Chapter Text
No matter how hard she tries Kate can’t stop crying. It's getting kind of ridiculous how much water is inside her and her mom quickly went from confused, to understanding, to really concerned.
“We took care of each other,” Kate had told her.
“That doesn’t answer my question, Kate. The news said it's been five years. You’re sixteen!” Her mother yells.
“Mom,” Kate manages to calm herself. “I’m twenty-two.” She corrects.
Eleanor takes a shuttering breath and sits down on the nearby couch. “Five minutes ago you were sixteen.” She whispers.
Kate sits beside her and takes her hand. “Five minutes for you and five years for me.” Kate clears her throat. “I alone in the beginning, but I ended up being adopted-”
“Adopted!” Her mother screeches. “Where was your godmother in all of this?”
Kate squeezes her hand. “Aunt Moira’s dead, mom.”
“Oh.” Her mom rubs her forehead, and tells Kate she needs a minute. Kate just hugs her and sneaks off to call Clint.
Clint doesn’t pick up the first time, or when Kate calls twice after. Well, okay then.
It’s late, Kate decides. They’re probably asleep.
Kate wakes up to three missed calls. They’re mostly telling her to call back when she gets the chance but the last ones get kind of pleading.
Kate calls back only to be immediately sent to voice mail. She gets kind of pissed off but remembers when the blip first happened, how insane phone lines were, and decides to send him a quick email instead. Hopefully, it will make its way to Clint before he goes full overprotective mode.
Once her mom calms down a bit the whole, “my kid was adopted by someone else” the knowledge actually seems to placate her initial concern about Kate being on her own for five years. Kate doesn’t exactly lie, she just doesn’t tell her mother who adopted her.
“He lost his family in the blip.” She tells her. “He’s on a plane right now to see them.”
After some initial awkwardness, they move on to more happy subjects, like high school graduation and college classes.
They spent the next few days catching up while Kate tries to figure out how to figure out tell her Mom her Dad’s an Avenger. Which is… weird to think about. Kate gets a little overwhelmed by it all.
Clint finally answers his phone after three days. “Why the futz have not been picking up my calls?” Clint chides her.
“Sorry, the phone lines are all crazy right now. Didn’t you get my email?”
There’s a pause as Clint presumedly looks up his email. “Oh. Ah, sorry I yelled at you.” Clint apologizes sheepishly.
“It’s fine. I know how you get. How’s your family? Are they okay?” Kate asks.
“They were a little freaked out at first, but they’re fine now.”
“Listen, Kate.” Clints starts tentatively.” I only told Laura about you so far, but how would you feel about meeting them?”
“You-you want me to meet them?” Kate stutters. “I mean, I don’t think my Mom will let me out of her sight, but yeah. I’d love to meet them.”
“Of course, I do. Once things calm down, I’ll fly them all up there to meet you.”
“Oh. Okay. When are you thinking of coming?”
“Christmas time seems like a good time. Does that sound good to you?” Clint asks.
“Yeah. See you then.”