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Yelena and Kate had been under cover in Montana for three months now, living in suburbia and attempting to blend in with everyday life as they surveyed their target. While pretending to be a married couple had been awkward, the real struggle was Yelena’s memories of living in Ohio. This assignment had been anything but easy for Yelena, for more reasons than one, but the upcoming holiday was especially rough. They hadn't been excepting to stay as long as they have, but due to complications prolonging the mission, Halloween was quickly approaching and Kate knew they needed to prepare.
“Can you make sure you pick up a couple bags of candy on your way home tonight?” Kate had asked.
Slinging her back pack over her shoulder, Yelena looked at her with complete confusion. “Why?”
“Halloween is tomorrow. We need stuff for the trick-or-treaters.”
Yelena stared at her a moment longer, blinking at her with a blank expression. “Oh.” The girl's sudden shift in demeanor was puzzling to Kate; she had the look on her face she got whenever her memories of the past came up. But why was it happening now?
“Is everything okay?” Kate wanted to approach the topic carefully. In the past few months, Kate had learned that it wasn’t easy for Yelena to talk about her childhood. Yelena was like a timid animal; if Kate approached too quickly she would get spooked and run off.
“Uh yeah,” Yelena managed, grabbing her keys and heading towards the door. “I’ll get the candy.”
“Whoa, hold on,” Kate reached out and grabbed Yelena’s wrist, holding her in place. It was a risky move, but she felt no resistance. “Talk to me?”
“It’s nothing, really,” the blonde reassured, though her refusal to turn around told another story. “We never really did holidays growing up. We did just enough to prove to everyone else that we were a real family, but nothing more. Halloween was always my favorite. We got costumes in order to take photos, but we were never allowed out. Too much of a risk.”
Kate realised at that moment that she was still holding onto Yelena’s wrist, but instead of letting go, she allowed her hand to slip downward and slide into Yelena’s. “It’s really not a big deal.” Yelena blushed, avoiding eye contact with Kate.
“Don’t be like that,” Kate joked, hoping a more light hearted tone would bring a smile to Yelena’s face. “It’s clearly upsetting to you, therefore it’s a big deal to me.”
Yelena finally looked up. Kate couldn't quite place the look on her face, but something about it gave her butterflies in her stomach. “I’ll get the candy, okay? I need to get out of the house anyway,” Kate said as she gave Yelena’s hand one last squeeze before letting go.
If Yelena had truly never been trick-or-treating before, Kate was going to make sure she had the best Halloween ever.
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As the sun set on the night of Halloween, Kate finished setting up their front porch with two folding chairs, a bowl full of candy, and a secret stash of beer. Hearing the front door creak open, she looked up to see Yelena walking out sheepishly. Kate blushed at the site. “Oh my god, you look adorable.”
Dress up as Woody from Toy Story, Yelena pulled the door shut behind her before plopping down into one of the chairs. “Don’t patronize me,” she grumbled, but Kate could see her struggling to suppress a smile. “Isn’t this all a bit much?”
“Not at all!” Kate straightened out the vest of her matching Jessie costume in a show of solidarity before sitting down in the other chair. “We’re gonna be the talk of the neighborhood. I even picked up the full sized candy bars,” Kate whispered, wiggling her eyebrows. That finally got a laugh out of Yelena.
“You’re going to give all the kids cavities.”
“And they’ll love every second of it,” Kate smiled as she opened up two beers and handed one to Yelena. Cheersing, the two drank their beers in a comfortable silence.
It wasn't thirty minutes before the first group of kids arrived. Kate took the lead in handing out the candy, not wanting to push Yelena further than she was comfortable, but it wasn’t long before the blonde took over. The way she interacted with the kids, making sure to comment on each of their costumes, made Kate’s heart flutter.
With the neighborhood parents lingering nearby, the two women made sure to keep up their usual ruse of a married couple, a lingering hand here, a kiss of the cheek there. By the end of the night, however, it hadn’t been lost on Kate just how often they remained holding hands even when no one was watching.
During a particularly slow moment, Kate had looked down at their intertwined hands then back up at Yelena’s face. During the entire three months of being in Montana, Kate swore she had never seen the woman look so at peace.
“I know this isn’t the same as actually trick-or-treating, but I was hoping to at least give you a slightly better Halloween to remember for the future.”
Yelena looked over, the fondness in her eyes damn near melting Kate’s heart. “You have definitely succeeded in that,” Yelena said as she ran a thumb over Kate’s hand. “Thank you. Truly.”
Kate wasn’t sure how much longer their undercover assignment would last, how long her and Yelena would have to keep up with their fake marriage and live in their own private bubble. But in that moment, that one perfect moment, she hoped to god it would never end.