Work Text:
Kate was nervous. She didn’t know why, but she was more nervous now than she was before the show. Walking up to the bar’s pay phone, shaking fingers unfold the paper to reveal a beautifully handwritten telephone number.
She's got a pocket full of change. She picks up the receiver and puts it back down. Paces, back and forth, in front of the phone, her mind racing with a sense of urgency. The weight of anticipation hangs heavy in the air as she clutches the coins tightly, feeling their coolness against her fingertips.
Her eyes dart to the clock on the wall, it’s 10:50 pm. The phone seems to taunt her as it sits there, silent and motionless. She knows that making this call could be the wonderful start of something new, yet the fear of the unknown holds her back.
Finally, summoning all her courage, she reaches out and picks up the receiver again. The dial tone fills her ears. Her heart pounds in her chest. She takes a deep breath, mustering the strength to push the numbers that will connect her to destiny.
She slams the receiver back down and runs a hand through her hair. Why is this so hard?
“Excuse me, are you using the phone?” a voice asks.
“Uhh, no, it’s— you can use it, excuse me,” Kate mumbles out. Practically, running away from the phone. She runs both hands through her hair this time. It’s just a phone call. Get it together, Bishop.
As she waits for the stranger's conversation to end, she goes to take a seat at the bar. She orders a whiskey to sip on. If it gets too late, she won’t even be able to call Yelena.
Eyes on the person on the phone, fingers drumming the bartop anxiously, this Kate Bishop is a far cry from the over-confident musician she usually comes off as.
What if Yelena’s mad that she's late? Kate told her that the show would probably be over around 10:30 and that she’d call by 11. It's now 6 minutes after and she’s worried that at a glance, the stranger's story appears to be ramping up instead of slowing down.
What if she tells me to never call again because I woke up her roommates? No, that’s silly. She only has one roommate and it's her sister.
Kate sips at her drink some more. 2 more minutes go by.
What if she thinks something happened to me? Oh, god-well, I’ll just tell her I’m fine.
What if she forgot I was even calling tonight?
Another minute passes.
What if she doesn’t even care?? Or, what if she thinks I don’t care?!
2 more minutes came and went. Kate looks up from her now empty glass and looks at the man on the telephone. Still there, still talking. Kate sees red. It’s 11:11, bitch. You better make a wish that I don’t come over there and smash your face into the receiver— She mentally pauses. Umm…okay…feelings? We’ve never been a violent person before. Get it together.
She can't figure out exactly what it is about the blonde that makes her feel so possessive, but the intensity of her emotions is making her feel like a crazy person right now. If she doesn't get to talk to Yelena tonight, she might end up doing something irrational.
It’s your fault, Kate. You were too chicken to call when you could and now you’re going to grow old, alone. Loveless. Wondering forever. Searching for a feeling you’ll never feel again… Her brain is pretty dramatic, but at the end of the day, she is a songwriter for a reason.
The pianist has almost completely spiraled into her sorrows when Tommy slaps a hand on her shoulder. “Kaaate, aren’t you supposed to be talkin’ to that girl you fucked last night?”
“Yeah, Tom, yeah, I just…” she sighs, running another hand through her hair.
“Relax, Kate,” Tommy says with an easy smile. “Just call her. Once you hear her voice, everything will be smooth sailin’,”
Kate closed her eyes and visualized the conversation she was about to have. She imagines Yelena’s warm, soothing accent on the other end.
She opens her eyes. Another man is walking up to the pay phone. Like a woman possessed, she storms over to the payphone. Kate doesn’t even clock the navy blue suit jacket the man is wearing as belonging to one of her band members until she has the man’s arm twisted awkwardly behind his back.
“Ow! Kate, stop!”
“T-Teddy?” she stutters out immediately and lets go of his arm. Tommy, who comes rushing in to help, is finally able to pull Kate away from their bassist.
“I was just trying to guard the phone for you, “ Teddy huffs rubbing his shoulder.
“Oh, shit,” She breathes out, chest heaving trying to regain her composure. Tommy’s arms loosen their wrap around Kate’s torso. “Teddy, I-I’m so sorry,”
“Yeah,” the blonde bassist looks into her eyes with his naturally gentle gaze “We’re good, Kate. Go, call your girl,”
With her strength renewed by the power of her bandmate’s faith in her, she marches back up to the payphone. With determination, she grabs a shiny dime from her pocket and jams it in the coin slot. She quickly dials in the numbers, and anxiously waits.
“Hello?” a voice comes through the receiver. It sounds a little tinny, but it’s still the most beautiful voice that Kate has ever heard.
“Yelena, hi it’s-”
“Kate Bishop!” comes the joyful reply.
Kate can’t stop the big smile spreading across her face. “Yeah, hi,” is all she can get out.
“Kate Bishop,” softer, this time, more affectionate. “I am very pleased that you have called. How was the show?”
“Oh, yeah, about that,” awkwardly, scratching the back of her neck. “I’m sorry I’m late. I…” The pianist stops there. Her mind is blank. She can’t think of anything. Not a single reason for why she didn’t call on time. She was there 10 minutes early and now it’s, glancing at the clock, 11:20! Ohmygod! Holyshit! What do I say? I… “I…” she repeats and trails off again. Lame, Bishop , just lame.
“It is only 20 minutes. I figured your show just must have run long,” the smooth Russian accent calmly explains.
Kate blinks. Yeah, that woulda been a good excuse. She struggles to even speak words. “Huh,” It’s more just a sound than a word, almost a grunt.
“Kaate Beeshop,” playfully floats through the receiver. “The show did not go late,” That was a statement, not a question.
Kate’s eyes widened.
“You were too nervous to call and it took you half an hour to muster up the courage,” and that low chuckling sends a wave of heat between her legs.
Kate knows that she has to say something. She answers as honestly as she can. “Yes, ma’am. Yep,”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kate does tell Yelena how the show went. The couple talked for a while. At this point in the night Kate knows no one else will need this phone, but the bar is about to close for the night, “Can I call you tomorrow?”
“Ah, unfortunately for us, I begin a new project tomorrow,”
“Oh.” the brunette says dejectedly, until she realizes how that sounded. “I mean, oh! That’s great!” And then because she has no tact whatsoever, “How long is the filmin’ gonna take? Maybe you could give me the number of the place you’ll be stayin’ in,”
The blonde’s laughter comes through wires and into Kate’s ear “Oh, Kate Bishop, I don’t even know where I’ll be staying at, or even exactly when I arrive. By this point, I won’t know what city you and the boys are headed to, “
“Oh,” It's also, more just a sound than the word, practically a small grunt.
“The filming will probably take around a month,”
“So, if I call this number in a month, you might answer?” Please, please let her say ‘yes’.
“If I don’t, my sister will,” comes the matter-of-fact reply.
“Oh, wow. To be honest, your sister kinda scares me,” Kate says without thinking.
That low laughter sends another jolt of pleasure in between the musician's legs. “I will tell her you think so. And to expect a call from you one month from today. Same time?” the blonde asks.
Kate grips the top of the payphone to balance herself, and her (all of a sudden) wobbly knees. Traitors. “Yeah. Yes. Of Course,”
“Well, it is getting late, and we both have jobs to do tomorrow. I think this is when I say goodnight, Kate Bishop,” Yelena says, softly.
“I will call you one month from now. Goodnight, Yelena Belova,” and Kate waits a couple more beats after hearing the receiver click on the other end before she hangs up hers.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
One month later
*Dial tone* *Click*
“...”
“Hi! Yelena?”
“Kate Bishop, what are your intentions with my little sister?”