Work Text:
I.
Spring was, by far, Yelena’s favourite time of the year. Spring in New York City meant warmer weather, longer days and more reasons to get out to explore the city she has been living in for the last few years. She would wake up early in the morning and take Fanny, her American akita dog, for a quick walk in Central Park before her shift at the bookstore started at 10.
She had adopted Fanny a few weeks after Natasha passed away, her psychologist had said that having a support animal would help her with the grief and even though she was a bit hesitant at the beginning, she considered it for a few weeks and ended up in the nearest shelter where the little dog stole her heart. Yelena could say that it was thanks to the little dog that she was able to navigate the grief of losing her sister.
Yelena worked at a small bookstore located on the upper west side of Manhattan, she was offered the job when she was still in Ohio, living under her parent’s roof and dreaming of moving to “The Big Apple”, as her sister would often call it.
She had known Clint and Laura, the owners of the bookstore, since she was a little kid, both being friends with her sister for over 20 years. When they had known that Yelena had graduated from college and wanted to move closer to her sister, they didn’t hesitate to offer Yelena a position in their bookstore. She has been working in the bookstore for over two years now.
Spring in New York also meant more tourists with its pleasant weather and blooming parks, which she had come to know too well, and it also drew more attention to the small bookstore that was located near Central Park.
Mondays were always busy, and she avoided bringing Fanny to the bookstore, however, today was different. She and Fanny ended up walking longer than necessary and that meant that Yelena had to bring the dog to the bookstore with her. Not that Clint nor Laura would care if Fanny was seen in the bookstore.
At 10am Yelena opened the bookstore with a coffee in hand and went to the front counter to start her day. Laura had told her the day before that she, Clint and their kids were going to go to their farm in Iowa for spring break, so Yelena would be alone the entire week. Since it was a small bookstore, they did not need anyone else, having the help of their kids when they were out of the school or on the weekends when they did not have plans with their friends.
Yelena spent the morning organizing the books that were out of place, doing inventory of the new arrivals and helping customers when their curious gaze brought them to the bookstore.
She was about to close the store to have a small lunch break, when the bell above the door rang and a tall dark haired woman entered the bookstore, looking pleased with the space.
“Welcome,” Yelena said with her soft customer service voice. “Are you looking for a book in particular or just checking around?”.
“Hi,” said the woman with too much energy and bright blue eyes “I am actually looking for Clint, he mentioned he saved a book for me a few days ago.” The tall woman explained in a hasty voice.
“Clint is not here today, but I can search for the book,” Yelena mentioned, moving behind the counter and opening the computer she had closed a few minutes ago. “Under whom should it be?”
“It should be under my name.” The reply came quickly from the taller woman who sounded nervous.
“Which is?” Yelena asked, raising both eyebrows.
“Oh, yes. It is Kate.” The tall woman’s face, Kate, was red as if she was just recognising her mistake.
“I am not finding anything under Kate.” She mentioned and saw the confused look on Kate’s face. “Maybe under your surname?” Yelena asked with an almost exasperated tone. She wanted to grab lunch for herself and something for Fanny, but this tall dark haired woman could not even remember her own name.
“Try searching by Kate Bishop.” Yelena shook her head. “Shoot, maybe he forgot to save it.” The woman looked sad for a moment before continuing. “Thank you for searching though. I will come back later or tomorrow if he’s back.” Kate said in one breath while moving to the door. “Have a nice day!” was the last thing Yelena heard before the door closed, leaving her with the words on her mouth.
Yelena closed the computer, grabbed Fanny by the leash and moved to the door, changing the “Open” sign to the “Closed” one as she swiftly exited the bookstore to go to the nearest café to grab a quick lunch.
Once she came back from her lunch break, her day was over before she even noticed. She and Fanny were closing the store at 5pm and walking home, taking the long route through Central Park so the akita could stretch her legs and burn energy before getting home.
II.
Tuesdays were not as busy as Mondays, but at some hour in the afternoon, the doorbell rang nonstop. She had brought Fanny with her today as well, since she was alone at the bookstore and Fanny was the most obedient dog to exist, to keep her company while she worked. Almost every customer had stopped to say hello and pet the akita.
At around 4:30pm, when she was certain the bookstore was empty, she heard the bell over the door tinkling and looked up from the computer to see who had come in.
“Kate Bishop.” She greeted the other woman. “Are you looking for Clint or your mystery book?” Yelena asked Kate, who was smiling at her as if she knew her from her entire life.
“Hello,” Kate replied brightly and smiling. “it is not fair that you know my name but I do not know yours.” She then looked down and saw the dog coming closer to her. A smile appeared immediately on Kate’s face. “Oh my god, look at you!” She said bending down to Fanny and petting her head, very cheerful. “What is your name?” Kate asked in an enthusiastic high pitched voice, not once stopping the petting on Fanny’s head.
“Her name is Fanny,” Yelena replied, smiling down at the sight of Kate and her dog. “She is an American Akita, I adopted her seven months ago.” Yelena gave Kate more information about the dog, not because she had to, but because she felt like she wanted to share more about her dog to the blue eyed woman who was petting her.
“Well, hello Fanny, you are the most precious dog in the universe.” Kate said, still petting Fanny and giving her kisses. “But please, do not tell Lucky I said that, he is a very jealous gentleman.” The taller woman said coming back up and grabbing her phone from the back pocket. “Here, look at him. I rescued him about 4 years ago.” Kate showed her a picture of a golden retriever with a missing eye, that somehow was smiling at the camera.
“Look at his smile!” Yelena said with a big smile on her face while she looked at the picture Kate was showing her, only to find Kate smiling the same way. “What happened to his left eye?”
“His previous owner was cruel to him and had him tied up in his front yard for days, without food or water.” Kate said with a sad voice. “One day I was passing by, Lucky was whimpering and I just jumped over the fence, grabbed Lucky and never looked back.” Kate mentioned with a triumphant smile.
“So you stole a dog.” Yelena said, looking at Kate while smiling.
“I mean, I kind of saved him.” Kate said, not sounding embarrassed at all about her actions, still smiling at Yelena and the memory of rescuing Lucky.
“Impressive.” Was all Yelena said before looking at the clock on the left wall, which was marking 5pm. “Not to sound rude nor anything, but did you come to see if Clint was around?” Yelena asked Kate, in a polite voice. “I should be closing the store.”
“Oh, no worries at all. I apologise for entertaining you.” Kate sounded cheerful, not taking any offence in Yelena’s straightforwardness. “I will leave you to close the bookstore.” She smiled at Yelena and then at Fanny. “Bye Fanny, it was lovely to meet you.” Kate waved her hand goodbye to Fanny and then looked at Yelena, with a big smile on her face, while she was moving towards the door. “Bye Fanny’s mom. It was nice talking to you as well.” Kate left the bookstore and Yelena looked at the door, still smiling at the spontaneous encounter .
“C’mon girl, let's go home.” She said, grabbing her dog’s leash, turning the lights off and leaving the bookstore.
III.
On Wednesday, Yelena was prepared for the daily meeting with Kate and deep down, she was excited to see Kate. She had texted Clint the night before, asking if he had saved any book for a girl called Kate Bishop, and he in fact did. However, he saved it under the nickname of “Hawkeye”, since it was an archery book. Why did Kate not mention that before she did not know, nor wanted to know.
Kate showed up at around 3pm, laughing at a some joke the man next to her said while entering the bookstore. The man next to Kate had blonde hair with turquoise ends, it was tied in a low bun and a leather bag on his right shoulder, a big watch on his left wrist. Smiling while looking at the bookstore. “Kate, this place is amazing,” the guy mentioned, in an animated Australian accent.
“See, I told you big guy!” Kate said, smiling at the man while he looked at everything. “This is the best bookstore in New York.” The dark haired woman looked at her and her smile softened. “Hi Fanny's mom. How are you doing?”
“Yelena.” She said, smiling at Kate, who was looking at her with a confused gaze. “You can call me Yelena.”
“Nice to meet you, Yelena.” Kate said with the brightest smile Yelena has ever seen. “No Fanny today?” Kate was coming closer to the counter Yelena was sitting behind.
“She was here for the morning, but she abandoned me for the park.” Yelena said, looking at Kate’s curious eyes. “A friend came over while I was on my break and Fanny decided to go with her instead of coming back here.” The blonde explained to Kate, as if she owned her, any explanation of why her dog was not with her.
“Going to the park sounds fun, to be honest.” Kate was now resting against the desk, right in front of Yelena, who was smiling back at Kate.
She was about to tell Kate about the book when the blonde guy appeared with five books and left them on the desk. “Hello,” he said very cheerful. “Kate has been talking about this bookstore for a while and she has been absolutely correct. It’s very cozy and lovely.” Kate was standing next to her friend, fidgeting nervously with a pen she found on the desk.
“Thank you.” Yelena said, giving him an honest smile. “Are you getting those?” she asked, pointing at the books on the desk.
He nodded and handed the books to Yelena. “Has this bookstore always been here?”
“Kind of, Clint and Laura had owned this place for over 15 years.” Yelena remembered the first time her sister had brought her to the bookstore, she lay down on the rug and spent the whole day reading books while her sister helped them with the store. It was one of her happiest memories with Natasha.
“I remember coming here all the time with my dad when I was younger.” Kate said to both of them, a sad smile on her face. “I’m glad Clint and Laura were able to keep the store open for so many years.”
Yelena nodded. “It was kind of a struggle for them to keep it open, but with some help, they managed.” She gave Kate’s friend his books back and charged him. “Those are really nice books, I read Anna Karenina when I was younger and I loved it.”
Kate’s friend grabbed the books and saved it into his leather bag. “I’ve read it before, but I was really looking to have this version of it. The cover is gorgeous, and the translation is very different from the others.” He said, checking his clock. “Shoot Kate, we gotta go. Eleanor is gonna kill me if I make you late.” Kate sighed and looked at her friend.
“I guess we will have to go, big guy.” She looked back at Yelena and smiled. “See you later, Yelena.” She tried her best to pronounce the blonde’s name correctly.
“See you, Kate Bishop and her friend.” Yelena said, waving at both of them. “I love your turquoise ends, by the way!” She shouted while they were opening the door.
Kate’s friend laughed and muttered a very animated “Thank you. Kate suggested it.” while closing the door to the bookstore.
IV.
By Thursday, the bookstore remained calm throughout the day, with a handful of customers coming and going swiftly. So, around 1pm she decided to grab something to eat.
She was closing the store when she felt someone collide with her.
“I’m so sorry, I was distracted on my phone and did not see you there.” Kate said quickly, grabbing Yelena by the waist to steady her. “Are you okay?” The dark haired woman was looking at Yelena with preoccupied eyes.
“I’m all right, Kate Bishop.” Yelena said, feeling Kate’s warm hands against her bare waist, giving her a smile.
“I am so sorry again, Yelena, my mom always says I’m too clumsy to be walking while using my phone.” Kate’s hands were still at her waist, and she was standing too close to Yelena, she could even smell the perfume of the other woman. “Were you closing the bookstore early today?” Kate said, pointing at the “Closed” sign on the door with her chin, both hands steady placed on Yelena’s waist..
“For a few minutes, I was heading to grab something to eat.” Yelena looked at the hands that were still against her waist and then looked at Kate, who just now realized where her hand was placed.
“I’m sorry.” Kate muttered quickly and took her hands out from her waist. Yelena was instantly missing the warmth of both hands against her skin.
“Don’t worry.” The blonde said. “Would you like to come with me?” She was said quickly, under her breath, giving Kate a nervous smile.
“I would love to.” Was Kate’s response, giving Yelena the biggest smile she has ever seen on a person. “Do you know where you want to go? If not, I have a list of the best places to eat I can share with you” Kate rambled and moved her hands at the same time.
Yelena chuckled at Kate’s rambling and shook her head. “I always go to the same place, but we can go to one of yours.” Kate’s face lit up at that and began walking towards the park.
“Do you have any food restrictions? Are you vegetarian or vegan?” Kate genuinely asked.
“Nope, not allergic to anything. I’m also not vegan nor vegetarian.” She replied, walking next to her.
“Amazing, I know the perfect place then.” She could hear Kate smiling even without looking at her.
They found themselves walking into a cute Italian pasta place, located a few blocks away from Central Park.
“The owners are an Italian couple, they got married last year and invited me, since I’ve been coming here since they opened.” Kate explained while opening the door and letting Yelena go in first.
“That’s really nice.” The place was rather small rather than huge, as the restaurants used to be in that part of the city. It felt like Yelena was stepping into someone’s house. “It is a really homey place.” Kate nodded with her head and placed her hand on Yelena’s back, guiding her to the nearest table, pulling the chair for Yelena to sit while she sat in front of the blonde.
“Yeah, I’ve also been to their house and it’s almost the same place.” Kate commented while grabbing the menu. The restaurant was almost empty, which was weird for the time and the location. “Everything on the menu is more than delicious, but the bolognese lasagne is my favourite.” Kate was looking at Yelena with a soft smile and warm eyes.
“Then a bolognese lasagna it is.” Yelena said without even grabbing the menu, and fully trusting Kate’s taste, whose cheeks were slightly reddish. Yelena was not sure if it was because of the warmth of the place or some other reason.
“Katherine!” A warm voice with an Italian accent said, coming over to their table. “It’s been a while since you last came in, Julia and I were starting to miss you.”
“I’m sorry, Chiara. I’ve been busy with work and my mom has been a pain in my ass about it.” Kate was looking at the woman, Chiara, and smiling.
“I can imagine.” The woman sounded apologetic. “Are you not going to introduce me to your girlfriend?” The older woman looked at Yelena and smiled.
“Oh no, she’s not-” Kate nervously cleared her throat. “She’s not my girlfriend, Chiara, she is a friend.” Yelena was looking at Kate, who was gesturing with her hands and looking at Chiara.
“I’m Yelena, it’s so nice to meet you.” The blonde looked at the owner and smiled. “It is a very lovely restaurant. I can’t believe I have not seen it before.”
“Yelena! What a beautiful name, is it Russian?” Chiara extended her hand to Yelena, who took it and shook it.
“It is.” Yelena was smiling at the Italian woman that just let her hand go.
“Well then, welcome to our little restaurant.” She looked between the old younger women and smiled. “Do you already know what you are eating or prefer a few more minutes to decide?” Chiara said while taking out a little notepad and a pen.
“We will have two bolognese lasagne, please.” Kate said to the older women, who wrote the order with a knowing look.
“Will you try something else someday?” She said looking at Kate.
“Maybe someday.” Kate replied with a childish smile while Chiara rolled her eyes.
“I assume you will be drinking your usual. Yelena, what would you like to drink?” The owner redirected her attention to Yelena and smiled.
“A coke zero would be amazing.” Yelena replied to her with a smile.
Chiara wrote that down and left shaking her head.
Yelena looked at Kate who was already looking at her and smiling. “I apologise for her, she can be too much sometimes.” She explained while playing with a napkin.
“Don’t worry, and stop apologising Kate Bishop.” Yelena said, giving Kate a half smile.
“So, your name is Russian, and you mentioned you read Anna Karenina the other day, are you from there?” Kate inquired, looking at the blonde and leaning onto the table to give Yelena her full attention.
“Yes and no. I was born in Russia and stayed there until I was 10 years old, then we moved to the States and lived in Ohio until two years ago when I moved to New York with my sister.” Yelena commented on Kate's intrigued gaze.
“That sounds nice. Where did you live in Russia?”
“We lived in a farmhouse in Moscow.” Yelena commented with a sad smile, remembering her younger years in Russia and the friends she left behind. “Have you lived your entire life in New York?” She asked Kate, while her drinks were delivered to the table by a waiter.
“Hey Kate, how are you doing?” The young man said in a conversational voice.
“Hey Peter, I’m good. How about you? How is MJ?” Kate replied in the same tone as the young man.
“I’m good, MJ is feeling better, she was sad she missed our game night at your place last Saturday.” Peter said while depositing both coke zero’s on the table. “Hi! I am Peter, you must be Yelena, right? Kate has been talking about you nonstop.” Yelena heard Kate choke at Peter’s words.
“Hi Peter, nice to meet you.” The blonde said with a friendly voice, looking between Peter and Kate, the latter looked like she wanted to murder Peter who was happily pouring their drinks on the glasses. The young man left before he could say anything else.
“Yes, I’ve lived in New York for my entire life.” Kate said, as if nothing had happened, returning to their previous conversation, while folding the napkin she was playing with.
Yelena nodded and took a small sip of her coke. “You mentioned your mom being a pain in your ass about it. Do you work with her?” She inquired while looking at Kate.
“I work for her, my parents own a security company and my mom took over as CEO when my dad passed away some years ago.” Kate said while taking a sip of her own coke. “She has been trying to get me into the company for a while now.”
“I’m sorry to hear about your dad.” Yelena said with an apologetic voice, well knowing how grief can impact someone's life.
“Thank you.” Kate said, smiling at her. “Thankfully I had Lucky to help me grieve.”
“I totally understand that, I lost my sister a few months ago and adopting Fanny helped me in ways I did not think could be possible.” Yelena shared with Kate, who was looking at her with an apologetic look.
“I’m sorry about your loss.” Kate gave her a small reassuring smile. “I know everyone says this, but eventually it gets better.”
“Thanks.” The blonde smiled at Kate and both stayed in a comfortable silence for a few minutes, before the dark haired woman broke it.
“How did you come to work in the bookstore?” She said with a wondering gaze, changing the topic.
“I’ve known Laura and Clint for almost all my life, they were friends with Natasha, my sister.” Yelena said, while taking a sip of her drink. “When Natasha moved to New York and helped them with the bookstore I used to come here every time I could, and always dreamed of working there. Eventually, when I finished college and wanted to live with Natasha, they offered me the job.”
“I remember going to the bookstore with my dad when I was little and seeing a redhead taking care of organizing the books. Could that be her?” Kate said, remembering those moments when she was the happiest.
“Yes, that must’ve been Natasha. She was always around when she could.” Yelena said, smiling at the thought of her sister.
“I have a vague memory of her helping me pick my first book on my own.” Kate said looking at Yelena with a happy smile. “It was Where The Wild Things Are". The blonde slightly laughed at that.
“That one was my favourite book while growing up, she got it from the store.” Kate's smile was so big, her eyes were almost gone.
“It is currently my favourite book. I watch the movie more often than I would like to admit.” Yelena was looking at Kate and something inside the blonde changed towards her. She did not know what it was, but she felt something warmer in her heart she hadn't felt in a very long time.
They continued talking about everything and nothing at the same time, while they waited for their food to arrive.
Yelena ended up not re-opening the store that day, having a very extended lunch with Kate and losing track of time.
V.
Friday mornings in the bookstore were slow and quiet, but in the afternoon she could barely stop to take a break, with customers entering and exiting the store at every second.
She was currently helping a customer decide on which book they should buy, when the shop bell announced a new customer had walked into the store. Yelena knew who it was before even looking, well knowing that the dark haired woman would pass by anytime in the afternoon as she briefly mentioned when she had dropped Yelena by the bookstore on Thursday following their lunch.
After the customer she was helping decided for the book she recommended and before a new customer approached her, the blonde briefly looked at Kate and gave her a warm smile, which was reciprocated with a radiant smile accompanied by a small wave of her hand.
Yelena was going back and forth with helping customers and charging them that she barely had time to properly greet Kate and gave her the book she had saved in a drawer on the desk.
When she had a free moment without having to help or charge the customers, she found Kate in the LGBT+ book’s section, analyzing the books that were displayed in front of her.
“Looking for anything in particular?” Yelena said in a friendly voice, a smile already on her face, appearing from behind Kate.
“You.” Kate replied, without realising what she had said. “Y-you, so you can help me with a book.” The taller woman stuttered, her face going red while Yelena raised one eyebrow, a smirk forming on the latter’s face.
“What do you have in there?” Yelena was looking at Kate’s hands that decided to pick a random book, noticing the callouses that were on her hands..
“My Ass Is Haunted by the Gay Unicorn Colonel.” Kate said while reading the name out loud and looking at Yelena with a confused and horrified expression.
“Interesting choice, Kate Bishop.” Yelena said, trying not to laugh at Kate’s expression. “Didn’t picture you with a book like that.”
“I-” Kate nervously stuttered, face bright red. “I do not.” Kate left the book where it was and looked at her feet, instead of at Yelena’s face. “I was looking because a friend wanted it.”
“A friend huh?” Yelena said in a mocking tone and a smile plastered across her face.
“Y-yes, the one who came with me the other day.” Kate said, looking everywhere but at Yelena’s face. “Thor, the big guy with the turquoise ends on his hair.” She pointed at the ends of her own hair and briefly looked at Yelena.
“Yes, I totally see him reading a book about,” Yelena said, grabbing said book and reading the summary on the back. “A ghost hunter who is seeking his long-lost lover, and encountering a ghostly, spectral Civil War colonel who is gay, dead, and ready to deliver a message of erotic pleasure from the ghost hunter’s own dead unicorn lover.” She read out loud, with both eyebrows raised and nodding. “Yeah, I totally see him reading this, especially after he brought old literature books.” Kate only nodded and gave Yelena a nervous smile.
“I think someone is ready to pay for their book.” Kate said, pointing at the counter that had a few customers lined up and ready to pay.
“Saved by the bell, Kate Bishop.” Yelena said, giving Kate the book and going back to the front counter. She heard Kate sighing and let out a small laugh.
Once she was behind the counter, apologising for the wait and charging the customers, she saw how the taller woman left the store shortly after their brief encounter. She felt disappointed that she couldn’t have a proper conversation with Kate, having had a good time yesterday with the taller woman.
After charging the waiting customers, she moved through the store to help other customers with recommendations, she did not notice the bell on the door chiming softly.
Later, when she was done helping the customers in the store and was back sitting behind the front counter, she noticed a cup with a paper bag that had a red velvet cookie in it, and a short note written on the paper bag, with a phone number in it as well.
“to make your day easier
- K”
Yelena smiled and took out her phone from her back pocket, saving the number and sending Kate a text.
[Yelena]: thank you for the coffee and the cookie, kate bishop <3
[Kate]: ur welcome, fanny’s mom ;)
Yelena chuckled at the text and pocketed her phone, having to assist the last customer of the day before closing the store and heading home to take Fanny for a walk. She texted Kate to check if she and Lucky wanted to join them and received a very excited text containing several dog emojis.
VI.
Saturdays at the bookstore had an early start and were maybe the busiest day, since they opened from 8:30am to 2pm, and the bookstore was full with customers almost at every moment.
Yelena opened the door to the apartment to find it empty, she left her bag on the entry cabinet alongside with her keys and took off her shoes.
The apartment was bigger than her previous one, it had a spacious open kitchen with rustic cabinets and a small coffee station she agreed to have because “Yelena, we must have a place where I can make you coffee in the mornings” was said with puppy pleading eyes and a pout, and she was not going to deny anything to those eyes.
The bedroom was on the second floor, and had an in-suite bathroom just for them. They moved in together seven months ago after Kate spent too much time at Yelena’s place with Lucky almost never wanting to go back to their own place.
She heard the door opening and two pairs of paws stepping on the wooden floor while she was on the bedroom changing from her work clothes to something comfier, a dark green sweatpants Kate had gifted her just because and a hoodie that, according to her girlfriend, brings out the color of her eyes.
Yelena was heading downstairs when she spotted the two dogs, cuddling on their shared bed clearly tired from their walk.
“Hi guys.” Was all Yelena said to their dogs while kissing their heads and petting them, Lucky licked her face while Fanny was too tired to even acknowledge her owner. She laughed and went in search of her girlfriend, who was putting the groceries on the refrigerator.
“Hello Kate Bishop.” Yelena said while hugging her girlfriend from behind and giving a kiss on her shoulder.
“Hi babe, how was work?” Kate was done with the groceries and was now facing Yelena, giving her a quick kiss on the lips while grabbing her by the waist to have her closer, and fully hugging her by the waist.
“Exhausting.” The blonde put her hands around her girlfriend’s neck and nuzzled her face into it, as the same time the taller woman was rubbing her hands on the shorter’s back.
“Do you want to order something to eat and we watch a movie?” Kate suggested, Yelena nodded and gave her a kiss on the neck.
“Oh, I almost forgot!” Yelena was removing herself from Kate’s neck, grabbing her hand in the process. “I got you something.” She said excitedly and walked them over her bag, she let go of Kate's hand to open her bag, and the dark haired was now hugging her from behind.
“What is it?” Asked Kate in a cheerful voice, looking over Yelena’s shoulder to the bag.
“Close your eyes or no present for you.” Yelena said jokingly to her girlfriend who closed her eyes right away. “Good girl, Kate Bishop.” She said teasingly, well knowing the effect she had on her girlfriend, who was now blushing.
“Yelena, stop!” Kate smiled at her now giggling girlfriend. Yelena stepped out of Kate's arms and pressed a kiss to her cheek, extending the book she got for Kate into her direction.
“You can open your eyes.” Kate opened her eyes and looked at the book Yelena was handing her, she laughed when she recognized the book her girlfriend was giving her. “I found it while doing inventory yesterday and forgot to take it.” The blonde explained with a heartwarming smile.
“I love it.” Kate said while grabbing the book and inspecting it. “Thank you.” She said, now looking at Yelena and giving her a kiss that was well received by the blonde. “I love you.” Kate said between the kisses.
“I love you too.” Yelena said it back, smiling and grabbing her girlfriend by the neck to pull her closer.
Yelena could say that having Kate Bishop in her life made every time of the year her favourite.