I thought this one was really cute I'm not gonna lie. I'm kind of a bacon whore myself so consider this chapter a small glimpse into the psyche of the author... /hj

Content warnings: lesbians lesbianing, adulting sucks, depression, medication

Kate peeled her eyes open to sunlight streaming directly on her face, and the archer let out a loud groan, rolling over and pulling a pillow over her head. What kind of psychopath opened her curtains?

"Kate Bishoooooop!" sang a voice from her kitchen, accent heavy and much too cheery for the morning. "I know you're awake, Kate Bishop! Come get your breakfast before I drag you out of bed myself! I am very capable of doing that!"

Kate jolted upright, head spinning as she took a moment to realize who was in her apartment. Right. Fucking Yelena. What time was it?

"What is it you Americans call it, once it's too late to actually have breakfast? Brunch?" Yelena called out, laughing a little to herself. "Very silly."

Kate grumbled unintelligibly under her breath and rubbed at her eyes furiously, desperate to wake herself up a bit more as she headed down to the kitchen. Lucky greeted her by the couch, tongue lolling happily as he gave a little bark before diving back into his bowl of mystery food.

"Did you get... premium dog food?" Kate mumbled out, eyeing her pup as he seemed to inhale the kibble. "I swear, he always refuses non-human stuff unless it's ridiculously expensive."

Yelena's laugh echoed around the kitchen again. "Secret recipe I give to my puppy, Fanny. My daddy says it's good for them."

Kate finally looked up to see the kitchen and stopped, the long legs of her pajama pants pooling around her feet as she came to a halt. Yelena had music playing from Kate's busted stereo, Taylor Swift's voice winding around the blonde as she swayed to the tune with a silver bowl of what looked like pancake batter in her arms. One of Kate's only cooking books was open on the counter, but looked rather untouched.

The assassin spotted Kate and gave her a dimpled grin, winking as she continued to stir the batter. "Good morning, Kate Bishop!" she sang, her voice melting into Taylor's. Kate could only stare, feeling dumbstruck and almost stupid. God, she was tired.

The sunlight slanted through her windows and laid over Yelena in soft lines, making her hair glow golden and her hazel eyes light up with fire. She continued to sing quietly and almost prance around the kitchen, completely unaware of the trance she had put the other girl in.

Kate jolted back when Lucky's cold nose pressed into her palm, and she ducked her head to pet him, face burning. Her mind went to weird places when she was sleep deprived.

Yelena set two plates down on the small table (again with two actual forks) and beckoned Kate to sit a couple minutes later, an easy smile on her lips. Kate had to force herself not to look at her. The plates were full of steaming eggs and bacon and fresh pancakes, and her mouth watered mercilessly.

Fuckin bacon...

Yelena somehow seemed to pull a bottle of hot sauce out of thin air, unceremoniously drenching her food in it with a happy sigh. "I missed hot sauce," she muttered almost dreamily, digging in once the bottle was nearly empty.

Kate blinked, unsurprised, and followed suit. (Sans hot sauce.)

Yelena once again finished before Kate, and she leaned back in her chair to watch the girl. "I cook good, yes?"

Kate just nodded enthusiastically, looking up from under her lashes with a mouth full of bacon. Yelena's breath caught, but she quickly laughed it away, the sound deep in her chest, eyes scrunched tight.

"Aw, Kate Bishop, you are so cute. Just like a puppy."

Kate immediately choked on the food in her mouth, coughing and sputtering as she scrambled to her sink in order to spit out the contents. She massaged at her throat while she struggled to get air down, lungs shrieking as her mind whirled. Cute??

She vaguely heard Yelena cackling from where she still sat at the table, and once Kate could breathe normally again, she turned to give the blonde a solid glare.

"Oh, Kate Bishop!" Yelena gasped, wiping tears from her eyes as she clutched her stomach. "Are you alright?"

Kate softened a bit at the sincerity in her eyes, heart thudding in her chest. "Warn a girl next time, won't you?" she grumbled, turning back to the sink to rinse it out. "My baconnnn," she whined sorrowfully, watching the meat and water go down the drain.

Yelena snickered yet again. "Don't worry, Kate Bishop. I can make you more bacon."

Kate turned her head over her shoulder, pouting at the Russian who smirked at her. They looked at each other for a moment, Yelena cocking an eyebrow at her, but a moment later Kate's face slid into a mask of cold confusion.

"Where did you stay last night?" she said suddenly, genuinely curious, if not a tad bit worried.

"The couch," Yelena replied simply, shrugging as if that was perfectly acceptable.

Kate squinted at her. "The couch... here? My couch?"

"Yes, Kate Bishop. Your couch." Yelena watched her carefully, sensing the archer's shift in mood. "I promised you I would explain in the morning, did I not?"

Kate nodded slowly, eyes darting between the sink and Yelena. She hesitantly made her way back to the table, sitting across from the assassin and hunching into her hoodie.

Yelena let out a thoughtful sigh and grabbed the two plates to set them down on the floor for Lucky, who dived for them eagerly, then leaned back in her seat.

"I was waiting for you to get back so you could fulfill your promise," she said, folding her arms over her chest, if only to keep herself from fiddling with her rings.

Kate opened and closed her mouth a couple of times. "What promise?" she asked slowly, feeling a little behind.

"Why, to get drinks, of course!" Yelena was suddenly cheery as she sat up taller, leaning against the table and towards Kate. "Don't tell me you forgot about that little comment, Kate Bishop?"

Kate squinted in thought and stared at the assassin across from her for a moment, desperately sifting through her memory of the last couple weeks until it clicked. "Ohhhhh!" she nodded, a little skeptic. "I don't- I don't really know if I was being serious."

"Well, I took it seriously, Kate." Yelena smirked and stood, grabbing the dog-licked dishes from the floor and going to put them in the sink.

Kate can feel her face burning, but she ignores it and clears her throat nervously. She didn't need to overthink this. Yelena was a friend, right? Could they call themselves that? They fought and didn't kill each other, and the blonde just made her breakfast after staying the night, for Pete's sake. They were on good terms, clearly. "You don't need to keep doing this, Yelena. I'll take you out to get a drink either way."

The woman stopped, her eyes still on the sink. "Doing what, Kate Bishop?"

"Making meals. Cleaning up. You don't need to do that. I can- I can do it myself." Even as Kate says it, she wishes she hadn't. Of course Yelena's behavior is strange, and her bullshit excuse for being here was half assed (but still really cute), but Kate does appreciate what she's doing. Almost like she knew Kate wouldn't actually make the effort if it was only her.

"I was here in your apartment before you got home, Kate Bishop," Yelena admits, busying herself with rinsing what's in the sink, Lucky sitting at her feet. "You said we would get drinks, so I came to collect. But I was bored, and you were gone much longer than I thought you would be, so I organized some things. Your kitchen appliances, your bathroom, your med box..." She stole a glance over her shoulder. "You need to take those, by the way."

Kate doesn't respond immediately. Instead, she just watches Yelena, watches her do something so mundane and domestic as rinsing the dishes, watches how her dog looks up at the blonde like she's a goddess on Earth, watches the way she seems to sway her hips even when there's no music playing. She hadn't even noticed when Taylor Swift went quiet.

"I guess I should probably be mad that you broke into my house when I was out of town and went through all of my things," she states, mulling over the thoughts speeding through her head.

It's Yelena's turn to be quiet for a moment, but her retort is familiar. "Again with the breaking, Kate Bishop. Nothing is broken."

It's silent, and Kate decides it's too much. She digs out her phone and connects her Bluetooth to the speaker, disconnecting Yelena's in the process. Her playlist of Cavetown and Hosier comes on, and she lets herself relax a little.

Yelena stays strangely mute, not even humming, though she did seem to know the tune as she tapped her foot along. Kate just stares at her for what feels like the millionth time.

"Are you?" Yelena suddenly mutters, trying to sound unbothered.

Kate responds maybe a little too quickly. "Am I what?"

"Are you mad? That I showed up and went through your belongings?"

The archer chews at her lip for a moment. "No."

Yelena just nods, drying her hands off with a towel and moving on. "Back to you saying I didn't need to make you food. Would you have eaten anyway? Would you have taken your medication?" Her gaze is locked onto Kate, the intensity almost burning.

Kate doesn't have an answer. She knows she wouldn't have remembered.

Yelena only shrugs and pulls Kate's medicine box out of thin air, plopping it in front of her. "Take those. I have errands to run, and I will not be back until tomorrow evening. I know you know how to take care of yourself, Kate Bishop. Prove it."

Lucky whines and follows after Yelena as she stalks to the big windows, pushing one open and winking at Kate before falling out of it rather dramatically. The loss is an immediate punch into Kate's heart, who feels a little startled at the abrupt departure.

She and Lucky look at each other, probably thinking the same thing.

"What the fuck?"

They're just like me fr fr yknow? I'm so gooey over them and I love that their behaviors are so confusing to both the readers and to me cuz I have no clue what I'm doing <<<3333

Translations: none

Kate Bishop counter: 12

QOTD: What do you like to eat for breakfast?

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