Chapter Text
Yelena is not at all surprised that Kate loves Disney World.
Kate Bishop is sunshine personified. Warmth and happiness in the shape of a cute brown-haired girl. It makes sense that she feels right at home at the happiest place on earth .
Yelena is suprised, however, by the absolutely ridiculous extent of knowledge Kate has on everything WDW.
“It is just a few theme parks, right?” Yelena had said when Kate suggested the two visit Orlando on their 3 year anniversary of being together.
Kate violently shook her head. “It’s so much more than a few theme parks. There’s so many secrets and tiny details that you would never notice if you didn’t have someone like me to guide you through it. ”
“Oh? Like what, Kate Bishop?” Yelena’s tone was challenging.
Kate pretended to contemplate for a moment. “Like how Tower of Terror isn't actually a ‘drop tower’ at all because there are cables on the bottom of the elevators that pull them downwards faster than free fall speed. Or like how Magic Kingdom is actually two and three levels above ground level because it was built on the earth that was dug out to make the Seven Seas Lagoon, and there’s tunnels that are actually on ground level…”
And Kate had stopped when she spotted the look of utter surprise and shock on her girlfriend’s face.
So imagine the archer’s absolute joy when Yelena surprised her with a week-long trip to the resort the very night before. A six-night stay at Kate’s favorite hotel, the Boardwalk ( “there is a hotel themed to old amusement parks at an amusement park, Kate Bishop?”) with all the dining reservations one could ever want.
(Yelena spent way too long watching YouTube videos to get everything right.)
Yelena assumes her first visit to the Magic Kingdom is not what most first-timers experience.
Kate leads her through Adventureland with energy unrivaled. On the strap of Yelena’s backpack is a bright orange button with disney characters and big letters that spell out “1ST VISIT!” Kate wears an equally dramatic button, hers being green, that says “I’m Celebrating:” and then written by Kate in sharpie underneath: “girlfriend’s first visit!”
Of course, this trip has multiple purposes.
To celebrate them being together, yes, but also because Yelena intends to change the title on Kate’s button.
With the tiny blue velvet box at the bottom of her suitcase.
“Yelena, look!” Kate grabs her girlfriend’s wrist with one hand and points towards something with the other. “See that door?”
Yelena tilts her head. Kate is pointing at the door that Yelena would’ve passed as just another piece of theming. It fits perfectly with the whimsical environment of Adventureland that surrounds it. “What is so special about that door? It just looks like a normal door.”
Kate turns back to face her with a knowing grin. “ Exactly . That’s the point. Because behind that door is the extremely exclusive Club 33 .”
“It is?” The former assassin glances at the door again. It certainly doesn’t look like the door to a secret exclusive club. “What is Club 33 ?”
“Only the highest level of Disney a person could be in,” Kate whispers, like it’s some kind of well-protected secret, as she and Yelena head toward their next Lightning Lane (Jungle Cruise.) “You can’t get in unless you have connections . And even if you do, there’s like a ten year waiting list to get in. And even if you get to the top of the waiting list, it costs a minimum of fifteen grand a year to get in.”
Yelena shakes her head, astounded not just at the insane information she’s just learned, but the fact that Kate knows all of it just off the top of her head. Kate slides her hand from Yelena’s wrist to entwine their fingers, before skipping playfully towards the stairs that lead to the comedic boat ride Kate has so fondly talked about.
The Jungle Cruise is filled with corny jokes that, despite their simple punchlines, are honestly enough to crack Yelena up. It’s even more rewarding to watch Kate silently mouth each and every one of them.
“The skipper isn’t even driving the boat,” Kate whispers to Yelena under her breath. “It’s on a track underwater. And the water is barely 2 feet deep!”
When the boat comes around behind a waterfall that it passed by earlier, Kate and the skipper simultaneously take a big inhale before yelling, at the same time, “THE BACKSIDE OF WATER!!”
Everyone else on the boat is staring at Kate like she’s a crazy person. Yelena is staring at Kate with nothing but pride. Silently yelling back, that’s my girlfriend!
Kate brings her to Pirates of the Caribbean next, which swiftly lands its place as Yelena’s favorite ride so far. She’s amazed by the intricate details of each individual animatronic (especially the dogs.) Kate points out at least one secret in each room, and by the time she’s off the ride she leaves the gift shop with a bright red pirate hat and a plastic cutlass.
Their next stop is Aloha Isle, which Yelena assumes is just a run-of-the-mill ice cream shop. “Kate Bishop, what is so exciting about pineapple ice cream?”
(She really ought to stop thinking so lowly of everything here.)
“It’s like, a rite of passage to have Dole Whip for the first time,” Kate exclaims as she retrieves one large bowl of vanilla and pineapple swirled soft serve for them to share. “Try it, try it! It’s so good!”
Sure enough, when Yelena tastes the wonderful tangy pineapple mixed with the smooth, creamy vanilla, her taste buds are beyond satisfied. “Wow,” she mumbles, mouth full of ice cream. She scarfs down the Dole Whip, barely leaving any for Kate, in a mere minute. Kate seems rather excited that her girlfriend is so amazed, though.
After a long morning of travel and a frankly exhausting afternoon of navigating the Magic Kingdom with peak crowd levels, Kate and Yelena make their way to the final destination of the night: dinner at Cinderella’s Royal Table. Yelena had booked the dinner months in advance at Kate’s request, after the archer raved about how cool it was to eat dinner inside the castle.
When the two enter the back door of the castle, they’re led into a line to begin the experience by meeting the one and only Cinderella. And Kate…well, despite being a twenty-five year old woman, Kate couldn’t be more excited to meet the princess.
When it comes to their turn, Kate bounds up to Cinderella with Yelena’s hand tightly grasped in hers. The princess glances at Kate’s button before moving her glance to Yelena, before tilting her head and smiling.
“Is it your first time visiting the castle?” Her voice is well trained and smooth, and Yelena can imagine how confusing the process of becoming a princess for your job must be.
“It’s, uh…yes. It is my first time,” Yelena responds, and Cinderella is clearly intrigued by her accent. “But she has been here many times before,” the former assassin points out, lightly nudging Kate’s shoulder.
The princess smiles in a very cartoony way at the archer. “Have you? Well, with such frequent visits to a castle you must be a princess yourself, yes?”
And Yelena, in all her proud girlfriend glory, smirks and affirms as such. “She very much is a princess.” She can feel Kate blushing beside her.
A picture is taken (and Kate’s adorable flustered state remains in the image. Score!) before the two are seated at a small bench, waiting for their names to be called.
“Why’d you have to embarrass me in front of Cinderella ?” Kate questions, an adorable flustered color still across her face.
“She was not wrong, мой маленький ястреб. You are a princess.” Yelena leans her head on Kate’s shoulder, and a smile of her own spreads across her face. “My princess.”
“ The Belova Family! ” A voice over a loudspeaker announces. “Your table is ready!”
Kate’s blush gets even bigger when she hears the voice.
“I do not know why they announced it to us as that,” Yelena points out as they ascend the stairs. Regardless, she can’t help but drink in how adorable her girlfriend looks with that blush.
(Yelena pictures a world where she and Kate share a last name. She hopes, no, prays that she makes it one step closer to that at the end of this trip.)
The dinner consists of awkward conversations with more princesses (except Merida. Her and Kate yap endlessly about archery stuff) and surprisingly delicious food. Multiple glasses of wine and two filet mignons later, Yelena and Kate are stumbling out of the park and onto the bus that’ll take them back to the Boardwalk.
Kate barely makes it through her plan for the following day (Yelena learns what ‘rope-dropping’ means) before she’s fast asleep in Yelena’s arms, head resting on the Russian’s shoulder like a pillow and arms tightly wrapped around her torso.
With one arm around Kate’ shoulders, Yelena flips the velvet box around in her free hand. Silently flipping it open, she gazes at the ring she selected beside its intended wearer. A thin, round silver band adorned with tiny amethysts and one larger, shiny diamond in the center. The ring screams Kate Bishop like nothing Yelena has ever seen before.
She returns the box to her back before relaxing into her girlfriend’s sleepy embrace. Yelena’s arms find their way around Kate’s body, and within minutes, she drifts off, dreaming of flower petals and Kate Bishop in a glittering white gown.