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Another swoosh from her arrow pierced the blob like creature, causing Kate Bishop to smile. Jumping out of the way as they spat? goop at her, not wanting to be hit by the foreign substance, she moved.
Midway through her flip-shoot-dodge technique, as she so lovingly dubbed it, her eyes were struck by the gloop from the creature, causing her to fall flat onto her ass. Stumbling to get up and shoot the last four to six of the invaders, while trying to see through her stained glasses (they were brand-new) she ran into what felt like a brick wall.
“Need some help, princess?” the brick wall, better known as America Chavez, commented, smirking at the archer.
“Just quit it, star spangled icon, and help me up,” Kate quipped back, reaching and grabbing America’s outstretched hand.
“Your insults are lacking, princess, do you have a concussion?” Chavez laughed, running forward.
Kate just hopped up, ignoring her friend, immediately taking a stance on a pick-up truck’s hood and shooting out at the blob-monster-aliens while America punched them into jello.
The pair fought for at least 30 minutes because those blobs just kept coming, and multiplying. It was starting to tire Kate to her bones, she wasn’t built to fight jello this close without a spoon.
Suddenly, as she was firing an arrow at a slightly deformed goop-shooter, another jumped onto her back, trying to consume her.
“Futz-” Kate yelped, trying to hit the final blob off of her back with her bow, and failing to do so.
America ran, almost flying, and grabbed the blob, slinging it into a wall across the street, guts splattering on the window of a cute coffee place that they would normally visit on a ‘catch-up date’.
“You ok, chica?” America asked, going to check on Kate who had since sat down.
“You know that concussion joke you made earlier, just a little too spot on,” Kate laughed, trying to push herself up against the wall.
“Whoa easy there princess, don’t want you getting more hurt,” America grabs Kate’s arm, supporting the weight of the purple clad, very bloody, and very injured archer, “which way to your apartment.”
“Taking me home without dinner first, you do that to all the ladies Chavez?” Kate chuckles before pointing somewhat right, “about three, maybe four, blocks that way.”
America smiles, hoisting Kate up, “Let’s start trekking.”
—
Eventually the pair reached Kate’s apartment building, but in the midst of battle Kate had lost her keys and they had no way of getting in.
“Does anyone have a spare key?” America asked, still holding Kate up, the latter’s head dropping slightly.
“Clint does, but he’s with Nat on S.H.I.E.L.D business,” Kate replied, slurring her words, “Billy does too, but he and Teddy have date night on Tuesdays.”
“Good thing it’s a Thursday , princess,” America sighed, pulling Kate up a bit more, sighing before asking, “where do the love-birds live?”
“Four streets over, and about another five blocks north,” Kate smiled and laughed, in a bit of a sad-manic way, “very far.”
“How do you remember that, but not the date?” The hero looked at her friend, confusion and worry shown across her face.
“The days blur together when all you eat is pizza, coffee, and alien guts,” Kate smiled at America, a bit of blood dripping from her gums.
America chuckled before starting to walk towards the Kaplan-Altman household, while dragging a barely lucid Hawkeye behind her.
—
As the sun started to rise, the two girls reached their friend's apartment building, tattered and dirty, but in mostly one piece. America set Kate down before buzzing Billy and Teddy’s apartment, hoping that one of them, being heroes and all, would detect them. Or at least hear the bell and answer the door, even if it was five a.m. If all else failed they would just buzz every number until someone let them into the building.
“Who is it?” a grumbly voice, Billy’s, came through the intercom about a minute later.
“Your favorite badass heroes who need keys to Bishop’s apartment,” America replied, trying to to laugh at how disappointed Billy sounded at the lack of sleep.
“It’s five a.m, America, why are you two out?” Billy asked, opening the door.
“I’ll explain when we get inside, chico,” she replied, grabbing Kate off the steps and into her arms, “Princess, you ok?”
“Just drowsy, hit my head a few too many times, gotta take a nap when we get home,” Kate sighed into America’s shoulder.
America sighed, “ok princess, let’s get you inside,” she replied opening the door and starting up the stairs to their friends home.
—
Trying to carry an incapacitated hero up the stairs was the most annoying thing America had done all week. By the time they had reached the second floor, Teddy and Billy were on the third , Kate was trying to stand and help. She was failing miserably though, stumbling constantly, and when they reached the landing between floor two and three, Kate stabbed a hole in the wall with her bow.
“Shit-” Kate yelled, catching herself, not wanting to wake the neighbors.
America walked over, slinging Kate into her arms bridal style, causing the latter to yelp, before stalking up the last flight of stairs and straight to the Kaplan-Altman door.
“Knock, princess, my hands are full,” America smirked, pointing her head to the door.
Kate rolled her eyes, but obliged, rapping on the door lightly to alert their friends but not the other tenants.
“Open,” Teddy calls, as Kate turns the handle, her and America walk into the small, but homey, one bed-bath apartment.
“Jeez Kate, did you throw yourself out a window?” Teddy asks, concerned as he walks over, America putting Kate onto the couch.
“No, I ran into aliens, very different, Altman,” Kate commented, trying to sit on the armrest, clutching her, most likely broken, ribs.
“Chica, just rest,” America said, getting up to grab an ice-pack or something from the kitchen.
As she walked into the other room, she ran into Billy who was walking out of the bathroom, hair messy and face wet.
“Chavez.”
“Kaplan,” she smiled lightly.
“What brings you to our wonderful Earth today?” Billy said, weaving around the new person in his kitchen.
“Well I was originally here to visit Kate, but then, you know, New York never gets a break.”
Billy laughed as he worked around the kitchen, making some toast for what seemed to be all of them, along with apple juice.
America just smiled, grabbing a glass of water, an aspirin, a first aid kit, and a few ice-packs before returning to Kate, “how are you feeling?”
“Like a bunch of evil little blobs jumped out of the sky and attacked me while I was going to get a midnight snack,” she said, sarcasm laced her tone, along with pain.
The group let out a laugh, and then another when Billy yelped after burning his hand on the toaster. He gave them a glare, Teddy shrinking behind America to avoid his fiance’s wrath. America promptly pushed him, lightly, off, before sitting down beside Kate.
Kate flung her legs into America’s lap before placing her head onto the armrest, her chest and head pounding. The ice was just making her cold at that point, the aspirin already starting to do its job. America looked over and saw the other girl shivering and shrugged out of her jean-jacket.
“Here,” she said, handing it to Kate.
Kate removed the ice pack she was holding on her head and stared at America for a few seconds, America tried again to hand Kate the jacket, but to only be met with a dumb-founded look from the latter.
“That’s like, your favorite jacket though!” Kate exclaimed, while sputtering in confusion.
“Yes, and I’m offering it to you, princess,” America smiled, her small smile she usually had for Kate, it seemed like a smirk to some but there was a kindness in her eyes that anyone could see if they just looked.
Kate shook her head, “but-”
“No buts,” America replied, promptly throwing the jacket onto Kate, one of the arms smacking her lightly on the face, “you can’t freeze in the apartment of a superhero.”
Kate chuckled, grabbing the jean jacket, wrapping it around her body. The jacket was already warm.
“Figures,” Kate thought, knowing America ran about 5 degrees hotter than the normal person.
The smaller hero buried herself into the jacket, America smiled at her, and Kate returned one with slightly less chattering teeth. The two slowly getting lost in each other’s eyes as the moon started to fall.
–
Billy walked from the kitchen, leaning on the doorway. He smiled at the small gesture, knowing America was never one to truly let people in. As long as he’d known the multiverse-traversing, badass he’d never once seen her give up that jacket.
In the middle of his mindless ramble, Teddy snuck up behind him and wrapped his arms around his waist. Billy laughed, causing the girls to turn, realizing they’d been caught staring at one another for a moment too long. But by the time they’d fully processed who caught them, Billy and Teddy were already walking back to the back of their small apartment.
“Goodnight girls, no having sex on my couch!” Billy called from down the hall, laughing before yelping slightly, obvious that Teddy reprimanded him for the comment.
“As long as you don’t have sex while we’re out here,” Kate called back, knowing it was fruitless. The magic user and shape-shifter we’re too in-love to care. Not that Kate minded, she was overjoyed her friends were happy and engaged, she just wished she could find that happiness for herself some day.
A yawn broke her ramble, apparently coming from herself, causing America to look up from where she’d parked her head and phone combo to scroll. America smiled slightly and moved Kate’s legs off her lap.
As she stood, she stretched in almost impossible ways, before speaking,
“I’ll take the floor, you need to heal,” America said, turning to raid Billy and Teddy’s linen closet.
“I don’t mind the floor,” Kate tried to protest, before America cut her off.
“I insist, for my own sanity. Because if I have to hear your twenty year old self complain about back pain one more time-”
“Ok, ok. I get it,” Kate laughed.
“And I’m not carrying you downstairs,” the latina added.
“Aw, come on, please?”
“No, now go to bed, I’d like at least 3 hours of sleep.”
Kate just smiled as America tossed a blanket and fluffy pillow at her, catching them with her least bruised arm, and throwing them behind her head to get comfortable on the surprisingly soft couch.
–
“Thanks for saving me, again, you know,” Kate said after they had shut off the lights.
Both girls had been tossing, trying to fall asleep for thirty minutes at that point. They could hear one another, the silent shuffling was deafening. But neither broke the silence until Kate spoke up.
“Anytime, anywhere, chica,” America replied, sincerity slipping through the quiet hours dawn.
“You know there is enough room on the cough for us both,” Kate said, trying to keep a calm voice when bringing it up.
It wasn’t awkward to suggest sleeping in the proximity of your female friends, but for Kate she’d never really done that, she was always shunned or discouraged from it. She tried to keep her voice steady, but she was sure there was the sort of high pitched nervous fear she got, hidden behind the words she was saying.
“Of course you don’t have to, I mean you’re just tossing and turning, and I’m kind of cold so that’s all, nothing major, you know. And you’re like super hot. Like temperature wise- not that you’re not hot-”
“Kate.”
“What?”
“If you’d stop talking, I’d happily join you on the Kaplan-Altman couch,” America replied.
Kate smiled, her nerves less wired than ten seconds ago, “ok.”
America walked over in her tank top and underwear and slipped under the 2 blankets Kate had staked on the couch. Her arm went underneath the archer’s head, as she adjusted her own pillow with her other hand.
“So,” Kate said as they practically laid on top of one another.
“So,” America paused, “you think I’m hot?”
As Kate buried her head in her hands, and America laughed, she turned over and closed her eyes.
“Night, Chavez.”
“Night, Bishop.”
–
The two slept that night entangled in one another.
America’s arm was hanging limply under Kate’s head and around her head, while their hands were intertwined. Their legs were interlaced together. Every breath America took was filled with the smell of Kate’s shampoo.
As the dimension traveler awoke, early morning sun streaming into her eyes, she smiled. A moment of want, to always wake up like this, passed through her mind. It was selfish. Kate wasn’t meant for her.
The archer was painfully straight, and needed America for support. That’s all. They could never be anything more than friends.
But, for a moment, right here, in their best friend’s apartment, away from the chaos of New York, and the rest of the multiverse, America could pretend Kate and her could be something more. Something bigger than themselves. Something brilliant.
Brilliant like how Kate looked right now, the sun hitting her face, outlining her jaw as she slept. America resisted the urge to reach out and brush away stray hair from her face as she watched the smaller woman sleep.
Kate’s face slightly twisted in that moment, said hair falling into her nose, causing her to breathe it in. America moved to brush it behind her ear, platonically. Kate was uncomfortable, and America was helping her, that was all.
It just so happened that Kate woke up at the moment America was looking at her sleeping face, brushing hair behind her ear, and they made eye contact.
_
The two girls looked at each other, America’s hand resting on Kate’s jaw, tenderly holding her like she was the only person in the multiverse.
“Hi,” Kate whispered.
“Morning,” America replied, “are you feeling better?”
“Mhm,” the archer grumbled into the traveler’s palm.
America smiled, brushing her thumb across the high of Kate’s cheekbone, continuing to hold the girl’s head with her hand.
The two of them maintained eye contact as the moment stretched on, the glow of the sun bathing them in almost an ethereal light.
America cherished this one moment, when Kate could almost, fully, and truly be hers. If she just leaned in just a few inches, she could kiss her, show her how much she truly meant, how much she would risk for her.
How she was willing to stay, right here, in this world, with her, forever.
“Hey.”
America jumped out of her thoughts at the sound of Kate’s voice, the archer pulling her back into reality, and also dropping the archer’s head out of her hands.
“Where did you go there?” Kate asked.
“Nowhere,” America replied, nodding, about to move to get up.
A hand soon stopped her, purple painted nails and pale skin on her bicep keeping her from moving Kate off of her, and henceforth off of the couch.
“Chavez, you don’t need to lie to me ok?”
America downcast her eyes, away from Kate, the couch, and the foreign hand on her arm.
“I know Bishop, I was just worried about you, after last night.”
“Amer-” Kate was cut off.
“I can’t lose you, ok?” America spoke, her voice wavering at the end.
Kate exhaled at the statement, causing her to lift her head up.
“I can’t lose you either, Chavez,” Kate swallowed, “I constantly lose you to your insane futzing travels, but permanently, I can’t do that, ok.”
America nodded, her eyes wet, she moved her hand to lay across the one Kate had placed on her arm earlier.
“I- I need you ok,” Kate said.
“I need you as well,” America agreed, the two coming to an understanding.
The hands intertwined on America’s arm, the girls both turned to look at it.
-
“Move in with me,” Kate said suddenly.
“What?” America turned her head slightly
“I mean like, I need you here, and if you don’t have a place I won’t know where you are and if you need me then it’s easier if we just live together,” Kate rambled, hoping to convince America to live with her, god knows she wants her close.
“Ok,” the taller girl replied.
“Really?” Kate sat up off the couch.
They had been lying awake for about 2 hours, holding each other, the recent confessions of just needing each other allowing them to just be.
“Yeah, why not princess, not like I have anywhere else to live if I’m going to seriously stick around.”
“You meant it?”
“Yeah, I’m sticking around Bishop.”
“You’re going to be sick of me soon Chavez, don’t know how long you’ll last,” Kate laughed.
She laid her head back down on America’s chest, the other girl’s hands starting to run through her hair.
“I don’t think I ever could be,” America murmured, as she looked down at Kate.
The raven haired girl looked up at the brunette, before smiling, her eyes shining.
“You mean that?”
“On my multiversal powers.”
Kate’s grin somehow grew, causing America to smile at herself. The archer counted that as a win, due to the dimension hopper’s aversion to smiling. Kate kept staring at her friend, longing to reach out and kiss her, or at least bring her closer.
“Now you're the one in your own head Princess, care to share?” America quipped.
Fuck it. Kate thought
“Can I kiss you?” She asked.
“What.”
“Can I kiss you, it’s just that this morning has been perfect and you look perfect right now, and god you just agreed to move in with me, and I just want to know if you’re real,” Kate rambled.
“Ok..” America said, hesitation evident in her voice.
“Are you sure?”
America swallowed the lump that had been forming in her throat, “Yeah,” she breathed out.
Kate smiled, exhaling as she did, her eyes drifting down to America’s lips. The two girls leaned forward, an almost magnetic like attraction pulling them forward.
They met in the middle of the gap, sun streaming through the window. Kate moved her hand up into America’s hair, tangling it at the base of her neck as their lips connected.
As they separated Kate smiled, “I’ve wanted to do that for a while. ”
“Really?” America smirked, but her eyes shined. She was glad Kate had wanted to kiss her too, ecstatic even.
“Yeah, not that straight.”
“Told you so, princess.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Kate chuckled, curling into America’s side, “Want to get breakfast together?”
“Are you asking me out, chica?” America laughed.
“I guess I am, what do you say?” the archer said, not moving, scared of the response .
“I’d say yes…” America trailed off.
Kate smiled, squeezing America’s side a bit harder as she laid on top of her, head on her chest, “So, it’s a date.”
“It’s a date.”