to glare at Yelena, nostrils flaring as she takes in the smug look on Yelena’s face. Yelena’s eyes are twinkling in the semi-darkness, full of a playful mirth that only comes when it’s just the two of them. Kate surprises herself when she giggles out loud at the stupid joke.
“That was a good one, I’m not even gonna lie.”
Yelena smiles even wider and turns to look back out the window. She shifts in her seat and Kate’s eyes follow the nervous movement of her hands on the steering wheel. Before Yelena can turn around and catch her staring, she looks back out her side of the window too.
The car is quiet for a bit, the only sounds their breaths and Yelena finishing off her iced drink. They’re parked next to a beach, and they’re the only car there. Yelena’s jeans are beginning to rip in one of her knees. Kate’s sweater is starting to pill. And getting increasingly stuffy to be in, actually.
“I have.”
Yelena doesn’t look over at Kate’s voice. She has one foot up on the seat, knee close to her chest. The other is tapping along to some imaginary beat in her own head.
“You’ve what?” She asks quietly, bringing another spoonful of ice-cream up to her lips.
“I have thought about it.”
Yelena turns to look at her now, eyes squinted ever so slightly. Kate jerks her head to the backseat of the car and Yelena’s eyes go wide. She also blushes a little.
“Oh.”
It’s all she says as she eats some more of the ice-cream. She looks a little more awake now. And a lot redder. Maybe some part of her thinks the ice-cream will bring her temperature down, cool the heat off her cheeks or something. Tough luck.
“Oh? Really?” Kate chuckles. “You’re getting shy on me now? You’re the one who brought it up, Ms. Belova.” Kate laughs, albeit a bit awkwardly.
“Well, yeah, I was, uh… bored. And thinking. About stuff.” Yelena says, shrugging. She positions herself so her back’s against the door and she’s fully facing Kate now.
“Oh. Uh, yeah, so, now you know.” Kate briefly glances at Yelena, before returning her gaze to the windscreen. She focuses on a stray leaf that’s fallen on the glass. “I’ve thought about it once… or twice.”
“Recently?”
“Define recently?”
“Like. Recently. Now— uh, no. Like, the past few weeks? Days? Just… recently. You get what I mean.” Yelena drags a hand over her face. “God, what are we doing right now.”
Kate smiles, clicking her teeth. “Yeah, recently.”
“Huh. Okay.” Yelena nods to herself. Kate crumples up an empty snack wrapper in her hands and tosses it at Yelena. The tiny chuckle that escapes Yelena’s lips breaks a bit of the tension that’s seemingly built up in the car in the past half hour.
“Stop thinking about it, will you?” Kate prods her in the shoulder, feeling her own cheeks warm up a bit. Yelena laughs and throws the wrapper back at Kate, shaking her head.
“How am I supposed to not think about it now that you’ve said it?”
“We’re in public!” Kate protests, but she catches herself following the subtle movements of Yelena’s tongue licking up the ice-cream on her upper lip.
“It’s like, three-thirty in the morning. There is not a single person in sight, Kate.”
“Okay, and? That doesn’t mean you get to think about eating someone out in the backseat…” Kate mumbles under her breath, regretting every single word as soon as they leave her mouth.
“Well, I was only fooling around. You’re the one thinking up the specifics, Kate Bishop.”
“Okay fine, whatever you sa—”
“Wait. Who said I’d do the eating?” Yelena cuts her off before she can finish her sentence, and Kate looks up at her, eyes wide.
“I— what— excuse me?”
“You said I was thinking about eating someone out. Why was I doing the eating?”
“I don’t think we should be discussing the semantics of a probable 3:00am backseat… situation involving someone’s head between someone else’s thighs, Yelena.”
“No, I think we should, actually.” Yelena shifts in her seat again, leaning forward to face Kate. The car suddenly feels a lot warmer, and Kate can feel Yelena’s breath on the tip of her nose.
“We really shouldn’t.” Kate tuts, looking out the car window in defiance. Yelena simply watches her, eyes twinkling again.
“Why? Gonna get you all hot and bothered?”
“Hey,” Kate warns, pointing a finger straight at her.
What Yelena does next, Kate wants to blame it on the late hour. Or the fact that it’s three in the morning and they’re camped out in their musty rental car with zero ventilation. She wants to blame it on the fact that they’re six hours away from the city and stuck together for the night. She wants to blame it on the unresolved tension and unspoken truths and barely repressed feelings they’ve been dancing around for the past four years. She also kind of wants to blame it on Yelena’s stupid pistachio ice-cream.
As Yelena leans forward, mouth opening just enough to suck Kate’s fingers in, Kate can’t come up with a single coherent thought. Her brain blanks, and all she can register is the sight of Yelena looking up at her through her bangs with hooded lids, cheeks hollowing as she sucks.
Yelena pulls away and her lips make a lewd, popping noise as she lets go of Kate’s fingers. They stare at each other for a moment, before Yelena’s suddenly moving and launching herself between the front seats, clambering into the back of the car.
Again, Kate blames everything she does next on the fact that they’re crammed together in a tiny car at an ungodly hour. She joins Yelena in the backseat and brushes their lips together as she clambers towards her, breath hot and fast against each other’s skin.
Yelena doesn’t reciprocate at first, which nearly sends her into a panic, because oh-fuck-what-if-i’m reading-this-wrong, but after a moment, Yelena reaches up and rests her hand on the side of Kate’s face, mouth moving firmly and confidently against her lips.
Kate finds herself humming into the kiss, and as her right hand begins to tangle into Yelena’s dirty-blonde hair, the other reaches for her waist to pull her closer. Her tongue slips into Yelena’s mouth carefully, a deep groan rumbling in her chest as she tries to pull Yelena up into her lap.
Yelena tastes like mint-cherry chapstick. Yelena tastes like pistachio ice-cream. Yelena tastes like a breath of fresh air in the quiet, stuffy night. It’s sweet, crisp and oh-so-intoxicating to Kate.
Which is why, when Yelena rests a hand on her thigh, hand positioned dangerously close to the heat pooling between her thighs, she has to suppress a shudder. It’s obvious she fails when Yelena giggles at the way her legs twitch instinctively at the sensation.
“You know why I wanted you to wear a dress tonight?” Yelena murmurs, voice hot against Kate’s neck, her lips just barely brushing skin.
Kate’s breath hitches. She tries to stay composed, trying not to let on just how much this little contact is messing with her. “Tell me,” she whispers, already dizzy from the heat coiling in her belly.
In the rearview mirror, Kate catches a glimpse of the sly grin tugging at Yelena’s lips.
“Easy access,” Yelena grins against her skin, and Kate nearly whimpers when Yelena’s hand slips beneath the soft hem of Kate’s dress like she’s been waiting all night for it. Yelena lets herself feel for the heat between Kate’s legs, fingers tracing patterns up and down her thigh like gentle waves kissing the shore. Her touch is firm, teasing, making Kate squirm in her seat.
Kate’s fingers dig into the leather beneath her as Yelena strokes along the edge of her panties, letting her thumb press lightly at the growing damp spot. “You’re shaking,” Yelena says softly through a smirk.
Kate wants to say it’s because of the cold, or nerves, or the flimsy excuse of the car’s A/C sputtering out again, but Yelena already knows the truth. Her hand finds the slick center of Kate’s panties and presses, and Kate’s whole body arches with a sharp gasp.
“You’re soaked, котенок (kitten).” Yelena breathes out, eyes flicking up to meet Kate’s. “You’ve been thinking about this all night, haven’t you?”
Yelena shifts easily, sinking to her knees on the car floor like she belongs there, nestling herself between Kate’s parted thighs. It’s stuffy with the windows rolled up, but she doesn’t complain. Doesn’t even notice. She’s too busy mouthing a line of kisses up Kate’s inner thigh, slow and savoring, like she’s unwrapping a favorite piece of candy she’s waited all day for.
Kate’s dress is bunched up at her waist now, her panties pulled gently aside. A strand of Yelena’s hair sticks to her own cheek, and Kate smooths it back with a shaky hand.
It’s making Yelena’s mouth water, being so close and not being able to taste. She knows she’s making Kate wild, though, with the waiting.
“God, you want this so bad, don’t you?” Yelena emphasises her words with a soft, tentative lick across where she knows Kate’s clit is. It makes Kate gasp, her hips bucking pathetically to meet her tongue halfway. “Such a needy babygirl for me, huh?”
“Lena… Just…” Kate breathes, fingers finding their way into Yelena’s blonde locks. She tugs, and Yelena simply smiles into her thigh.
Finally, finally, she leans in and licks a long, broad stripe over Kate’s slit. She exhales like she’s breaking the surface after being underwater.
Yelena buries herself into Kate, tongue finding out just how soaked Kate really is. She tastes sweet and just how Yelena remembers her when she’s desperate to get her mouth on her. It only gets better when Yelena circles Kate’s entrance, and she receives a choked moan from Kate.
Yelena tastes her like she’s searching for something sweet. Cherry-mint, maybe, if want had a flavor. She licks slow, patient stripes, tracing every fold, every shiver, her mouth warm and reverent. Kate grips the leather seat hard, knuckles pale, her other hand buried in Yelena’s soft blonde hair. Her hips move without permission now, grinding against her mouth, chasing the edge with every ragged breath.
“Yelena—” she whispers, head tipped back against the leather headrest, thighs trembling. “I can’t—” Her heart is jackrabbiting in her chest like she’s fifteen again and sneaking out past curfew, high on adrenaline and the dizzy ache of wanting.
“Yelena,” she says again, voice small, pleading.
“You can.” Yelena just hums, and the vibration makes Kate cry out. Her whole body goes taut, and Yelena takes it as a sign for her to work with a little more vigor, tongue finding the rhythm that makes Kate’s hips twitch, makes her stomach tighten in aching coils. And Yelena doesn’t stop, not even for a second.
Kate's fingers are digging into Yelena’s scalp, pulling and tugging with each new wave of pleasure that washes over her. The air smells like sweat and sweetness, like sea breeze clinging to damp skin. The faint, melty scent of the tub of ice cream lost on the floor makes the whole car smell sticky.
“Please—” Kate gasps, unsure what she’s begging for. Less, maybe. Or more.
Yelena’s name spills from her lips again and again, each one more and more incoherent. Her legs are shaking, and her world contracts down to the wet, relentless slide of Yelena’s tongue and the soft, urgent noises she makes against Kate’s heat.
It builds and builds and builds, bigger, higher, and louder with every roll of her hips, every gasp caught in the thickening air inside the car.
“Come for me, baby.” Yelena dips her tongue further in, feeling Kate’s walls close in around her. “You look so fucking pretty like this.”
Until Kate’s orgasm hits her hard, sudden and sprawling like a wave dragging her under, and she rides it out with a gasp and a moan that echoes in the tight space around them.
Yelena glances up to check on her, only to find her pupils blown wider than she’s ever seen them, their usual blue practically nonexistent now. Kate trembles against Yelena’s mouth, pushing her hips into her before pulling away once it becomes too much for her.
“Jesus Christ, Lena,” she slumps back into the seat, chest heaving, eyes barely open. Yelena climbs up beside her, lips slick and eyes glowing with mischief, and something else Kate doesn’t have the language for yet.
“Hi,” Yelena says, breath ghosting over her cheek before she presses a soft, sticky kiss to Kate’s lips. “You taste like the sea.”
Kate laughs, breathless and dizzy. “And you taste like cherry-mint gum.”
“Do I?” Yelena raises an eyebrow. “Guess we go well together, then.”
“That doesn’t even make sense.” Kate shakes her head, curling into Yelena’s side as she tucks her head into the crook of her neck.
Yelena brushes through Kate’s hair with her fingers, before coming to rest on her hips. “Well, it doesn’t have to.” She laughs it off.
“C’mere,” Kate whispers breathlessly, pressing her lips tenderly to Yelena’s. The kiss feels far too sweet for casual. Nothing about tonight has been casual, really. She slips her tongue into Yelena’s mouth again, eliciting a soft moan from her.
The sun starts to peek out from beneath the horizon, and the soft lights paints the inside of their car in a hazy, warm glow that leaves Yelena smiling into Kate’s skin as she presses another kiss to her lips.
The ride back to Kate’s place is comfortingly quiet, and Yelena finally has a tub of salted-caramel ice-cream in her lap.
This doesn’t make any sense for Kate.
Because seemingly out of nowhere, her favorite CDs now live in Yelena’s rental car. And she subscribes to Yelena’s favorite magazine so she gets to read them every month when they’re delivered straight to her place. And out of nowhere, they’re going out on dates every weekend. Spending every Monday together and every Wednesday together and every Sunday together. Out of nowhere, they’re spending their nights in each other’s beds, and Yelena’s taking her to her childhood home in Ohio again.
But despite all of this, things are still casual. That’s how Yelena likes to put it. No attachment.
But again, it hurts, because despite agreeing to be casual, Kate can’t continue to pretend like she isn’t in love with Yelena. And she can’t continue to pretend that Yelena’s in love with her too.
Kate writes a lot. In that stupid little calligraphy journal of hers (Yelena’s words, not hers.) It’s page after page of calligraphy practice, sure. At least, that’s how it is for the first ten pages. The other hundred are of Yelena’s stupidly pretty eyes and annoyingly fluffy hair and her goddamn lips that are so pink and plush and kissable.
The thing is, Kate can’t go on being her friend. Not now, not after realizing she’s crossed every single possible line with her. Kate’s fallen for her. This much she can admit to herself, but she’ll never admit it to the sprightly, sparkle-eyed girl she’s come to love so much.
So her only option is distance, which ends up hurting her just as much as it hurts Yelena. Kate wants to send her pictures of cats she comes across on the streets. Kate wants to bring her truckloads of salted-caramel ice-cream so she could have a lifetime supply of it. Kate wants to ask her to see the latest rom-com film with her. Kate wants to lay in bed again and trace the lines on her face and watch the way her eyes crinkle into their signature crescents.
But somehow, it all comes out the other way round. Kate gets her a bottle of hot sauce from the grocery store that ends up feeling like a good 100,000 Scoville units (and quite nearly burns Yelena’s tongue off, too.) Kate gets her pistachio ice-cream again just to watch her pout and hit her on the shoulder. Kate takes her ice-skating just so she can watch Yelena clamber around on the ice with a plastic penguin.
lets grab dinner tonight after class
read 5:18pm
cant
sent 5:34pm
why not
read 5:34pm
got a meeting with prof
sent 5:45pm
well we could have dinner after that then
read 5:50pm
gotta go now
sorry kate
sent 5:50pm
“Did I do something? Did I say something?” Kate’s voice wavers one afternoon after class. It’s just the two of them left in the lecture hall, and for some reason Yelena wishes it weren’t like this.
“I’m trying to get over you.”
There, she’s said it.
The confession comes out faster than Yelena had liked it to, and there’s nothing but silence after it.
“I can’t do casual, Kate. This isn’t casual, and I was really good at pretending it was for a while, but the thing is,” Yelena presses the heels of her palms into her eyes. “The thing is, I love you. I’m in love with you, but you’re not in love with me. It’s so stupid, fuck.”
“Who on earth told you I’m not in love with you?” Kate’s question comes out a lot softer than Yelena had expected it to.
“You’re so mean to me. It’s obvious.” Yelena glares at her for the unnecessary question. No one told her; she’s just always had the hunch. Because who the fuck ruins your lunch with a 100,000 Scoville Units hot sauce? Who would get you ice-cream you hate on purpose?
“Yeah? Is it?” Kate feels her voice breaking again, and she does a swift wipe of her tears with the back of her hand, all the way across her face. “You have half of your wardrobe in mine. Your favorite t-shirts are in my dresser. Your stupid skincare takes up so much of my sink I had to get an extendable rack for it.” She chuckles through tears at the last sentence.
“I got you that crazy-hot chili sauce because I knew you liked a good challenge, I knew you’d never back down from anything, and yeah, in hindsight it might not have been the best idea, but I liked seeing that fiery determination you had in your eyes. When you’d glare at me hard for getting you the wrong ice-cream flavor, but you’d still finish it all up while watching some cheesy romance movie with me on the couch. When you’d ask me if I could teach you ice-skating, when you’d do all these things that are just so endearingly adorable to me and I can’t help myself when it comes to you and—”
“You’re such a dick.”
“Yeah, but you’re in love with me.” Kate shrugs through the tears, smiling.
“Yeah, I really fucking am, and here I thought you didn’t feel the same.” Yelena wraps her arms around Kate’s torso slowly, her head resting on Kate’s chest. It’s warm. It’s familiar. It feels right. It feels like all of the other times because there’s always been love. It’s always been there, waiting. Kate has always been hers.
“Don’t pull away again, alright?”
“Mm.” Yelena nods against Kate’s chest.
“Cause I’ll chase after you if you do.”
“Yeah? And show up in my room with more ice-cream I hate?’ Yelena teases, and Kate pulls away to physically roll her eyes.
“Respectfully, fuck you.” Kate says it with absolutely no venom behind it.
“Yeah, maybe you should.” Yelena looks up and grins.