The Poet and the Quarterback

Yelena was having a bad day. 

Kate didn’t need confirmation from Wanda to know that. She had received a text from Yelena during third period asking her if she had an extra pair of pants she could borrow, but Kate had seen the text late due to her focus on a last minute assignment that was due at the end of the class.

“I gave her my sweater to put around her waist then she just decided to go home.” Wanda filled in Kate during the one class they shared together. 

“But she has another calculus exam later today,” Kate frowned as she felt the guilt growing from not replying to her text on time.

Wanda nodded in confirmation, “She said she’s going to come back for it. I don’t know if it’s just me, but she seemed really upset and stressed. I think all the exams and stuff are really getting to her.”

“What do you mean?” Kate frowned.

“I don’t know…she just seems to be having a lot on her mind lately.” 

The two girls ended their conversation there after a fairly threatening look from their teacher, the quarterback left with her thoughts as she ultimately made a decision. Kate was the first one to jump out of her seat once the bell rang as she ran towards the corner of the cafeteria where she knew the cheerleaders usually hung out.

“Hey Nat,” Kate called out as she stood behind the redhead fiddling with the strap of her backpack.

“Hi Kate!” Several of the cheerleaders greeted in chorus as the quarterback waved briefly at them back.

“What’s up Bishop?” Natasha swung around the bench before leaning on it casually. 

“Are you going to be the one to pick up Yelena?” 

Jane, who was next to Natasha, furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

“What’s wrong with your sister?”

“She’s not here?” Natasha mirrored her friend's confusion as she stood up, concern growing as Kate shook her head.

“It’s nothing major. Don’t worry about it. I can go pick her up so she doesn’t miss her exam.”

Natasha’s forehead crinkled with worry, “Are you sure? I’m sure Jane won’t mind if we get her real quick.”

“I can't, Mr. Coulsen always takes attendance so it’s the one class I can never skip,” Jane looked at Natasha apologetically. Somewhere amongst the group of cheerleaders huddled around, a voice piped up. 

“I mean I can pick her up if needed, cap. I have a free period before the seventh.” 

Kate clenched her jaw at who spoke up, tightening her grip on her backpack strap and forcing herself to take a deep breath. 

“Appreciate the offer Dani, but it’s not a problem. I got it all handled. I’ve got her Nat,” Kate sent a forced smile to Dani that softened when she met Natasha’s concerned eyes. 

“Of course! Just thought I’d offer.”

Kate’s smile changed back to a forced one as she made eye contact with Dani who wiggled her hands goodbye. 

The football player made a quick stop to all the classes Yelena had missed to pick up any homework as well as stopping by her locker to grab anything necessary. She smoothly grabs the envelope to keep it from falling once she had inserted Yelena’s combo and made sure to grab one of her textbooks that one of Yelena’s teachers had said she would need to complete one of the assignments. 

Kate seemed to have realized her mistake in not strategizing how to hold everything as she struggled to not drop anything. With the envelope tucked under her arm, she attempted to close back Yelena’s locker already dreading how she was going to go about with the lock when her savior swooped in.

Click

“You okay there champ?”

“Thanks, Nat.” Kate accepted the extra hand, allowing Natasha to grab the folder full of assignments.

The two started to walk towards the front doors as Kate took the opportunity to grab hold the envelope properly making sure not to crease it.

“So who do you think it is?”

“What?” Kate stared at Natasha confusedly.

“The poems. Her secret admirer. Any ideas?” Natasha elaborated as Kate stared at the cheerleader for a moment.

“Yeah, I…I don’t know.” Kate stammered as she tried to cover her reaction with a casual shrug, “Probably someone in one of her classes.”

“Yeah...it could be.” Natasha nodded before she suddenly stopped making the quarterback come into a halt as well, “Hey Kate?”

“Yeah?” Kate nervously tapped on the textbook she was holding.

“Do you think it could be someone from the football team?” Natasha inquired curiously, her eyes seemingly boring into Kate’s blue ones.

“Uh- um I mean, maybe? It’s possible! I mean she’s always around during the practices when she waits so they boys know who she is,” Kate internally cringing at the idea of Sam or Bucky taking a liking to her best friend.

“I’d be surprised if any of the boys know how to write poetry. Well, it’s possible they’re receiving help writing them too. Hm, well I guess I should pay more attention during the practices...,” Natasha thought out loud as she nodded, “Okay well thank you Kate.”

Kate almost froze at the use of her first name. Natasha always called her by her last name, so this was unusual.

“For what?”

“For being a great best friend to my sister.”

And that’s when the wave of guilt filled Kate’s body as she put all her strength into making sure she stayed upright. 

‘best friend’

She’s Yelena’s best friend. 

Has been for eight years now. 

Specifically 7 years 4 months and 3 days. 

And yet here she was harboring romantic feelings and secretly giving her best friend love poems. 

It’s a harsh reality that at the end of the day, she has and will always be Yelena Belova’s best friend and that is enough. 

..Right?

“You don’t have to thank me. I would do anything for her,” Kate softly responded as Natasha carefully observed the girl before looking away to open the door.

“I know,” Natasha simply said as they walked the rest of the way to Kate’s car in silence.

“Get me a pack of mini m&m’s yeah?” Kate glanced at Natasha as she settled into the driver’s seat, her window rolled down as the cheerleader sent her an unreadable smile.

“Aye aye Captain. I’ll see you later,” Kate saluted as she pulled out of the lot heading towards the nearest grocery store before stopping by her house and heading to Yelena’s. 

➳⧗

“Who is it? If it is doordash, I will report you to doordash HQ. I said specifically to leave it at the door-! Oh, hello Kate Bishop!” 

Alexei swung the door open, his expression immediately changing from annoyance to joy at the sight of the younger girl. 

“Hey Alexei,” Kate greeted as she dug into the plastic bag to take out a pack of double stuffed oreos. Right beside her was a smiley golden retriever waiting patiently to be let in, “I come bearing gifts!”

“Ah! Kate Bishop, you spoil me! Come in, come in.” Alexei ushered Kate in who quickly removed her shoes and allowed Lucky to roam free inside. She stared at the top of the stairs as the golden retriever disappeared from her sight, probably already heading to a certain blonde’s room.

“Is Yelena in her room?”

“She was in the bathroom last time I checked. Sit! Have an oreo with me,” Alexei came as he moved an open bag of chips to the table. She obeyed, sitting next to the man, as she peeled the top of the cookie container to offer one to him.

“Since you are here, do you know why Yelena is home and not at school?” Alexei inquired, taking two cookies at a time before sandwiches them and putting the entire thing in his mouth.

“Girl problems, Alexei.”

Alexei made an ‘ah’ sound before holding his hand up expectedly in which Kate placed two more oreos in his hand.

“Pietro and Wanda’s dad will be there at the game Friday. He will save you guys a row so you don’t have to worry about coming early.” Kate changed the subject as Alexei let out a satisfied hum.

“That is good! I will wear my jersey this time. Number 9 special number!” Alexei mentioned Kate’s number with a proud grin as he clasped Kate’s forearm.

As he mentioned her jersey number, a comforting warmth spread from where his hand touched her forearm, spreading through her entire body. It was the kind of warmth she hadn’t felt since losing her own dad at the age of 10, a warmth that only a father’s love could bring.

Alexei had always been there for her, stepping in as the fatherly figure she so desperately needed in the absence of not just one parent but two. 

Kate remembers the days when she would visit Yelena’s house, not to hang out with the blonde, but to rekindle her love for the sport her dad had once taught her—a sport she never thought she would continue after he had passed. 

➳⧗

The sun was beginning its descent, casting a golden glow over the field as young Kate stood there, her hair neatly braided in two braids, thanks to Melina, with Natasha’s baseball cap perched on her head. She clutched a brand-new football tightly in her small hands, a gift from Alexei for her 11th birthday just a few weeks ago. 

Her lanky frame was a stark contrast to the massive figure beside her—Alexei, towering and solid, yet with a softness in his eyes that always put her at ease.

"All right, Katie Kate," Alexei rumbled, his thick accent wrapping around the nickname he’d given her. "The key to a good throw is in the grip. You want to hold the ball just like this," he demonstrated, his large hands effortlessly guiding hers into the right position. 

"Fingers on the laces, yes."

Kate’s heart pounded in excitement and nervousness. She had been hesitant to learn, the memory of her father, Derek, still fresh. Little Kate always accompanied Derek on the couch to watch football games with his oversized jersey on her tiny body. He had always wanted to teach her how to throw a football, but life had other plans.

"Do not worry your head so much!" Alexei continued, noticing her hesitation, "It is not about power. It is about control. You have to feel the ball, trust it, and let it fly. Like a bird.”

“Like a bird, Kate Bishop!” Yelena shouted from the sidelines, spreading her arms out like she had wings. The blonde was sporting her own baseball cap with her single braid swaying in the wind. 

She took a deep breath, nodded, and pulled her arm back, mimicking the motion Alexei had shown her. The ball left her hand in a wobbly spiral, falling short of where she’d aimed, but Alexei caught it easily, his grin wide and encouraging.

"Not bad for your first try!" he boomed, tossing the ball back to her with a gentle underhanded throw, “Try again."

Yelena jumped up and down excitedly encouraging her sister to join her who couldn’t say no to the blonde. 

"You’ve got this, Bishop! Just like Papa showed you!" Natasha called out.

The next hour passed in a blur of throws and catches, with Alexei’s deep laugh filling the air every time Kate got closer and closer to perfecting her throw. 

Finally, after what felt like forever, Kate let the ball fly and watched as it sailed through the air in a perfect spiral, landing squarely in Alexei’s hands. 

She beamed, her heart swelling with pride.

Alexei raised his hands in victory as Kate was bombarded with embraces from Natasha and Yelena. The future quarterback giggled wildly before looking up when Alexei’s hand wrapped around her forearm gently.

“Good job, Katie Kate. Your father would be so proud of you.”

➳⧗

“I will for sure be looking for you guys in the crowd.” 

Kate handed the rest of the oreos to Alexei before taking the plastic bag and pointing to the stairs, “Well I’m going to go get Yelena before she misses her exam.”

The two exchanged a few more words before the quarterback headed up the stairs and knocked on Yelena’s door. She smiled to herself at its chipped paint, remembering the many times she and Yelena would play hide and seek with their respective dogs, and not naming any names, but one of them wouldn’t be able to contain their excitement with their happy, impatient paws.  

She barely made out the words ‘come in’ as Kate carefully opened the door to reveal the cutest sight. In the middle of the bed, hidden under all the fur, was Yelena who was wearing her glasses clearly in the middle of studying by the notes and laptop spread around her bed. 

With the dogs curled around her, almost protectively, Kate didn’t want to disrupt so she settled with leaning against the door frame.

“All studied up and ready to go?”

“I am as ready as I’ll ever be,” Yelena lifted her glasses up and rubbed her eyes tiredly, “What are you doing here?”

“I’m here to take you back to school,” Kate shrugged as she looked at the plastic bag she had placed outside the hallway. 

“You didn’t have to come over here. Papa was going to drop me off.”

Kate waved her off before turning around to grab the plastic bag and sitting at the front of her bed.

“I wanted to. Plus you needed to see Lucky.” Kate said simply as she leaned over the scratch at Lucky’s ear. 

“I needed to?” 

“Dog therapy is the best therapy.”

“I have Fanny.”

“Yeah but you needed Fanny and Lucky!”

Kate smiled before placing the plastic bag in her lap and taking out its content.

“I’m sorry I didn’t see your text right away, I had my phone on silent while I was in class.”

“Kate Bishop, you are so silly. You don’t need to apologize for that. Wanda helped me out,” Yelena’s eyes darted curiously to the bag, her eyes widening in recognition as she spotted the items.

“You got me snacks?”

“Your favorite snacks,” Kate corrected as she presented each one dramatically to the blonde.

“We got Ghirardelli milk chocolate raspberry squares, Ben N Jerry’s chocolate fudge brownie, a family size popcorn bag and yes before you ask, of course it’s Boom Chicka Pop brand!” Kate rambled as she excitedly showed the goodies to Yelena who gasped when she saw the pint of ice cream.

“This is all for me?”

“Of course! I know I put plastic utensils in here somewhere…,” Kate proudly held up the utensil she had remembered to stash at the last minute but Yelena just cackled loudly.

“Kate Bishop! That is a fork!”

“I mean..you can use a fork to eat ice cream!”

“Maybe if it’s made out of metal but that will break, Kate Bishop. This is not cutlery.” 

“I bring you all these snacks and all it takes is one plastic fork with you,” Kate feigned sadness as she started to make a show of putting the snacks back in the bag only to be stopped by a hand grabbing the pint of ice cream.

“Thank you for bringing all these snacks and Lucky, Kate Bishop.” Yelena let out an exasperated sigh but the smile that came after made it clear she was genuine. 

“Anytime, my dear.”

The two bursted out into a fit of laughter before Yelena helped herself with some chocolate squares, allowing her blonde strands to cover her blush, but also unknowingly missing the pink tint on Kate’s own cheeks. 

“Oh before I forget, I have all your homework assignments you needed and I grabbed the book your teacher mentioned from your locker. Oh, and this,” Kate took out said things with an envelope placed neatly on top of the textbook.

Yelena’s heart skipped a beat at the familiar green wax seal that kept what she knows now is lined paper that had today’s poem inside.

“It didn’t seem like you had opened it this morning when I grabbed your book from your locker. Thought you’d want it before heading in for your exam,” Kate shrugged nonchalantly while Yelena nodded slowly.

“Oh okay. Should we leave soon?”

“We have some time,” Kate looked at the time on her phone before standing up and stretching, “I’ll meet you downstairs in 5?”

Yelena nodded as Kate whistled causing the dogs to scramble towards her and follow her downstairs.

“Come on, doggies! I’ll leave you here with Alexei okay Lucky? I’ll come back after practice and give you a treat...Yes I promise!” Yelena watched as Kate played with the dogs before closing her dog gently leaving her with the letter in front of her. 

Yelena adjusted so that she was sitting cross-legged on her bed, slipping her glasses on as she reached out for the envelope and opened it gingerly.

Your laugh, a melody so clear,

It lifts my spirits, draws me near.

The way your eyes begin to crinkle,

When laughters in, they seem to twinkle.

As her eyes traced the dark font, her mouth twitched at the mention of her laugh. A melody, she thought to herself, her brow furrowing in disbelief. She would never in her entire life describe her boisterous laughter as such. 

But lately I’ve noticed

Your sighs and restless gestures speak,

Of the pressure that makes your spirit weak.

Her mouth opened slightly in surprise, her fingers absentmindedly fidgeting with the corner of the page. 

Yet in these moments, I wish to be,

The gentle comfort that sets you free.

I believe in you, in all you strive to be,

In every answer and every question you see.

Go easy on yourself, beautiful girl, I plea,

For you deserve a heart that's light and free.

                                                - Yours

By the time she reached the end, she felt her throat tighten, and she blinked back a sudden warmth in her eyes. Yelena pressed her lips together as she took in what she just read–the letter seeing more of her than sometimes she sees herself. 

She’s always been someone who pushed herself hard in school, never feeling like she had the time to give herself time to breathe. That plus the letters have caused her feelings for a certain quarterback and the reality of it all seemed to be crashing hard into her, making her feel like she’s been on autopilot with no sense of control. 

Kate always noticed this–always doing small things like buying her favorite snacks–and yet it seems like the quarterback wasn’t the only one to notice this. She closed her eyes, her breath steadying, and held the poem close to her chest. 

Eventually, she got up and quickly got ready to meet Kate downstairs before the two headed to the latter’s car, not before giving one last kiss to their dogs. 

Yelena hopped into the passenger’s seat already trying to connect her phone when Kate’s hand reached over the console to hand her a bag.

“Can’t leave without getting some chocolate covered pretzels in you before the big exam!” 

Yelena met Kate’s goofy grin with her own asfished out a pretzel from the bag, the salty flavor acting as a distraction from the words flashing repeatedly in her mind. 

Kate was driving next to her, humming to the song she had put on (both of them were Laufey girls), her fingers drumming lightly on the steering wheel.  She exhaled softly through her nose, grabbing another pretzel, chewing as if it would somehow help her make sense of things. 

The poem shouldn’t have gotten to her the way it did.But they saw her—they paid attention to her—in a way that made her heart stutter in her chest.

She glanced over at Kate, her heart beginning to somersault at the silly sight of Kate’s free hand closed fist singing into an imaginary microphone. Her green eyes briefly making eye contact with Kate’s who winked at her playfully as she sang directly to her. 

Yelena shook her head amusedly before stuffing another pretzel into her mouth, this time more aggressively than necessary. Kate paused her mini performance and glanced over, smiling that easy smile that made Yelena’s heart stop jumping and twist instead.

“You’re really tearing into those pretzels,” Kate’s eyes sparkled with that playful warmth Yelena was all too familiar with.

Yelena forced a smirk, trying to keep the growing knot in her chest at bay. “What can I say? I am staaarving,” she muttered, focusing on the pretzel bag like it held all the answers she needed.

She wishes it did. 

“That’s why I got another bag for you in the back!”

Kate’s laugh filled the car, light and carefree, and Yelena felt herself softened despite the inner turmoil the other was oblivious to. 

All she does is laugh and I turn into a little school girl with a crush… Oh wait that’s exactly what you are Yelena, except you know it’s not just a crush.

A mixture of annoyance at herself and sadness washed over her.  That was the problem—Kate always made her feel safe, seen, even when Yelena knew deep down there wasn’t a chance. Kate saw her as a friend, her best friend, nothing more–and Yelena had come to accept that.

Or at least tried to.

But then there was this poet. 

Whoever they were, they’d managed to reach parts of Yelena she didn’t even know needed reaching. Their words weren’t casual; they were intimate, tender in a way Yelena wasn’t used to. It made her feel conflicted, almost guilty, that someone else could make her feel like this when her heart had been stubbornly set on Kate for so long. 

But what choice did she have? 

She couldn’t have Kate. That much she knew. 

The pretzels weren’t doing a damn thing to clear her mind. She clenched the bag tighter, her thoughts bouncing between the poet and the quarterback.Yelena reached for another pretzel, chewing with frustration. 

The sweetness of the chocolate covered pretzels tasted bitter as it mixed with the confusion and frustration brewing inside her.