Fireflies

by Mauradr

Summary:

A collection of short oneshots about the different ways Kate and Yelena's first 'I love you' could happen.

Kate and Yelena spend a wonderful night together and relive childhood memories after a stressful day.

Yelena sighed contentedly as she took Kate’s hand. It had been a long day; they’d had to go to Jersey to help Kamala deal with The Canadian Ninja Syndicate, and then Kate had had to rush back to the office and use her charms to win over a snooty investor while Yelena went back to the Watchtower to hear Alexei’s latest merchandise pitch. But now all their responsibilities were taken care of, and they’d just stepped out into the warm summer night after finishing a late dinner at their favorite Thai restaurant. Yelena wouldn’t have wanted to spend her time any other way.

“Want to take the long way home?” Yelena asked, nodding toward Central Park and smiling up at Kate.

“Great idea,” Kate grinned back at her. She raised their hands and kissed Yelena’s knuckles as they crossed the street. The noise of the city seemed to fall away as the trees enveloped them. Yelena gazed around the park in awe; even in the dark, the beauty of it never failed to amaze her.

“I love this place,” she breathed, squeezing Kate’s hand.

“Yeah, me too,” she replied. Yelena looked up to see her smiling at her. Then Kate spotted something over Yelena’s shoulder, and her face lit up. “Do you wanna check it out from a different perspective?”

Yelena turned to see what she was pointing at, and she gasped. Standing a little ways away was a beautiful horse hitched to an elegant white carriage. “You know I do,” she grinned, glancing back at Kate.

“Okay, let’s go!” she said excitedly. The driver looked up at them from where he was leaning against the carriage and scrolling on his phone as they approached. “Excuse me, are you still giving carriage rides?”

“Yep, but not for much longer. You two can be my last ride of the day, if you’d like.”

“Oh, we absolutely would,” Kate smiled.

“Alright, do you want a round trip, or are you headed to the other side of the park?”

“Just to the other side of the park, please,” she said, letting go of Yelena’s hand to pull out her wallet. Yelena walked around to the front of the carriage to look at the horse.

“Hi,” she cooed, gazing up at it. It had a glossy, chocolate brown coat and a thick black mane, with a small patch of white right between its eyes. It snorted, and Yelena giggled. “Can we pet the horse?”

“No, sorry,” the driver said. “Having strangers touch her makes her nervous.”

“Yeah, that makes sense.”

“You can take pictures with her, though.”

“Kate!” Yelena called.

“Already on it!” Kate rushed over, her phone already out with her camera on. Yelena wrapped her arms around her and pressed their cheeks together as Kate held out her hand. She made sure the horse was in the frame behind them and snapped the picture. Their grins stayed on their faces as they looked at it. “You look adorable.”

“We look adorable,” Yelena corrected, pressing a lazy kiss to Kate’s jaw. Then she turned to the carriage driver. “What’s the horse’s name?”

“Her name’s Brook,” he smiled.

Yelena grinned up at the horse and waved. “Hello, Brook.”

She felt Kate rest her chin on her shoulder as the horse snorted and flicked her ears. “I think she likes you.”

“Are you jealous, Kate Bishop?” Yelena joked.

“Should I be? Because I will totally fight a horse for you if I have to,” Kate said seriously. Then they both burst out laughing.

“You’re so stupid,” Yelena said affectionately. Kate shrugged.

“It’s part of my charm.”

They walked back around to the side of the carriage, and Kate held out her hand to help Yelena as she ascended the steps.

“Such a gentleman,” Yelena teased.

“Of course, milady.” Kate bowed dramatically before climbing into the carriage after her. Yelena rolled her eyes.

“So funny,” she murmured, squeezing her hand. The driver smiled at them from the driver’s seat.

“I like your accent. Do you mind if I ask where you’re from?”

“Russia,” Yelena answered.

“Oh, wow!” he exclaimed, sounding genuinely impressed. “So what brings you here to the Big Apple?”

“I moved here a few years ago. But right now, we’re here for date night.”

“Yep, she met me, and she knew she just couldn’t leave,” Kate smirked. Yelena smiled at her.

“It’s true.”

“That’s sweet,” the driver said. “Well, I won’t interrupt your night. Just pretend I’m not here.”

“Okay, thanks,” Kate chuckled. The driver nodded at them, then he snapped the reins, and they were off. Kate draped her arm around Yelena’s shoulders, and Yelena leaned into her blissfully.

“This is so nice,” she sighed. “Thank you, Kate.”

“Of course,” she replied, pulling her closer and kissing the top of her head. “Anything for you, baby.”

Yelena snuggled into Kate’s embrace as she gazed around the park. Not long ago, she would’ve been too busy scanning the shadows for potential threats to even think about relaxing; her whole life, darkness had always meant danger. But Kate had changed everything. She’d never known true safety before, but now it was a constant whenever she wasn’t on a mission. She’d never expected it to be so effortless, but nearly everything was with Kate. She loved her life now, especially on days like today. And with the warm summer breeze caressing her skin and the clip-clop of Brook’s hoofbeats blending with the buzzing of the cicadas in a surprisingly soothing way, this might be the most peaceful moment Yelena had ever experienced.

They stayed there in a comfortable silence for a while, simply enjoying the ride and each other’s company. But then Yelena spotted a tiny sparkle of light in one of the darker corners of the park, and she sat up and pointed at it with all the eagerness of an excited little kid.

“Look!” she cried, turning to Kate. “Fireflies!”

“The first firefly of the summer!” Kate gasped. “When I was a kid, my parents and I would come out here and compete to see who could catch the most fireflies. I always won, obviously.”

Yelena cocked her head to the side and furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. “Why would you want to catch them?”

“Stop the carriage!” Kate demanded loudly as her eyes widened. The driver pulled on the reins.

“Wait, what?”

“Catching fireflies is an essential childhood memory!” she exclaimed, hurrying down the steps before they’d even come to a complete stop. “And if you don’t have that memory, then we need to make it right now!”

“What about the horse and carriage ride?” Yelena asked. She couldn’t help but grin at the absurdity of it.

“We can do this any night! But you need to start catching fireflies as soon as possible.” She grabbed Yelena’s hand as she climbed out of the carriage, then she turned to the carriage driver and handed him a very generous tip. “I’m sorry about this,” she said sheepishly.

“Oh, don’t be, I get it,” he smiled. “Do they not have fireflies in Russia?”

“Something like that.”

“Thank you so much, you and Brook were amazing!” Kate grinned before grabbing Yelena’s hand and dragging her toward the spot where they saw the firefly.

“Thank you!” Yelena called to him over her shoulder. Then she turned back to Kate and stared at her as they finally slowed to a stop in the middle of the darkened clearing. “You’re crazy.”

“Maybe,” Kate smiled. “But you need to do this at least once!”

“Why are you capturing fireflies?” Yelena asked incredulously.

“For fun!” she insisted. “And you release them right after, we’re not taking them or hurting them. Like this, watch.”

She gazed around for a few moments until another soft glow flickered to life a few feet away. She ran toward it and cupped her hands, reaching out and catching it in one quick motion. “Come here, look!”

“Whoa,” Yelena breathed, staring at it in wonder. Kate had opened up her hands just enough for her to see, and its light flooded the tiny space. Something stirred in the deep recesses of her memory, more of a feeling than a moment.

“See?” Kate said softly. “There’s something about looking at them like this that makes it feel like more than just a bug. It seems… magical.”

“I know what you mean,” Yelena smiled. “When I was little, I called them forest stars.”

“Oh, that might be the most adorable thing ever,” Kate gushed. “And you actually managed to do the impossible. You came up with an even cooler name for them than fireflies.”

Yelena laughed, and they gazed into each other’s eyes for what felt like eternity. They didn’t notice when the firefly escaped from Kate’s hands, blinking as it flew.

“I’m going to try now,” Yelena said, and Kate nodded fervently. As if on cue, a firefly lit up behind her. Yelena lunged for it, her movements swift and precise, but her hands were gentle as she closed her fingers around it. It didn’t even touch her skin until she lifted her thumb to see it light up her palm. “I did it!”

She felt Kate wrap her arms around her waist. “I knew you’d be a natural.”

“You were right, this is even more fun than the carriage ride.”

“I knew you’d love it.”

“So what are the rules of your competition?” Yelena let the firefly go and turned to face Kate.

“There aren’t many. You can’t catch the same firefly twice in a row, and you can’t catch the same one that someone else caught immediately after they release it. Just… let it fly away a bit, y’know? And we keep track of how many we’ve caught by calling out the number when we catch them. Oh, and you can’t, like, shove me out of the way to stop me from getting one. Or in your case, no using any of your weapons.”

“No playing dirty, got it.”

“Yeah, but that’s pretty much it. I was little, so it wasn’t super complicated.”

“And you said you always won?”

“Yep! I’m the reigning champ of the Bishop family.”

“Then you’d better hope you’ve still got it, детка.” Yelena planted a kiss on the tip of a startled Kate’s nose, then took off running for the other side of the clearing where she’d seen a few fireflies flickering. She glanced back at her just long enough to see the competitive gleam in her eyes that she loved so much. Then she cupped her hands and reached out for the tiny glow hovering in front of her. “One!”

“That still counts as playing dirty!” Kate cried, and Yelena could hear the smile in her voice. “One!”

“Two!”

They ran around capturing fireflies and calling out numbers until they were out of breath, more from laughing than the running. Yelena stayed one ahead of Kate the whole time. They started at opposite ends of the clearing, but they moved closer together as the game went on. Kate even stole one from right in front of her, and if she were anyone else, she would’ve been furious instead of impressed. Finding new fireflies to catch wasn’t as difficult as she would’ve thought; all of the fireflies in Central Park seemed to be out that night just for them.

“Five!” they shouted almost in unison. Yelena could see the smug smirk on Kate’s face before she even looked at her.

“Watch out, little widow, I’m catching up to you!” she taunted loudly. Yelena grinned.

“Six!”

“Seven!”

“Don’t you dare try to cheat me, Kate Bishop!” she warned. “You’re better than that!”

“Fine… ooh! Seven! For real this time! Now I’m ahead!” Kate stuck her tongue out at her, and Yelena rolled her eyes.

“Seven! Ha!” Yelena stuck her tongue out at Kate in return. “Don’t underestimate me.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it, babe.”

Yelena searched the clearing for another firefly, the one that would put her back on top. After a few moments, she spotted it, drifting through the air under a looming black cherry tree. She darted toward it, keeping it in her sights even as its light went out. But just as she was about to reach for it, Kate slammed into her from the side. She lost her footing as they collided, but Kate’s strong hands caught her before she could fall.

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry!” Kate cried, her eyes frantic. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Yelena stood upright again, but they didn’t let go of each other.

“Okay, good,” Kate sighed in relief. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to go for the same one. I guess I just didn’t see you somehow-”

“It’s okay, you don’t have to apologize,” Yelena chuckled.

“I guess I got a little carried away,” she said sheepishly.

“We both did. But that’s okay, it was fun.” Yelena gazed into her eyes as Kate smiled at her. And just like that, she knew. “I love you, Kate Bishop.”

“I love you too, Yelena Belova.”

Yelena took Kate’s face in her hands and kissed her passionately. She felt Kate’s arms wrap around her waist, her fingers sliding under the hem of her crop-top as she pulled her closer. Yelena’s stomach fluttered as she breathed her in. Then, suddenly, her feet left the ground as Kate spun her, and she was laughing. She wasn’t sure she’d ever smiled so big.

“Wow. Today turned out to be quite the adventure, huh?” Kate beamed.

“Every day with you is an adventure, Kate Bishop. The greatest adventure of my life.” They stared at each other, and she watched the pink rising in Kate’s cheeks. Then she let out a tiny teasing gasp. “Did I do the impossible twice in one night, and render the famous motormouth Kate Bishop at a loss for words?”

Kate scoffed and shook her head as Yelena giggled. “Just kiss me, you idiot.”

And she did. She wrapped her arms around Kate’s neck and Kate hugged her tight, their bodies fitting together as if they were made for each other. Yelena clutched Kate’s t-shirt in her fist, the fingers on her other hand threading through her hair, and she felt Kate tracing absent-minded patterns all along her spine. She thought they might meld into one being, and she was perfectly fine with that. The fireflies had begun glowing in sync, nearly forming a halo around their heads, but Yelena didn’t need to see it. Nothing could ever be more magical than what she now held in her hands- and in her heart.

Notes:

Thank you so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed it! The next installment will be posted as soon as possible. Comments are appreciated, I'd love to know your thoughts!

Series this work belongs to:

• Part 1 of I Love You's