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Kate Bishop wasn’t one to turn her nose up at a party. Sure, it was weird Gwen contacted her after months of having gone off the grid and, sure, it was even weirder that she invited her and a bunch of her friends to hang out in what appeared to be a private viewing booth - the kind usually used in sports stadiums, but this one was out in the middle of nowhere, facing a beach.
Nonetheless, Kate wasn’t going to reject the invite. Worst case scenario, she and America could help Gwen out with… whatever problem led her to planning such a party.
As the night began, Gwen approached her, looking more than a little nervous. She had deep bags under her eyes. Kate gave her best friendly smile.
“Hey Gwen! How are -”
“Look. I… don’t have much time left.”
“I’m sorry? Are you ill? I can get -”
“No, no, nothing like that. Well, actually, something kind of like that, but nothing you need to worry about. I’m just pretty sure this is going to be my final story, so I gotta make this quick.”
Kate blinked in confusion at the woman. Well, whatever she wanted to say seemed important to her. Kate figured she should hear her out.
“Okay?”
Gwen put a hand on Kate’s shoulder and stared intently into her eyes.
“Ms. Katherine Bishop. It’s no longer the 1970s. The Comics Code is long dead. You can come out of the closet.”
Kate stared at Gwen for a few moments, brain attempting (and failing) to process her words.
“W-what?”
“I get it, Kate! I understand how it feels. I also very wildly in sexual desire - or lack thereof - depending on who is writing me. I’m sure it must be really hard for you, as you jump between being a woman with a lot of close gay friends to a woman who is staring at America like you’re Jeffrey and her ass is made of steak.” Gwen punctured her analogy with an impression of Jeffrey's groan before continuing. “But there’s only one way out of this dilemma and it’s through you taking charge of your own life and busting through that closet door!”
Kate felt her face burn with embarrassment. She glanced around the room. Nobody seemed to be paying any attention to the two of them, thankfully.
America was facing away from the two of them. Her butt was cute, sure, but Kate didn’t have to be queer to recognize it. It was just an objective fact. The sky is blue. America’s butt is cute. Simple realities.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Kate retorted.
“Uggggggggh.” Gwen groaned. She removed her hand from Kate’s shoulder and began to pace back and forth in front of her. “Look. This may have been cute when you were a wide-eyed young avenger. Surrounded by queer people, but never entirely sure why you feel more comfortable around them then around straight people. But Kate. It’s been years - probably like a decade when outside of our sliding timescale. It’s time to own it! Bi, pan, however you want to label it - you're not straight!”
“B-but I have a boyfriend!” Kate replied. “So… That’s very straight of me. Isn’t it?”
“You can have a boyfriend and also be attracted to women, Kate.” Gwen replied. “Which you are, aren’t you?”
Kate shrugged. “Women are beautiful, sure, but that’s just a fact. And if I do stare - which I hope isn’t too often - it’s just… a natural envy thing, right? Sometimes I’m jealous of women who love other women. They’re beautiful, caring, and a disproportionate number of them are muscular in a way that leaves my knees weak. It’s natural to be jealous of that!”
Gwen facepalmed.
“I… don’t have time for this. You’re incorrigible and I don’t want to accidentally use my powers to force you into self-discovery - you gotta discover this stuff on your own terms, y’hear me? Okay. Well. Best of luck, Kate.” Gwen grabbed Kate and wrapped her in a warm hug. “Remember me, okay?”
“Um. Sure. Gwen. I really hope everything is okay with you.”
“Oh, all’s dandy. Or at least... it will be! Thanks Kate. Bye!”
Gwen ran out of the room without so much as a word to another person.
Kate sighed.
That was weird, right?
Gwen was… clearly going through something. Something she didn’t want to talk about. So, she decided to make up for it by projecting… her insecurities… about something… onto Kate.
Yeah! That made sense!
Kate was attracted to women, sure, but she wasn’t
attracted to women
. She just found women hot and appealing, nothing more.
Her interest in lesbian erotica was just because the storytelling was superior to the other kinds she had sampled. The scenarios felt more realistic. That’s all it was.
Kate grabbed a glass of sparkling water from the relatively-fancy buffet Gwen had provided them with.
How… the hell was Gwen affording this buffet anyway.
She brushed the thought to the side. Time to calm down, both body and mind. She can’t still be all flushed like this if Amer-
“Hey, princess.”
Kate almost choked on her water.
“Hi America! Um. How are you?”
“Not that different from when we arrived?” America replied, raising an eyebrow. “How are you ? That conversation with Gwen seemed a little bit intense.”
Kate’s blush was not disbursing. America’s sarcastic eyebrow raise was so hot and so her and so… attractive. In a purely objective way, of course. “Oh! Uh. Yeah. It was… fine. How… much did you hear?”
America looked even more concerned than before. “I didn’t hear anything. She was just gesturing a lot. Is everything okay? She didn’t… threaten you, right?”
Kate shook her head. “No! No. Nothing like that at all. She just… said some stuff. It’s a bit personal.” Kate gave her best “everything is perfectly fine” smile.
“Oooookay.” America replied. She grabbed her own glass of water and quickly downed it. Kate gulped.
America was her best friend. That’s all it was, right? She found her pretty, but she found lots of girls pretty. Gwen was reading into things too much.
“You’re staring.” America said, matter-of-factly.
“No! I mean. Yes! But. Um. No. I. Um…”
“I didn’t say I minded, princess,” America replied, a cocky smirk growing on her face.
Kate blushed. “You just have… very kissable lips… America.”
America’s confidence left her face instantly. Kate swallowed her anxiety. She couldn’t believe she said that out loud.
“Um. T-thanks.” America replied, playing with her hair for a few moments before sharply dropping her hands to her hips. “I s-should go and check on Quintin. M-make sure he isn’t p-plotting anything!!! See ya, p-princess.”
With that, America walked away.
(Kate Bishop walked her walk away for a perfectly normal amount of time.)
Funny. It almost looked like America Chavez was nervous. Kate had a chuckle to herself.
Imagine that: her making America nervous.
Twas a silly thought. Just like everything Gwen said! Silly thoughts not worth considering further... or at least not considering until after the party was over.