Meet Her Under the Mistletoe

by ChocolateXMyMouth

Summary:

In the most over the top plan in the history of plans, Cassie Lang and Kamala Khan plot to get Kate Bishop under the mistletoe with her crush, Yelena Belova.

It's surprisingly complicated.

Notes:

• For kittyhazelnut.

MERRY CHRISTMAS BESTIEEEEE I HOPE THIS FIC LIVES UP TO YOUR EXPECTATIONSSSS, I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!! ❤️💚💙

Chapter 1

They’re eating Papa John’s on a rooftop when Kate gets the call.

Cassie and Kamala observe how her face lights up when she pulls her phone out of her pocket, and how her smile somehow glows even brighter when she sees who’s calling her. This can only mean one very special person is on the other end…

“Yes?” She answers in a sing-song voice, which instantly peaks her and Kamala’s interests - the archer reserves that level of jubilance for one contact only. They share a knowing look with each other, right in front of Kate’s face, and she pays them no mind as she continues her call. “Hi, Yelena! How are you doing?”

“Oh my gosh… really?! That’s so exciting!”

“Tell Yelena I say hi!” Kamala calls out from behind a mouthful of pineapple pizza.

Kate nods, still keeping her phone firmly pressed against her ear.

“Is she asking you out?” Cassie whispers.

That earns her a middle finger, which isn’t entirely undeserved, but it’s still hurtful. That’s her emotional support queer archer doing that to her. But, Kamala’s too young to receive the birdie from either of them, so she’ll bear the brunt of it.

“Uh-huh… oh, that’s cool,” Kate says, giggling. “I-I’ll, yeah, I’ll definitely be there! Since you’ll be, heh… yeah. Okay. Well, call me when you fly in! I miss you so much.”

“ Ooooooh ,” Cassie and Kamala say in unison, their breath turning to mist from the cold December air.

Kate waves them both off with a pinched brow, trying to appear angry and doing a horrible job at it; nothing’s concealing her elated expression. She gets so happy whenever Yelena calls her, and it’s honestly adorable. 

“Well, alright then… Thanks for calling me, Yelena.” A tinge of pink coats Kate’s cheeks, deeper than the ever-present rosiness that the winter season brings the archer into. “That’s so sweet of you. I’ll let you get back to doing whatever it is that blonde assassins like you do… Hehe, you too! Bye-bye.”

Kate sighs dreamily as she puts her phone back into her suit’s newest pocket (sewn by Yelena), and goes back to munching on her pizza like nothing happened.

“What did she say?” Kamala asks.

“Yelena’s coming back to New York for Christmas this year,” Kate says excitedly. “Something about an event she wants to go to. And she’s not gonna try and kill Clint again! So that, hopefully, means I’ll have a much more tame holiday.”

“You gonna get her under the mistletoe?” Cassie asks teasingly.

“Stoooop. I hate you.” Kate rebuts, though the sparkle in her eyes says otherwise - both about her true feelings for her friend, and her true feelings for her “friend”. Kate’s crush on Yelena is as well kept a secret as Steve Rogers being on the moon. 

“Okay, I don’t actually, but that’s really bad timing because I actually do have to go.” Kate checks her watch with a groan. “I have a meeting with my mom’s old company members about dissolving assets tomorrow.”

“Much less fun than eating pizza with your besties in your superhero costumes,” Kamala nods. “Well, take care! And let us know how much money you make.”

Kate shakes her head, incredulous. “I’m not giving you insider trading tips, Kam. That’s Yelena’s bestie’s thing, he’s a member of Congress.”

Kamala pouts. “Inshallah, I hope both sides of your pillow are warm.”

“I’m actually offended by that,” Kate laughs.

“How come we didn’t know Yelena’s bestie is a member of Congress?” Cassie asks. “That seems like highly beneficial information.”

“He doesn’t like to advertise it, but if you saw him, you’d know who I mean,” Kate says. “He’s actually throwing a charity event in the Javits Center. It’s why Yelena is coming back for Christmas.”

“Aww, how supportive of her,” Cassie coos.

With final humorous exchanges, a hug for Kamala, and a kiss on the cheek for Cassie, Kate makes her grand exit from the impromptu pizza party with a full box for herself (and Lucky), and heads down the fire escape ladder with a precarious arrow rope. She’s the most skilled to ever do it, truly.

Kamala goes back to eating her pizza like nothing happened, pulling out her phone to scroll through TikTok. Gen Z. “This was fun! We need to keep doing it.”

“We need to get those two together,” Cassie says. 

Kamala stops everything. “Am I smelling… shipper?”

“Dude, have you seen how heart-eyed Kate gets whenever Yelena texts her?” Cassie asks. “Never mind that call. I thought she was gonna melt into her phone… She only looks at her dog and her tap shoes like that.”

That makes Kamala snort. “Okay, yes, absolutely.” She takes a napkin and wipes the corner of her lip, pointing her finger at nothing. “Any ideas?”

“Well, Christmas mistletoe traps are a must,” the junior shrinking hero posits. “Can you maybe do an Embiggen over them, or…?” Kamala shakes her head, dulling Cassie’s spirits. “No go? Damn.”

“Sorry, Cass, but that would be about the most obvious thing ever,” Kamala mutters. “The point is to catch them in a trap. We could definitely catch Kate, but we’d be screwed trying to catch a literal Black Widow.”

“Yeah…” Cassie hums, repositioning herself on the roof to think better. “Ugh. Maybe Kate should’ve given you those insider trading tips. Could've, like, gone and manipulated the mistletoe stock and made it more valuable so it’s an honor to kiss underneath it.”

Kamala throws her head back in laughter. “Oh, Cassandra Lang, never change.”

Cassie takes a faux bow. “My girlfriend tells me that all the time.”

“Well, I don’t know if Bucky would be up for manipulating that stock,” Kamala mutters, looking down at her thumbs. “He strikes me as a humbug.”

Cassie pauses in her hand’s pursuit of her Sprite. 

“I’m sorry, did you just say Bucky? Like, the Bucky? Bucky Barnes?” she asks.

Kamala nods, like that isn’t a mind blowing confirmation. “I pay attention.”

When Cassie’s expression informs her that isn’t a good enough answer, Kamala continues, “Yelena and Bucky are total besties. She’s been seen accompanying him to charity galas they make him attend, she’s one of, like, three people who can actually make him laugh, and I could honestly see them being a power couple if Yelena wasn’t so explicitly fruity… and honestly, Bucky too. If Steve wasn’t on the moon, they’d one hundred percent be a power couple, too.”

Cassie shakes her head with a chuckle. “I have learned far too many terms from you.”

“You don’t know what ‘power couple’ means?” Kamala asks.

“No, I know what a power couple is,” Cassie says, tapping her chin. “However… all that you’ve just said gave me an idea.”

Kamala raises her brows inquisitively. “Go on…”

“How far does your reach go with getting contacts of Avengers?”

“I have at least five more favors from Nick Fury from the Dar Benn conflict.”

Cassie smirks. “Let’s put them to good use.”

“I’m all ears,” Kamala says, abandoning her pizza crust so she can scoot closer to Cassie. “What do I need to call in?”

“Well, Kate just said Yelena’s bestie - whom I am deeply disturbed I did not know was the Bucky Barnes,” she says indignantly, earning a shy chuckle from the younger girl, “is holding a big party in the Javits Center - have you ever been, actually?”

Kamala shakes her head. “I’ve always wanted to go to New York Comic Con, but I think I’d have to call in a favor from Fury to make it happen.” Cassie nods sympathetically - it’s also one of her bucket list items to make it there someday. “Embiggening doesn’t pay the bills. But, go on!”

“Okay, so,” Cassie says, “what if… we ask Bucky to put up mistletoe absolutely everywhere in the convention center? So that way, they’re bound to get caught under at least one!”

“That is… surprisingly digestible,” Kamala says. “I think we can make that happen!”

“Excellent!” Cassie exclaims, clapping her hands excitedly. “Now… do we contact Fury to relay the message to Bucky, or…?”

But Kamala shakes her head at that notion. “You want something done right? You gotta do it yourself.”

Chapter 2

Years of being on both sides of some of the greatest morality conflicts the world has ever seen have desensitized him to surprises.

However, when his personal valet (Stevie, a very nice and terrifying brunette) suddenly slammed on the brakes and nearly sent him flying into the passenger seat, he can safely say: he was surprised.

“Checkpoint One, confirm: unauthorized presence in Eagle’s Nest?” she says, pressing onto her earpiece.

“W-What’s going on?” Bucky asks.

“Charlie just told me we’ve got an unidentified presence in your home,” Stevie tells him. “I knew he was going to fall asleep on shift… You really should consider replacing him.”

Bucky sighs, leaning back into his seat.

It wasn’t exactly an honor when President Ross assigned him a personal Secret Service detail after the recall election that elevated him to the lower chamber. Though it was all smiles for the camera when he first arrived at the White House for the new President to welcome him to Congress, he’s convinced the man created all the fanfare just to fuck with him further - no more privacy, his most valued possession in this new life he tried to lead.

Ross never got to imprison him during the Sokovia Accords days; but now, he could get his kicks by making him a political prisoner in his own home. Several other Congressmen and women have been the targets of assassination attempts ever since the Blip, and yet, he was the one who “needed” the extra protection.

Now, however, they might actually be necessary. Beyond the Sudoku games and occasional invitation inside for a movie…

“Mhmm?” Stevie continues. “Oh… Okay.”

“Everything good? Bucky asks.

“Mhmm,” Stevie nods, heading back up the street. “You have a visitor. He apparently decided to drop by unannounced.”

Bucky raises a brow. “Anyone I should be concerned about?”

“I don’t know,” she shrugs, answering honestly. “I’ve never met the guy before.”

That intrigues him.

~0~

This was definitely not what he expected…

Nick Fury is standing in the walkway of his home entrance, sipping a strawberry milkshake from McDonald’s.

“Fury?” Bucky asks. “What are… H-How’d you get here?”

“You’re asking me this? In the year of our Lord 2026?” Fury asks, raising his brow. Bucky scoffs, realizing the inherent ignorance of that question. “I’m here to relay a message.”

“For what?” Bucky asks hastily, feeling his adrenaline begin to spike. “Is there trouble?”

“No, no trouble. But I’m just the intermediary,” he says, casually walking past Bucky and giving him a pat on the shoulder. “Merry Christmas, Congressman Barnes - if you celebrate.”

“Intermediary?” he asks, incredulous. “W-What do you mean?”

“Ask the girls who set up HBO on your TV!” Fury calls out, chuckling. “Damn, you super soldiers are technologically inept!”

Bucky pinches his brow in confusion as Fury waltzes off his property, strolling past the Secret Service. It’s not even as surprising as it is… odd.

Then, he hears giggles coming from his living room.

That’s odd too.

A few strides forward, and he finally sees the source of the laughter: two teenagers. On his couch. Watching The Batman.

“He’s so cute,” Cassie mutters, as Pattinson’s scarred back is shown off. Bucky would agree with her, if he wasn’t so flabbergasted by the fact that there’s two complete strangers in his living room. “He was the last boy I had a crush on before I realized I like girls.”

Bucky clears his throat loudly, and the two of them jump.

Did they not hear his exchange with Fury, like, five seconds ago? Attention spans these days…

“Oh. My. Gosh.” Kamala mutters. “H-Hi, M-Mr. Barnes! Or, or is it, Congressman Barnes now?”

“Uhm… Bucky’s fine, I guess,” he mutters.

Kamala grabs Cassie’s arm. “We’re literally on a first name basis with Bucky Barnes. Can you believe this?! My life is so freaking cool.”

“Yeah, uhm, you would be… if I knew your names,” he mutters, gesturing to the two of them. “Mind explaining that? How did you get inside, too - I have Secret Service protection, h-how’d you slip by?”

“Well, Kamala got a direct ticket in through Director Fury,” Cassie says. “I stayed in her pocket.”

Bucky raises a brow.

“My dad and step-mom are Ant-Man and the Wasp,” she finally, directly, explains. “I’ve got a shrinking suit like them!”

That eases Bucky a little bit - at least one of them is somewhat familiar. “Lang and van Dyne?” Cassie nods eagerly. “I know your dad, yeah. You must be Cassie.”

“Oh my god, we are on a first name basis now,” Cassie mutters, vibrating with excitement.

“A-And I’m Kamala Khan!” the younger girl says, waving. “I can do cool things with this bangle.” She proudly shows it off, wondering if Bucky would find a kinship with her because of his vibranium arm. A girl can dream.

However, he still looks just as confused as when he arrived. “That still doesn’t explain why you’re here.”

“Oh, r-right,” Cassie begins, clearing her throat. “We’re here to, uhm, a-ask a favor, Mr. Barnes.”

Bucky cuts her off with the most genuine laugh she’s heard in weeks. It’s both gratifying and a little offensive.

“Y-You two break into my house, with Nick Fury’s help, and it’s to ask me… for a favor?” he says, incredulous. “Girls, if you want me to support a bill, just call my office. I have the best response track record in Congress.”

“It’s… not for a bill,” Cassie says. “It’s for our friend. Kate Bishop.”

Bucky raises a brow. “You two are friends with her?”

“Yes!” Kamala nods. “Are you?”

“I’ve heard about her many times, in passing,” he shrugs, and that activates the fangirl neurons in both of their brains: Yelena talks to Bucky about Kate! She obviously has a crush, and now they have ‘concrete’ evidence. “Why?”

“We wanna get her and her crush together at Christmas!” Cassie says happily.

Bucky, however, remains confused.

“Look, basically, all we want is for you to put up mistletoe everywhere you can in the Javits Center,” Cassie says. “It statistically increases the chances of catching Kate and Yelena underneath it and finally getting them to kiss and admit their feelings for each other.”

Bucky blinks a few times. “You… you broke into-”

“Politely entered with Nick Fury’s permission.” Kamala smirks, feeling extremely validated when Bucky gives a tiny sigh of concession to her point.

“You… come into my house, just to ask for mistletoe at the Christmas party?” he finally finishes, to which both girls nod. “Well… o-okay.”

The two girls cheer in excitement, finally getting off his couch and relieving the old man - unfortunately, it’s to run up and give Bucky a massive hug, so the relief is very short lived.

It’s kind of nice, though. None of his constituents run up to him and hug him like this…

Even still, he quickly wriggles in their grasp, which seems to do the trick of shaking them off. “I’ll put in a word for mistletoe to be hung up.” That gets him a series of giggles and claps of excitement, which is the closest he’s getting to a proper thank you.

“Thank you, sir!” Kamala says. “This means so much to us. Kate and Yelena really need to get their heads out of their asses and kiss and be girlfriends.”

Bucky doesn’t respond verbally, but his small smile tells the two that he is officially on board with their operation. It’s all the validation they need, and really, the only thing they needed from “breaking into” his home. That should mean they can make their exit soon.

Until, that is…

Meow!

Cassie and Kamala’s eyes light up, and their heads instantly turn to where the sound of a cat can be heard upstairs.

“Do you have a cat?!” Cassie asks excitedly.

Bucky sighs. So close to freedom. “Yes…”

“Can we pet them?!” Kamala asks, somehow even more excited.

“My stepmom and grandpa are allergic, they won’t let us get a cat,” Cassie adds, trying to garner sympathy. She’s convinced Grandpa Hank just doesn’t like cats, because he would do anything for her and she knows it.

Bucky sighs dramatically “Will you all leave if I let you pet her?” he asks.

Both of the girls put their hands on their hearts and nod excitedly.

“Good deal,” Bucky nods. Easier than he thought it was going to be - even though he knows damn well he’d never have the courage to ask his Secret Service detail to throw them out. They’re here for their friend, and that’s admirable. Even if they broke in to get their message across instead of calling his office. “Alpine! C’mere!”

A soft series of thumps are heard descending the nearby stairwell, and the sounds of a little girl trotting their way suddenly reveals the fluffiest cloud that either of them have ever seen in their entire life.

“She’s SO CUTE!” Kamala squeals, getting down on her knees to receive the love from this creature. “Bitty bitty baby!”

“Meow,” Alpine croaks. Very opinionated of her.

Bucky, of course, smiles at the sight of his cat. He still questions why these two are going to all this trouble just to get mistletoe put up, when he was already planning on doing so. However, it’s for a cause he can get behind; Kate and Yelena do belong together.

So for the moment, he just joins them in giving his baby some well deserved belly rubs.

(Even though it’s pleasant, they will still be kicked out momentarily.)

~0~

“Well, that just happened,” Kamala jokes, making sure that statement sounds as cliche as possible, because it is.

Even still, they just broke into a sitting Congressman’s house to ask for extra mistletoe to be placed up at a Christmas party. It’s worthy of cliche expressions - how else would they describe the events that just took place?

“I think the Secret Service escorting us to the end of the street was a bit overkill,” Cassie mutters. “I mean, it should’ve been clear we had good intentions if we managed to actually get in his house, and the worst we did was set up HBO.”

Kamala clicks her tongue. “The damage of bolstered screens is detrimental to our leaders.”

She seems happy.

Cassie, however, still seems dissatisfied, even after the whole plan went about as well as it could have.

“Something on your mind?” the younger girl asks.

“I don’t know if Bucky will listen,” she muses. “I mean, sure, it wouldn’t cost more than a couple minutes of his time for extra mistletoe - unless he pays directly for them, and I do not know how expensive they are - but I… I just don’t know if he’s gonna take us seriously.”

“Well, we did break into his home,” Kamala admits through sucked teeth. “Would you listen to someone if they did that?”

“Maybe,” Cassie shrugs. “My dad is an ex-burglar. Most of my pseudo-uncles are ex-burglars… Grandma and Grandpa technically are ex-burglars, they just targeted Soviets instead of rich people.”

Kamala nods - that is a good point.

“But Bucky isn’t a member of the Ant-Fam.” Cassie pauses in her stride, putting her hands on her hips. “And… what was it you said, when we first formed this plan?”

“I yap a lot, get specific,” Kamala instructs her, with a small smirk at the giggle she elicited.

“You want something done right, you have to do it yourself,” Cassie paraphrases.

Kamala tilts her head for a second, before realization hits her like the dump truck that was Ross winning in an electoral landslide last year.

“Girl.”

“I’ve done time for far less tame things than breaking into a convention center and placing mistletoe,” Cassie shrugs, giggling as she makes her way back to where she parked her car.

Kamala stands on the street corner, incredulous as she runs to catch up with her friend - now far ahead of her. “B-But I haven’t!!”

Chapter 3

“This is officially the longest playdate ever, Peanut,” Scott says on the other end of the line. “Are you sure you’re not getting into any trouble?”

“You can check my criminal record, daddy,” Cassie giggles, though her heart does ache a bit at Scott’s disappointed groan on the other end of the line. She wishes he was more sympathetic to her one-woman campaign to end injustice, but, at the same time, girls her age should be worrying about prom and grades, not getting bailed out of the local county slammer. “I haven’t done anything but chill with Kamala since I got here.”

“What, the Veep?” Scott jokes, easing her a bit. So he’s not completely anxiety ridden, that’s good. “You let your daughter go to New York once, and all of a sudden, she’s soooo high society!”

Cassie giggles. “You’re so silly, daddy. I love it. I’ll be home this Thursday, promise.”

“Okay, Peanut,” Scott concedes. “But you better be at the Sanctum by lunchtime to come home.”

“Lunchtime there, or lunchtime in-”

“We expect you back for brunch.”

That should sound threatening, but it actually gives her more time in New York. Time zones are weird, man. “Alright, I’ll be there,” Cassie says, and she intends to keep that promise. “Love you, dad.”

“Love you too, Peanut.”

As soon as she hangs up, Cassie turns back to the opened window in the Javits Center skylight. Technically speaking, it’s not breaking and entering if all she does is enter a window that was already open, right?

“I cannot believe you’re doing this,” Kamala mutters, handing her the shrunken box of mistletoe. “Bucky’s gonna come through!”

“Maybe he will,” Cassie rebuts, “but I firmly believe that we will be saving ourselves a lot of anxiety if we put up some of our own! Don’t you think so?”

Kamala shrugs. “It’s you that’s going to jail if you get caught. I’m five cities away at this point.”

Cassie can’t help but chuckle. “The Young Avengers: friends forever.”

“Oh, I’ll call you, don’t worry,” Kamala nods. “We can discuss all the hot gossip in your cell block.”

Cassie shakes her head, incredulous. “I can’t with you.”

She ties the elongated sweatpant waistband around her waist, stuffing the mistletoe in her pocket along with her other shrunken equipment for this most daring mission. She knows the risks, and is ready to face them head on: it’s worth it so Kate will be forced to pull her head out of her ass and kiss Yelena.

…god, she’s too good of a friend to have a Venmo account as dry as it is.

“Alright, going in,” Cassie says, tapping the side of her head to close her helmet, then tapping the button on the side of her glove to shrink down.

Kamala grabs the end of the stretchy waistband string, slowly letting the length slide out between her fingertips as she lowers Cassie further and further into the convention center. She keeps mumbling to herself about how ridiculous of an idea this is, but she’s still here, partaking in the mission, so she really can’t say much.

“Alright, I’m on the ground,” Cassie says into her earbud.

“Roger,” Kamala confirms. “Tell me when you’re ready to come back up.”

“Will do.” Cassie’s comm beeps offline - then immediately beeps back online. “And don’t call me Roger!”

It’s said with sarcasm, and it makes Kamala chuckle, but she still muses to herself, “I need new friends.”

~0~

Cassie is so proud of herself.

For one, she picked out the best disguise possible: an LA Dodgers cap and a black cloth mask. Literally no one will know it’s her, even if they were to check the security footage! It’s literally impossible! This is the perfect disguise!

Second, she found a bulk order box of cheap mistletoe on Amazon, which went nicely with the string she had left over from recent crafts projects.

Something about things happening in the Javits Center and things working out for people in there… It's absolutely incredible.

“Sixty-nine bottles of Sprite Cranberry on the wall… sixty-nine bottles of Sprite Cranberry on the wall…” Cassie sings under her breath, gigging, and tying another string around another sprig of mistletoe. Then, she reverse-shrinks - aka, grows - up to enough height to secure the mistletoe around a light fixture.

“Take one down, pass it around, want a Sprite Cranberry-wait, fuck, that’s not how it goes.” Cassie grumbles, shrinking back to normal human size to retrieve her box. She only has a few more left to place before she can be satisfied with her work, whether Bucky comes through or not…

Then, she hears footsteps.

Her breath catches in her throat as her neck whips around, seeing the all-too haunting wave of a flashlight ascending the escalators from where they stick celebrities to autograph stuff. She went down there earlier and there was literally no one! What the hell!

There were also leftover signs from where people had signed shit, which made her insanely jealous of those who were lucky enough to attend this year. She wants an autograph from some of those people… Maybe that’s an idea for a girl’s trip later.

Right now, however, her freedom could be on the line. Then she would definitely not be able to attend Comic Con.

She quickly shrinks down and leaps into the box of mistletoe sprigs, hiding underneath one of the ones she hadn’t put up yet.

The security guard walks up to the box, and she hears the woman mutter something in confusion as she examines its contents.

“Hey Joe,” she says into her walkie-talkie, “did the Congressman already send for that bulk mistletoe order? Got a box of the things right here, and I’ve been seeing some on my rounds.”

Cassie’s heart flutters.

Bucky was… going to actually come through? For them?

Wow.

She feels like an asshole right now.

“Uhh not sure, think it’s coming tomorrow?” the man on the other end of the line responds. “He’s having it all installed first, though. Special request apparently.”

“Gotcha,” she says. “Well, I’ll leave it here. Don’t wanna mess with anyone’s stuff if they are working.”

She hears the footsteps of the guard walk away, and when they head far enough away, she comes back out of the box - still shrunken, of course. It isn’t until she’s heard nothing but the ringing of her own ears and her breath bouncing off her mask’s fabric that she decides her work has probably been concluded for her.

Cassie pulls out her phone, dialing Kamala’s number and lowering the volume to where she can just barely hear her.

Thankfully, the younger girl picks up after the first ring. “Cassie, what's up?” Kamala asks. “You didn’t get caught did you?”

“No, but guess what?” she groans. “You were right. I just overheard a security guard talking about Bucky ordering mistletoe in bulk.”

Silence.

Then, the loudest “HA!” she's ever heard comes over the phone, even with how low she has her volume. “I told you so! Ye have little faith, o’ Stature!”

“Can you blame me?” Cassie whisper-screams. “He’s a politician.”

“And an Avenger emeritus.”

“Did he ever actually, like, officially join them?”

“I’m pretty sure Captain America said something like that at a press conference recently,” Kamala says. “Though I’ve been mostly following that for the, y’know, big ass island in the Indian Ocean. I can’t stop doom scrolling about it, girl.”

“You can doom scroll later, just get me out of here please,” Cassie asks. “And you’re the literal best for going along with this.”

“The things I do for my friends,” Kamala sighs dreamily. “Lowering the sweatpants string now.”

Cassie shrinks back down where she’s at - funnily enough, it’s exactly where she was first lowered in - and waits for a few anxious moments for Kamala to lower the elongated string.

As she waits, however, she can’t help but giggle in delight. Bucky’s actually gonna follow through! After they broke into his house to petition him! And it’s all about mistletoe, for crying out loud - his actual constituents must be thriving if he’ll listen to their outlandish demands.

Maybe, just maybe, this lone act of kindness can restore her faith in the American political system.

Kinda.

Sort of.

…Not really, honestly.

But it’s a nice thought.

Chapter 4

~0~

A month later

Flights to NYC on Christmas are not cheap whatsoever, much less if you want a decent seat.

Thankfully, when one of your little trio has another favor from Nick Fury to call in, a connecting flight from New Jersey, to California to pick up the third member of said trio, then back to NYC for the culmination of your plans known to only two of you, is surprisingly easy to come by!

Oy vey, they’re becoming too high class…

Cassie receives a few texts the second she gets out of airplane mode - first, her dad and Rileigh need to know she landed safe, but the second one she answers is from Kamala, who is currently sitting on one of the sofas opposite her.

Ms.Marvel❤️💙 Dude This is the most convoluted plot ever Why didn’t we just like Idk Buy some mcdonadls Mcdonalds* And tell them to kiss over a sprite

Cassie shakes her head with a chuckle, tapping away at her screen to reply.

Buggie💜 It’s worth it for the Mom Lore Assuming I adopt or IVF someday Or dad decides he and Hope want another kid, then Sister Lore?

Ms.Marvel❤️💙 I’ve got too much of that crap already, dude Aamir is sick of me and my superhero stories

Cassie shakes her head with a chuckle. Aamir is secretly her favorite Khan for his antics.

When they’re free to grab their bags and make their way out to LaGuardia, Cassie goes over to where Kate fell asleep and taps her on the shoulder with a smile. She has no idea she won’t be single anymore by the end of the night…

Hopefully.

And that sounds like a threat.

“Hey,” Cassie whispers, gently nudging Kate’s shoulder as the archer’s eyes flutter open. “Wake up, sleepyhead. Time to go to the hotel and get ready.”

“Mmph,” Kate grumbles, waving her off. “Five more minutes…”

“Yelena’s gonna be waiting for you at the party, right?”

Almost immediately, Kate jumps up with her typical spryness, grabbing her purple suitcase and heading for the plane door. “C’mon guys! We’ve got a party to get ready for!” The other two girls chuckle underneath their breaths at the sight - the poor girl probably thinks she’s still secretive with it.

Cassie and Kamala, of course, take their sweet time getting off the plane to gossip with each other - it’s all for Kate’s benefit, so they don’t feel too guilty about it.

“You think this’ll work?” Kamala asks, throwing on her thickest coat - it was the only way her mom would let her take this trip, if she brought it (and also got Life360, finally). “It’s still not guaranteed we can get them under the mistletoe.”

“Well, if Bucky did his job right,” Cassie says, a little sass in her tone towards the man who couldn’t care less, “there should be no place where they aren’t planted where they won’t be caught, forced to kiss, get married, and live a happily ever after.”

Kamala shakes her head. “Can’t believe they won’t just confess. It would make our lives so much easier.”

“But would it make them any more fun?” Cassie asks. “You gotta admit, we’ve gathered a lot of lore from this trip alone.”

“Touche!” Kamala admits.

Coats and scarves around their bodies, the two head out into the frigid December air to meet up with Kate and get ready for tonight’s big celebration - that will hopefully end with their friend no longer in the ‘hopeless romantic’ category of life.

Actually, she always will be.

But hopefully, after tonight, she will be hopelessly romantic - but with a girlfriend to indulge her!

~0~

It’s finally time.

After a month of meticulously crafted planning, plotting, scheming, and a little bit of tomfoolery in between it all (actually, most of what they have done consisted of tomfoolery), Cassie and Kamala’s master plan is about to come to fruition.

Assuming Yelena shows up for this event, that is.

She should.

Most likely.

Kate was the only one who went all out on the outfit - Gucci heels, sequined purple dress, and a pink scarf that tied the whole look together. Probably because she knows, somewhere deep down, that tonight will be a night she wants to look her best for someone special… And also, she just likes purple tones. Kate wears purple better than anyone else on the planet.

Cassie and Kamala, proudly, wore products endorsed by the brand they trusted most: their mothers, and the hand-me-downs that she provides.

However, they’re truly only here on “official” business: ensuring a kiss between Kate and Yelena.

The Uber stops in front of the Javits Center, snow crunching under its tires as the driver parks the car. All three of them thank him - Abu, Kamala caught his name - and step out in front of the Mecca for nerds.

“Oh. My. Gosh.” Kamala mutters. “It’s even prettier in person…”

“Rockefeller Center who?” Cassie says. Truth be told, that’s an exaggeration - the big tree and ice skating rink can’t be beat. But for herself and her fellow nerds, there’s no place like the Javits.

“Actually, I much prefer this place,” Kate chuckles, wiping some snow out of her hair. “No Tracksuit Mafia trying to kill me and my mentor, no Kingpin… yeah, this is nicer.”

“Maybe he’s here though,” Kamala shrugs. “Would be good PR for his mayoral campaign.”

“Ugh, don’t even,” the archer mutters.

Walking into the Javits Center, the two trail behind Kate for a moment to marvel at the work done to pretty up an already very pretty place. Kate’s heels click-clack away from them on the linoleum flooring that they hear for all of two seconds over the thousands of other sounds that dominate and bounce off the walls…

It’s worthy of a ‘wow’.

They both give it one.

“Wow,” Cassie says.

“Wow,” Kamala says.

Told you.

“I mean… visiting this place at Comic-Con would be nice, but, I-I don’t know if it can top this.” The younger girl can’t stop spinning in place, marveling at the Christmas decorations that line the walls and hang from the ceiling. She doesn’t even celebrate Christmas, but this capitalistic holiday vibe just can’t be beat.

“Yeah,” Cassie mutters, already in the process of sending close to one hundred pictures of the place to the Ant-Fam group chat. “This is freaking nice.”

“And,” Kamala says, cheekily pointing around, “notice anything special about the roof?”

Cassie looks up, darting her eyes around for ten seconds straight. “The… colored lights’ reflections in the skylight?”

Kamala scoffs. “Okay, that’s pretty, but look a little further down.”

Cassie does just that, and when her eyes finally catch a glimpse of one, all the rest seem to appear out of nowhere like magic. She gasps softly, feeling a warmth in her heart that almost makes her coat unnecessary to keep her warm.

She doesn’t recognize at least half of those sprigs.

They look… quality.

He kept his promise.

“Hey, check it out,” Cassie mutters, tapping Kamala on the shoulder. “It’s our mistletoe.”

“A politician getting something done,” Kamala shakes her head, a proud smile on her face as she keeps finding more and more strung up - they really are everywhere. In the main hall, over the escalators that lead down to where all the good shit gets placed; there was even one above one of the doors. They thankfully didn’t enter through that one. “I never thought I’d live to see the day.”

“I feel like I deserve some of that credit,” Cassie shrugs, “but, y’know, no one’s keeping score here…”

“Pfft, I am,” Kamala snickers. “You and the politician are currently tied.”

“If you’re gonna call me that, like to think I don’t fit into the traditional mold of one, at least.”

Cassie and Kamala turn around at the sound of a familiar voice behind them, and there stands Bucky, decked out in his Congressman deluxe for the holidays - even his tie is Christmas themed, deep green with red stripes. It looks good on him.

“Hi, Congressman!” Kamala waves excitedly.

“Please, Bucky’s fine,” Bucky insists. “That’s too grandiose for my tastes.”

“Thanks for the mistletoe,” Cassie says earnestly, reaching out to shake his hand - since she’s left handed, he returns with his cybernetic arm, which feels so freaking cool. She’s never washing this hand again. “I mean it. That’s so nice of you to do this.”

“Eh, I had a two-hundred thousand budget,” Bucky shrugs. “It only bit into the one-fifty I gave back to charity by a little bit.”

Kamala’s eyes widen at those figures. “Christmas is expensive.”

“No, the Fed just likes throwing money away,” Bucky says, chuckling softly, then turning to the reader and declaring: “For legal reasons, this is a joke.”

His tone then softens as his eyes shift back towards the girls in front of him, then over to the podium where he’s due to give a speech. “I better head off. But I hope your girl gets her Christmas wish; so many of us don’t get a happy ending like that, and they both deserve it.”

Cassie’s heart breaks when she sees his tiny smile falter.

So, she does the only logical thing to thank him.

She leaps forward and hugs him as tight as her skinny arms can get around him.

“Merry Christmas, Bucky,” she says into his shoulder. “Thanks for being awesome.”

Of course, not to be outdone in the hugging department, Kamala also launches forward and gives Bucky a massive hug. If she could, she would Embiggen right then and there to make the hug even tighter and more awesome, but sadly, she is not here on Ms. Marvel business.

“You’re my favorite politician,” Kamala adds. “You’re only one of two on the list, but I still put you at the top.”

Bucky chuckles, giving them both a pat on the back. He doesn’t immediately wiggle his way out of the hug, because the effort is very much appreciated - but he doesn’t much care for contact anymore, and when he signals that he’s over it, they both respect his boundaries and shimmy off. That makes him even happier.

“I have to know,” he says, turning on his heel to head up to the makeshift platform that con-goers would normally eat on the floor from, “who is your favorite politician?”

“Leslie Knope!” Kamala answers proudly.

Bucky shakes his head, laughing underneath his breath. “Good answer.”

He waves goodbye to the two girls and heads up the stairs to give his speech, probably unintentionally crossing paths underneath his own - or Cassie’s - mistletoe along the way. It doesn’t worry either of them that he doesn’t magically kiss someone, though - there’s only one couple they actually want to see underneath those holiday plants.

“Ahh, I’d commit voter fraud to ensure his reelection,” Kamala sighs happily.

“Yeah,” Cassie agrees. “Well, back to priority number one… Wait.” Her head whips around, and suddenly, she realizes how little she thought this through. “Shiiiit. Where’s Kate?”

“Oh, no,” Kamala mutters. “Hang on…”

She pulls out her phone, ready to text her friend, but the worst possible image greets her: zero bars of signal, and no data. “Bro. If it’s like this at a random Christmas celebration, I’d hate to imagine what it's like with thousands of freaking nerds.”

Cassie snickers briefly, but her heart rate keeps her laser focused on looking around the room, trying to find Kate. This plan can’t all be for nothing; they’ve spent too much brain power coming up with every single step of this drastically overcomplicated plan to get Kate and Yelena to kiss.

“Shiiiiiiit,” Cassie mutters again. “Where could they be?”

“Wanna check the snack bar?” Kamala suggests.

Cassie raises a brow.

“Hey, I haven’t eaten since before we took off!” she defends herself with a giggle. “Plus, what if they’re there?”

“Then I’ll buy you McDonalds tonight,” Cassie offers, extending her arm for Kamala to link herself into. “Onwards!”

~0~

“Mmmm… yes, this event was worth it for the macaroni alone.”

“He even got your hot sauce!” Kate points out. “Bucky really is your bestie, huh?”

Yelena chuckles, dabbing her napkin at the corner of her mouth as she readjusts herself on the floor, smoothing out her green skirt and smirking, watching Kate’s gaze falter and a rosy tint cloud her cheeks. “Well, he might be my bestie, but I do not know about ‘best friend’. Two different terms, usually occupied by the same people…”

“Oh,” Kate says, tilting her head in confusion. “Your sister?”

Yelena shakes her head. “Family. Different world, separate from not-family.”

“Then who?” the archer presses, unsure of who this mysterious person Yelena considers to be so special could be. Whoever they are, they better be worthy of her.

The blonde huffs. “You, dummy.”

Kate’s cheeks heat up even more. “O-Oh! W-Well, uhm…” she scratches the back of her neck in surprise, genuinely taken aback by the affront sweetness of the assassin. “T-Thank you, Yelena. I… I happen to think of you as my… m-my best friend too.”

Yelena giggles. “Very sweet of you, Kate Bishop. You are an incredibly sweet person.”

She scoots a little closer on the floor, now sitting more perpendicular to the archer than parallel. Kate giggles nervously, very much enjoying the closing gap between them but unsure of how to handle it. This is uncharted territory for her - for women in general, and for her friendship with Yelena.

And, of course, it wouldn’t be a Kate Bishop moment without it getting interrupted by people she loves dearly but would really like to not be here right now.

“Oh my gosh! Kate, is this Yelena?” Kamala asks, vibrating with excitement.

Kate blushes for a different reason now. “Y-Yes. Kamala Khan, Cassie Lang, this is Yelena Belova. Yelena, this is Cassie and Kamala, my partners in the Young Avengers initiative.”

“Lovely to meet you both,” Yelena says, outstretching her hand to shake both of theirs. “You knew my name?”

“Of course,” Kamala says. “Kate talks about you all the time.”

Kate grunts with pursed lips, as her cheeks heat up enough to room the whole convention center for free, while Yelena’s expression turns cool and intrigued at Kamala’s spilled tea.

“Does she now?” the blonde chuckles. “All good things, I would hope; it would not be kind of you to talk negatively behind my back, Kate Bishop.”

“Oh yeah, it’s all so good,” Cassie nods fervently.

And then, the junior shrinking hero looks up, not-so-subtly tapping Kamala on the shoulder and directing her to do the same. As soon as she notices, the younger girl takes the reins.

“W-Well, uhm-hey, is that a sugar cookie bar?” Kamala says.

“What? Sugar cookies?” Kate asks, turning her head to wherever Kamala is pointing.

“Cass and I can get some for you two, you two just stay here!” Kamala persists. “A-And wow, that moon is bright tonight! You two should take a look! Okay, bye-bye for the moment now!”

The two girls then run off hand-in-hand, giggling like maniacs and weirding the archer out. They were acting weird that entire time; there’s not even a sugar cookie bar where they’re running off to. And what could they have meant by-

…Oh.

“Ah,” Yelena mutters, looking up. “That’s… That is what I think it is, da?”

Kate licks her lips, feeling super dehydrated all of a sudden. “Y-Yep.”

Yelena, however, looks as calm and confident as ever - even though Kate can see a small blush creeping onto her cheeks. The assassin slowly scoots closer to her, elevating her heart rate by about ten million. Is this really happening? Did she really get so lucky…? Just a year ago, she was trying to kill her. Now, she… Oh, gosh.

She’s going to kiss her.

Yelena Belova is going to kiss her.

“You’re the best present I ever could’ve asked for,” Yelena whispers. Through the crowd around them, all other voices silence, and it’s like they’re the only two people there tonight: this whole event, reserved just for them, and their moment. “Thank you for not hating me, even after I tried to kill you.”

“Oh, so you admit you were trying to kill me?” Kate finds the strength to tease her, which brings out that low, rumbling laughter that she loves oh, so much. “Well, I… I’m glad we both kinda failed at our jobs.”

“Me too,” Yelena mutters. Her gloved hand tips up her chin to her level, and she’s getting so much closer than any friends would reasonably allow. This is really happening. She’s actually going to do it. “Merry Christmas, Kate Bishop.”

Kate melts in her hold, letting out a giggle from the depths of her pure soul. “Merry Christmas, Yelena Belova.”

Their lips meet as thunderous applause echoes behind them - truly, it’s for some funding Bucky just proposed, but they have no way of knowing. The fireworks going off between them and between their contact is rapturously fierce; a clash of tastes and desire that have been brewing since the moment they first met on that rooftop, one fateful night just over a year ago.

Kate tastes like blueberries and Sprite. Yelena tastes like seltzer, spice, and honey. It’s not exactly what either of them pictured for their first kiss, having dreamt about it a combined googolplex of times, but it’s the most rewarding thing they’ve ever experienced. Better than any academic achievement. Better than any accomplished contract. Better than…

Anything.

When they separate for air, exchanging breath in a contact even more intimate than the kiss they had separately dreamt about, their eyes flutter open. They smile at each other, and Yelena lets out an unexpected giggle.

“You’re a very good kisser,” she observes, still so close to Kate’s mouth, like she can still taste her. “Have you… had a lot of practice?”

“Would you believe me if I told you you’re my first?” Kate offers her.

Yelena lets out a soft gasp. “I… I’m honored.”

“You should be,” Kate winks, clicking her tongue and winking. It’s like her signature Bishop confidence never left, despite plummeting faster than her heart rate could spike “Now, c’mere sweetheart. I wanna do it again.”

“That,” Yelena says, “is something we are in complete agreement on, sweetheart.”

And as they lean back in, a few tens of rows of people away, Cassie presses the record button again on her phone, proudly tucking it back into her pocket.

“That was beautiful,” she mutters, wiping her cheek where a stray tear parted her blush. “I… I can’t believe it, Kam. We did it.”

“Oh, yeah we did,” Kamala smiles proudly. “Well, you did most of it.”

“Actually, I think Bucky did a fair share too,” Cassie posits. “We can split the credit… 35-35-30.”

Kamala shakes her head fondly. “I fear what you’ll do when I fall in love.”

“If you don’t have to have your head pulled out of your ass, nothing,” Cassie says, wrapping her arm around her friend. “Wanna go get McDonald’s and celebrate?”

Kamala raises a brow. “What about them?”

Cassie shakes her head. “Let’s let them enjoy the night. We’ve meddled enough into their affairs.”

Kamala happens to agree.

And, she suddenly really wants a Quarter Pounder.