Chapter Text
Chapter 1: Prologue
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"Did you really bring your laptop to a bar?" Peter asks Kate as he walks over to the hightop she's sitting at.
Kate shrugs. "You didn't say I couldn't."
Peter scoffs. "I thought it was implied."
MJ walks over with a tray of drinks. "Hey we-" She raises an eyebrow at Kate. "What is she doing?"
"I don't know." Peter says as he shakes his head.
Kate looks up from her laptop. "She is finishing up a presentation for her afternoon class tomorrow."
MJ sighs. "Kate, sweetie. You have a problem."
"Yes, but it's not this work, it's my roommate."
Peter laughs. "Seriously? Her girlfriend was there last night too? Second night in a row?"
"Apparently." Kate says, exasperated by her own circumstance. "I haven't even seen Wanda in days. I just get barely any sleep and leave early in the morning."
"It's like you're the booty call without the benefits." Peter jokes. Neither girl laughs. "What? That was funny."
MJ pats his back. "Sure sweetie." Then she looks at Kate. "Why don't you talk to your roommate? Tell her they're being too loud."
"I'm not confrontational."
"Aren't you in line to take over a multi-national security company?" MJ asks.
"Yeah." Kate nods. "So?"
MJ shares a look with Peter. He shrugs so she just relents. "Right then." Then she shakes her head. "Anyway, we should put the laptop away and enjoy the night, ok?"
The brunette sighs. "Alright." She closes her laptop. "Thank you for getting the drinks MJ."
MJ smiles. "Of course." She sighs. "So, aside from the roommate and her girlfriend keeping you up, what's new?"
"Oh you know, trying to survive the last year of college." Kate sighs. "It's weird. It's September of senior year and in less than a year, we'll be full fledged adults out in the real world. It's daunting."
The other brunette tilts her head. "Want to talk about it?"
"Not really." Kate says.
Peter looks at MJ then back at Kate. "We should though."
"I rather talk about how you two are doing." Kate says. "How's rooming together?"
MJ laughs. "Very smooth about changing topics Kate." She sighs. "But it's going well. Ned is still the only one taking it hard."
Peter nods. "Yeah we chat on discord and play videos games. It helps him."
"I mean MJ, you did steal his roommate." Kate jokes.
"I am the worst."
Kate smiles. "I'm glad it's going well though."
"Thanks Kate." Peter says brightly. "What about you?" He looks around the bar. "You're the single one of the three of us. What's been going on with you?"
Kate scoffs. "What are you talking about?" She shakes her head. "I barely have free time for myself, let alone time for anyone else."
MJ nods. "That's fair." She shrugs. "But if you ever want us to set something up, there's a long list of guys in Peter's internship and girls at my fellowship who would love to go out with you."
The brunette laughs. "I appreciate the sentiment but I'm good."
"If you say so."
Kate smiles. "We can't all have your cute love story of being high school sweethearts." She shrugs. "I'm happy being single. I need all the free time I have to be me time."
MJ shrugs. "I understand that."
______
A few hours later, Kate parts ways with her friends and trudges up the stairs to her apartment. All she wants to do is go to bed.
Earlier today, she had her 8am software engineering capstone for three hours followed by another hour of being a TA for the cybersecurity course she took her freshman year, with a bunch of juniors. Then, she had her on campus job at the athletics facility followed by too many hours at the library to finish all her research for her thesis.
While it was nice to hang out with a few of her friends, Kate is exhausted and she needs her sleep. So, when she goes to unlock her door, she prays that the apartment is quiet.
At first, Kate's prayers are answered. She goes through her nighttime routine and she's in bed just fifteen minutes later.
Just as she's drifting, Kate's jolted by the sound of the apartment door closing.
"Dammit." Kate mutters to herself.
Now it's the third night this week Kate will be kept awake by her roommate Wanda’s nightly activities.
She and Wanda were introduced to each other at the end of Kate’s junior year. When Kate’s old roommate, Cassie, decided to live with her boyfriend Nate for their senior year, the brunette was looking for another person to share the rent. Wanda was in Kate’s entrepreneurship class and Kate had mentioned the empty room offhandedly to the redhead. Wanda was going to start grad classes and was also looking for a roommate.
It all happened so quickly, and now Kate and Wanda have been living together for the past two months.
While Kate and Wanda were by no means the best of friends, they were cordial. Roommates but not friends, not because they didn’t connect but because Kate was always too busy to be at the apartment for that long. That being said, the brunette had no idea her roommate even had a girlfriend until earlier this week.
Based on the moans and the muffled voices, this girlfriend's got a lot of energy, a slight accent, and is entirely insatiable. She also smells incredibly good but it’s not Kate’s fault she had accidentally used the other woman’s shampoo. It was in her damn bathroom!
Kate huffs. “This is fucking ridiculous.” She whispers to herself. “I just want to sleep.”
It was going to be another long night.
________
Kate wakes up late the next morning, because of course she does. So late in fact, that there’s no point in trying to make it to her 8 am lecture.
Groggily she pads into the kitchen barefoot and only in her boxers and a sports bra. Needless to say, she does not expect company in the morning.
She’s wrong.
Stopping in her tracks she can’t help but stare at their houseguest. The woman stands with her back to Kate, her blonde hair in a messy bun and she is wearing only a loose T-shirt that barely covers her ass.
No shorts! Kate’s mind screams at her.
The woman is standing on her tippytoes to get a coffee mug out of the cupboard. Her shirt rides up in the process and Kate averts her eyes immediately.
Unfortunately, or fortunately, she doesn’t do it fast enough because she gets a glimpse of this woman’s underwear. They’re pale green ones, and Kate’s brain is short-circuiting because it’s too damn early to deal with this.
“Hi.” The blonde draws out the ‘i’ for a few extra seconds and it’s far too endearing. Then she smiles. “Wanda said she had a roommate, but she didn’t mention you were home.”
It takes Kate a moment to register that her gaze on the beautiful stranger is still on that voluptuous ass.
No, stop that. Kate mentally chides herself.
Not the first impression she would have wanted to give. Feeling the heat creep up on her face to the tips of her ears, Kate clears her throat before she looks up to meet the woman’s gaze.
And of course, this woman has the greenest green eyes Kate has ever seen.
“I’m Yelena by the way.” The woman, Yelena, says, looking at her somewhat expectantly. That is when Kate realizes she hasn’t said a word so far.
“I-I’m Kate.” She stutters. “Kate Bishop. Good morning.”
“Good morning, Kate Bishop”, Yelena repeats her whole name and it has never sounded better.
Russian accent. Kate thinks internally. Hot.
The brunette doesn’t really know what to do with herself, so she awkwardly shuffles forward and holds her hand out to Yelena. She breathes a sigh of relief when Yelena actually takes her hand and shakes it.
“Yelena, nice to meet you.” Kate nods and tries hard to sound nonchalant.
Judging from the blonde’s smirk and the way she still shakes her hand enthusiastically; she has probably failed.
Taking her hand back, Kate averts her full attention to the coffee machine that’s sitting on the counter. Caffeine might help her focus and not get distracted by the beauty in front of her.
As Kate starts brewing a pot, the blonde clears her throat. When she looks back at the other woman, Yelena looks somewhat sheepish for the first time that morning. It makes Kate tilt her head in curiosity.
“You ok?” Kate asks softly when Yelena doesn’t speak.
The blonde nods. “Da.” She sighs. “I just hope we weren’t too loud last night. I didn’t know there was anyone else here.”
Kate starts to blush but waves Yelena off. “Oh, no, don’t worry.” Then she lies through her teeth to make the blonde feel better. “I slept well.”
Yelena raises an eyebrow. “You are shit liar, Kate Bishop.” She sighs again. “My apologies.”
“It is what it is.” Kate says as she turns to grab a mug out of the nearby cupboard.
“I would invite Wanda to my place but I live with my sister. She and her boyfriend are in, what do you Americans call it?” Yelena hums. “The honeymoon phase?”
Kate smiles. “Yes, that’s correct.”
Yelena nods. “Yes, they are in the honeymoon phase and I do not wish to walk in on my sister and her boyfriend naked.”
“I completely understand. I have had a lot of unfortunate run-ins with roommates and their partners in the past.” Kate says.
Yelena nods and then adds, “Plus, she is my sister and he is an alright guy. I want to give them their privacy as often as I can.”
Kate smiles. “That’s very nice of you.”
The brunette takes a long sip of coffee before handing one mug over to Yelena. Then, she changes the topic to continue the conversation. She wants to learn more about this woman.
“So, are you in grad school like Wanda?”
“Not at this school." Yelena answers. "I am interning nearby and doing grad school in the area. Wanda and I would have gotten an apartment together if not for my sister. Plus, Wanda was having issues with her brother that she had to deal with first so she could not commit.”
“Oh, ok, so have you known her for a while?” Kate asks curiously.
Yelena nods. “Yes, we essentially grew up together.”
“That must have been nice,” The brunette says quietly.
To go from childhood best friends to girlfriends, Kate adds mentally, but the words feel sour to her. She shouldn’t be jealous, she hardly knows Yelena, but she can’t help but feel a pull towards her.
“Wanda is one of my closest friends.” Yelena admits candidly. “There are not many people who I trust completely, but she is one of them. She has never let me down.”
Hearing Yelena speak so highly about Wanda makes Kate feel her throat constrict.
What was she doing, lusting over this woman who’s clearly in a happy relationship? She must ignore any feelings that she has. It doesn’t matter about the instant spark she feels every time she looks into those green eyes.
Shut. It. Down. Kate says to herself.
Changing the subject again, Kate asks, “What are you interning for?”
Yelena smiles. “I am interning at the veterinary clinic downtown as I finish my last year of vet school.” She raises an eyebrow. “What about you?”
“I’m double majoring in computer science and business.” Kate answers, almost robotically.
“Oh wow, double major.” Yelena says. “Quite the genius we have?”
Kate blushes. “I wouldn’t go that far.” She shrugs. “I just like messing with code and stuff.”
Yelena raises an eyebrow. Then hums out an, “Ok.”
“What?” Kate asks. She wants to know what the blonde is thinking.
“Nothing, it’s just that I wouldn’t have pegged you for the nerdy, business type.” Yelena shrugs. “You look like someone who wants to help people, so my guess was going to be doctor or social worker."
Kate nods. “That’s fair.” She sighs. Then she surprises herself as she admits, “I’m kind of only doing those majors for my mother. Gotta take over the family business.”
There’s something about this woman that makes Kate want to share all her deep dark secrets. Kate never felt such a pull towards a basic stranger. It should terrify her. But it doesn’t.
Yelena shakes her head. “It may not be my place to say this but it is your life. Your future. You should do what you want not what you ‘should do’ or ‘be expected of’.”
Kate isn’t sure how to respond to the blonde’s words. She knows she’s right; her friends have said the same thing.
The other woman must take Kate’s silence as a negative because then she backtracks.
“I apologize. I did not mean to overstep.” Yelena says softly.
Kate shakes her head. “I promise you didn’t.” She quickly says. “I appreciate your honesty. I’ve heard it before.” She shrugs. “I’ll think about it.”
Yelena smiles. “Is that just your nice way of telling me to fuck off?”
Kate laughs. “Absolutely not.” She exhales. “It’s just I’m 22. It feels like it’s too late to change my mind.”
“That is where you are wrong, Kate Bishop.” Yelena says firmly. “It is never too late to change your mind. I thought I was going to follow in my sister’s footsteps by going into the military. Now I’m about to be a vet. You are human. You are allowed to change your mind whenever you want. You have the choice.”
Kate nods, a small smile on her face. “Fair point.”
_________
Meeting Yelena in her kitchen for breakfast becomes a regular thing over the next few weeks, and Kate couldn’t be happier about it.
Granted, she’s not as happy about having the reason why Yelena meets her in the morning is because she’s spent the night with Wanda.
It’s a detail Kate chooses to overlook.
The seamless conversations with the beautiful blonde make up for the growing uneasiness Kate feels about having feelings towards her roommate’s girlfriend.
“Hi, Kate Bishop.” Yelena greets as she walks into the kitchen.
The blonde has made it a habit to call her by her full name and it brings an instant smile on Kate’s face. At first, it confused her but it’s become a special thing between them. No one else calls her by her first and last name.
“Good morning, Yelena.” Kate replies with a big smile on her face. While she’s by no means a morning person, having the blonde be the first person who Kate sees that day makes mornings all the more bearable.
The blonde is currently flipping blueberry chocolate pancakes on the griddle. They are a compromise between Yelena wanting blueberry pancakes and Kate preferring chocolate. So now they make chocolate pancakes and top them with fresh blueberries.
Kate never cooks because Yelena learned very early on in their mornings together that the brunette is not graceful in the kitchen. Instead, she makes the coffee, and cleans once they finish eating.
“Someone seems to be in a good mood this morning,” Yelena remarks as she dishes the pancakes.
Kate shrugs as she pours their coffees. “I’m in a good mood every morning,”
“Well, yes, but today you seem to be in an especially good mood. What’s that all about?”
Sitting down at the kitchen counter, Yelena looks at her expectantly.
“Nothing, I’m just happy to be here.” The ‘with you’ dies on her tongue when suddenly Wanda enters the kitchen.
“Morning ladies,” The redhead greets them, wearing her sleep shorts and a low-cut tank top.
Yelena turns to look at Wanda. “You’re up early, Wan.”
“Yeah, I know I usually sleep in, but our professor is taking us to the nearby hospital to observe morning rounds today. I have to go in early.” Wanda explains as she stifles a yawn.
“Oh, ok. Do you want to join us for breakfast?” Kate asks. “Yelena made chocolate pancakes and we have blueberries and syrup to go with them.”
Yelena nods. “I made a lot so there’s more than enough for you.” She pulls out the chair next to her for Wanda to sit.
Kate takes a seat at the other side of the kitchen counter, directly across from Yelena, her usual spot. She tries to keep up her good mood, but somehow seeing Wanda sitting so close to Yelena bothers her more than she would care to admit.
“Thank you,” Wanda replies, already loading up her plate.
Their conversation flows easy enough. Kate and Yelena chat about Yelena’s work schedule and some of Kate's difficult students. Wanda reads something on her phone for her class but she chimes in every so often.
Then Yelena brings up their plans for fall break. She and Wanda discuss their travel plans for going home and Kate can’t help but feel the pang of sadness and jealousy in her gut. It’s an unwelcome reminder that Yelena and Wanda are not only an item, but share a history with each other that Kate will never have with Yelena, no matter how much she already got to know her over the last few weeks.
Kate really should put her feelings for the blonde to rest. She’s indulged herself too much by choosing to be blissfully ignorant. And sleeping with noise cancelling headphones every night. She hasn’t heard a thing since the first night she met the blonde.
Having Yelena as a friend must be enough for her.
It will be enough, Kate tells herself.