Patch Me Up

The smell of snickerdoodle cookies wafted through the air of your apartment while you were making a new batch of lemonade, a Christmas song playing softly in the background. You catch the tail end of Kate’s conversation with one of the LARPers she had brought over– you believe her name is Missy?-- as you finished making the beverage. “Really, you would let me try it on?”

“Yeah, absolutely, let me go get it,” Missy responded enthusiastically, and you hear retreating footsteps soon after. You made your way to your living room and set down the pitcher on your coffee table. Pizza Dog, who was lying on your couch, lifted his head as he saw you approach. You gave him a small pat and a kiss on the head.  “Hey babe,” you say when your eyes finally settled on Kate. “Hey baby,” she responds, “Missy’s gonna let me try on her Viking costume.”

She had an excited smile on her face as she held her hands behind her back while she rocked back and forth on the balls of her feet. All you could think about is how pretty her smile is and how she always seemed to brighten the room. You could not help the small smile that spread across your own face as you admired her. You realize you had stared for a bit too long, because Kate tilted her head to the side with a playful smirk on her face. “What are you looking at?” she asks.

“Nothing, just thinking,” you drew out the words in a sing-songy voice as Kate took a few steps forward and stood in front of you. “Oh, really? Are you sure about that?” she pressed on as she gently wrapped her arms around your waist. “Well, I was just thinking about how cute you are,” you respond, wrapping your arms around her neck as the smile on your face widens. A pinkish color coats her cheeks as she momentarily stares down at the floor. A soft giggle escapes you as you take in her sheepish demeanor. She looks back up at you with a soft laugh and leaned in for a kiss. The kiss was gentle, your lips following a familiar rhythm that was established long ago. After you both pulled away, she stared into your eyes for a few seconds. Her lips parted if as she was about to say something. 

“Okay, here we go,” your heads turn towards Missy as she places a bag on top of your couch. Pizza Dog promptly jumped off the couch and resettled on the rug near Kate’s feet. 

You placed a chaste kiss on Kate’s lips before pulling away and settling down on the couch besides the bag. You watched as Missy began fitting Kate with a type of reddish robe.

Out of all the things you expected to happen, hosting three strangers that were waiting for the arrival of an Avenger had not been one of them. Kate had called you up a few hours ago and explained the situation briefly. She had sheepishly asked if they could wait for Clint at your place and you agreed.

“I’m sorry I keep asking you to do these things. It’s not fair to you,” she said through the phone, and you could practically see the wince on her face as she said it. “Kate, you don’t need to apologize. I’m doing it because I want to and because it’s important to you,” you reassured her, “I promise, I don’t mind.”

“Are you sure? Because I can find somewhere else to go if it’s too much trouble,” she asked again, and you could detect the hesitation in her voice. “Hey, it’s fine, I promise. Plus, I think Pizza Dog wants to see you, he got excited when he heard you,” you reply.

“You have me on speakerphone?” she asked with a soft laugh, “hey Pizza Dog!”

You looked down at him and saw as he wagged his tail excitedly. “Yup, he definitely wants to see you,” you say with an amused smile, “anyways, I’m waiting for you, just don’t pull the pizza man trick again when you get here.”

“Don’t worry, Clint got your apartment keys when he went to my place two days ago,” she answered, “see you soon, babe.”

“See you soon,” you said before hanging up.

Part of you had felt anxious about hosting for strangers, but you resolved your worries by thinking that if Kate trusted them, you would too. And thankfully, these strangers turned out to be very kind. 

It amazed you how much your life had changed in a matter of a few days. You went from being a regular college student, finishing up a nursing bachelor's degree, to harboring superheroes in your apartment. You still could not quite believe it. 

A few moments passed before a timer went off, signifying that the cookies Grills had been making were finally done. You turned off the alarm and called out, “Hey Grills, your cookies are done!” 

“I’ll be there in a minute!” you hear him call out from your ex-roommate's room at the end of the hall. He had been helping the other man–Orval?-- set something up on a computer. You were not quite sure what it was that they were doing, but you decided not to ask. A minute or two had passed before he appeared from the corridor and stepped into the kitchen. The smell of cinnamon became stronger when he opened the oven door. He left them on top of your stove to cool off for a few minutes. 

Not long after, you hear the door being opened from behind you. You turn to see Clint coming inside, a rather bewildered look on his face when Grills offers him a cookie. 

“Hey Clint. How’d your day go?” Kate asks cheerfully, followed by an enthusiastic “hi” on behalf of Missy. “My uh… My day’s been fine. How are you doing?” Clint says with the same bewildered expression as he takes in Kate’s robe. 

“Great, yeah. Better than yours, I’d say,” she responds as she takes off the robe. “So did you, uh, get my gear?” Clint asks with a pointed nod. 

“Yeah, yeah. They’re on the way. They should be here any minute. Yeah, relax,” she responds nonchalantly as she tries on the Viking vest. Your eyes jump between Clint and Kate as you sense Clint quickly losing his patience and Kate not picking up on it. “What?” Clint asks as Kate spins around to see herself in the mirror with the vest on. 

“Check that out,” Missy says quietly, and Kate lets out an amazed chuckle as she admires herself in the mirror. You also took a moment to appreciate your girlfriend. “Not gonna lie, I look pretty good as a Viking,” Kate said with a small smirk.

“I’ll say,” you mutter quietly to yourself. You hoped no one heard you, but it was clear that that wasn’t the case when Clint’s head turned to you with raised eyebrows. You clear your throat and offer him a glass of lemonade to cover up the embarrassment you felt. He takes a few seconds before saying “sure” with a pressed smile. Pizza Dog came over to Clint as you served him his lemonade. 

“Maybe I could hire you to make my next one?” you hear Kate ask Missy. 

“Oh, yeah. I would love to,” Missy answered excitedly. 

“Hey, wait a second. What if that’s our deal?” Grills asks as he poured a glass of lemonade. Clint looked at Kate as he asked, “What deal?”

His tone was gradually becoming more and more frustrated, something that no one else seemed to be picking up on. “We get you the arrows and info, and you get us materials for a new costume,” Grills continued with a half-smile as handed over the glass of lemonade to Kate. 

“Okay, how about enough materials to make your costumes plus two more?” Kate offered as she set down the glass on the coffee table. Missy gave her a confused look before Kate continued, “I know a certain someone who needs a little help with theirs.” She gave Clint a pointed look as she said it, and Clint was clearly not amused.

“I’m in,” Missy replied with a soft laugh. “Great,” Kate said with a smile.

“Hey Orval, you hear that? We gettin’ new costumes!” Grills shouted down the corridor to Orval, who was still down in your ex-roommate’s room. “Costumes?” you heard him ask in confusion, clearly unaware of the conversation that just took place.

“Uh, Kate, I simply asked you to retrieve my arrows, not stage a play,” Clint said, the controlled frustration and annoyance ringing in his voice. Your eyes shifted from Clint to Kate, then back to Clint.

“Uh, we’re a… we’re a guild,” Missy corrected. Clint’s eyes briefly settled on Missy before his phone buzzed. He stared down at it for a few seconds before saying, “Okay. I gotta go.”

“We gotta- We gotta go. We’re in this together, right?” Kate says as she begins taking off the Viking vest. 

“Yeah, well, you’re gonna have to change,” he said as he put his phone in his pocket and started to head towards the door. You took this as the moment to get off the couch to get them something before they left. You quickly went to your room and grabbed the small first aid kit you’d gotten for Clint and Kate. You had added some things to what it already had including a small suture kit as well as taping a small alcohol bottle on the top of it. 

Perhaps you were being a little bit too paranoid, but you preferred to take the extra precaution. When you came back to the living room, you saw the woman who had been sent to retrieve his arrows–you believe her name was Wendy– had finally returned. 

“I… I can see that–that it’s very important to you,” Clint says cautiously as he looks between Wendy and Kate. “He’ll get it back to you. Yeah, I’ll make sure of it,” Kate responds with a hurried smile. You quickly gathered that this had something to do with the bag.

Wendy held on to the back tightly as Clint tried to take it. “I promise,” Kate says, which prompts Wendy to tentatively let go. “Thank you. See ya,” Clint says as he brushes past her.

“Wait, before you leave, take this,” you say as you hand over the kit to Clint. He gives you a confused look as he takes it. “For just in case. I included a few things you might need, like a suture kit and stuff,” you explained.

“Right, thanks kid. See ya later,” he replied and continued making his way towards the door. Kate grabbed your hand and planted a kiss on your cheek. “See you later, babe,” she said softly to you. “See you, make sure to call me when you’re done, okay?” you say after kissing her on the cheek back. “I will, I promise,” she said before hurrying out of your apartment.

You take a deep breath as your eyes kept staring at the door they just left through. The worry that had been haunting you from the moment they stepped into your apartment two days ago came back stronger than before. You trusted Kate and you know she can manage her own, but part of you feared that maybe she was in over her head. What if something happened? What if she got hurt? What if no one was there to help? What then?

Grills must’ve noticed your apprehension, because he placed a hand on your shoulder gently and said, “Hey, they’ll be okay, you know? They’re superheroes, it’s what they do.”

“Yeah, I know. They’ll… they’ll be fine,” you say and give him a forced smile. 

Yeah. Superheroes. This is what they do. And they come back, no? They always come back. Except that they don’t. Your mind went to the heroes that had fallen during their fight against Thanos, when everyone came back. The Black Widow, Iron Man, The Vision–not all of Earth’s mightiest heroes were able to come back. But Kate wasn’t fighting genocidal aliens nor was she taking on a global threat. 

She was just… taking on the mafia. And Hawkeye was helping her with this whole ordeal. “Yeah, she’ll… she’ll be fine,” you swallowed down the fear that was threatening to overtake you.

The LARPers stayed in your apartment for around two more hours. They raved about their conquests and defeats in battle, and about what their new costumes would look like once they had the materials they needed to make them. You asked questions about their characters and about how it all worked, even asked Missy if she could teach you how to make a costume.

They’re excitement was quite contagious and part of you was seriously contemplating joining in on their LARPing adventures. You also made sure to get Grills’ snickerdoodle cookie recipe before they left. “Hope to see you for our next event, kid,” Orval said right before closing your door on their way out. 

After they left, the anxiety that had been nagging at you came once again to the forefront of your mind. The lack of a distraction was making you feel antsy so, you began cleaning up the stray cups that were left around your coffee table, put away the spare cookies in a plastic container and you took out Pizza Dog to do his business. Without much else to do, you turned on the television and watched the news channel. If something were to go wrong, at least you would be able to know about it. 

Despite having the television on, you didn’t pay any attention to it. Your foot bounced rapidly and you were wringing your hands while you waited. You absentmindedly scrolled through your phone with no particular purpose. There was nothing you could really do other than wait and that was driving you absolutely crazy.

But still, you waited.

And waited.

And waited.

It was late into the night when your phone finally rang. You just about jumped out of your couch when it did. “Hello?” you say into your phone. 

“Hey baby, it’s me,” you hear Kate’s voice and you let go of a breath you didn’t know you were holding, a wave of relief filling your entire body. “Kate, are you okay? Where are you?” ask quickly, mentally getting ready to spring out your door if you needed to. 

“Y-yeah, yeah, I’m okay– relatively speaking. I’m uh, I’m at my mom’s place–it’s closer from where we were at,” she said, but her tone was distracted and uncharacteristically flat. “Is-Is there anything I can do? Can I get you something or– just anything?” you ask. You knew something was wrong immediately but you don’t know what it was. You wanted to be able to help, if she needed it. 

She stayed silent for a few moments and you had to check to see if the call hadn’t disconnected. “I… can-can you just come over? I… I just… need… you,” she said, her voice getting quieter as she finished her sentence. “Yeah, yeah, I’ll come over, no problem. Let me grab my coat, I’ll get there in fifteen minutes tops,” you say, already putting on your shoes. 

You hear her let out a shaky breath before saying, “okay, thanks. I’ll see you in a bit.”

“See you soon, baby. Bye,” you say softly and hear the phone beep as she hangs up. You quickly put on your coat and grabbed your keys off the kitchen counter. Your eyes briefly landed on the cupboard that you knew held one of Kate’s favorite snacks. Without much thought, you grabbed two twinkies just in case. 

It took you exactly 15 minutes to get to Kate’s place. The doorman that was working the night shift recognized you and let you in without much fuzz. When you stepped off the elevator, you were met with the piercing silence of the giant penthouse. You were not quite sure on what to do, so you sent Kate a quick message that you had arrived. 

You looked around the place from your position while you waited for Kate to answer. It was not often that you had come over to her mom’s place, only ever for a few holidays. Even then, Kate was always by your side, so being alone in the large space made you feel on edge.

You jumped a little when you heard your name being spoken from above you.

“Oh, Ms. Bishop, hi,” you say as you spot Kate’s mom at the top of the spiral staircase. She gives you a smile as she begins to descend the stairs. “Uh, Kate called me a bit ago, she’d asked if I could come over,” you explain, your tone rising a bit at the end of your sentence. You could not explain why, but Kate’s mother always made you nervous. You have always chalked it up to wanting to make a good impression on your partner’s parents, but you are not quite sure if that is the real answer. 

“Yes, she told me you would be coming over. You can come on up, she is in her room,” she said warmly as she reached the bottom step. “Uh, thank you,” she says as you pass her by, “have a good night, Ms. Bishop.”

“You, too dear. Oh and before I forget, please leave the door three inches open,” she says with a pointed look. “R-right, no problem,” you felt heat creep up your cheeks as you continued going up the stairs. 

The door to Kate’s room was left slightly ajar. You knocked softly on the door and poked your head inside. She sat on her bed, her legs crossed as she subconsciously played with her fingers. Her head remained down, not acknowledging the knock. “Hey,” you say softly. She raised her head at the sound of your voice and, once her eyes settled on you, she gave you a soft, sad smile. You took that as permission to step inside. 

“I… brought you something,” you say cautiously as you pull out the two twinkies you snatched from your cupboard, “I thought that you’d maybe want some.” She smiles again, this time a bit more amused. You stepped closer to her bed and left the two twinkies in front of her. You realized you never took off your coat when you came in, so you did and decided to take off your shoes, too. 

You left them on a corner of her room, before sitting on the edge of her bed. You remain quiet as you take her in. There were various cuts scattered around her face, a bruise on her left side and a large bandaid on her right side just above her eyebrow. Your heart sank at the sight of them, and you couldn’t help but wonder what other injuries she might have gotten from this night's events. You tentatively place your hand over her own. Her eyes met yours and you offered her a smile, “Hey.” 

“Hey,” she replied softly. You raise your other hand to place it gently on her cheek, though you leave enough space for her to pull away. Instead, she leaned into your touch, her eyes closing as she absorbed your warmth, and placed her other hand over your own. 

“Do you want to talk about it?” you asked softly so as to not startle her. She remained quiet for several moments before saying, “I… don’t know. 

“I just want you to hold me.”

Upon hearing those words, you immediately adjusted your position. You moved to have your back against the headboard and patted at the space you left between your legs. She shuffled closer to you, laid down on her side and placed her head on your thigh, using you as a pillow. You reached out to hold her hand while you ran your other hand through her hair. The room fell into a comfortable silence for a long time. Part of you believed Kate had fallen asleep until she mumbled quietly, “Clint called off the whole thing.”

You froze for a second, not expecting her to talk, but you quickly recovered and continued to stroke her hair. “Oh?” you say quietly, not quite knowing what to say. She remained quiet for a few seconds before saying, “he, uh, said he’d be doing it alone and told me to go home.”

“Oh,” you say louder, “well that’s stupid.”

She adjusts her head to have a better look at you. “Why take on the bad guys all by himself if he has someone who’s willing to help? I get that he’s a badass superhero, but he doesn’t have to go it alone.”

“There was a Black Widow assassin sent after him,” she mumbled quietly, “that’s why he sent me home.”

“So he plans on taking on an assassin and the mafia by himself? Because if that’s the case, then he’s being stupid,” you respond. She didn’t respond and silence overtook the room again.

“Do… Do you think I could ever be a… a superhero?” she asked suddenly. You took a second before answering, “Yeah, I think you could. So did the LARPers. They called you a superhero after you left.” 

You swallowed the fear that arose within you after saying those words. You truly believed that Kate would someday become a superhero, but it also scared you. You were afraid to lose her, afraid she would get hurt. Not all superheroes come back.

You saw a faint smile appear on her lips as she let out a quiet, amused noise. But her smile quickly faded, “I don’t think I can be a superhero.”

“Well, do you still want to be one?” you asked her. “Well, yeah,” she said sheepishly. “Then, you can still be one. Just because there’s been a setback doesn’t mean you can’t still be one. You can still choose your path. It doesn’t have to end here if you don’t want it to.”

She didn’t say anything after that. She shifted back to her original position and you began stroking her arm in a comforting gesture. She softly called your name and you looked down at her. She opened her mouth to say something but hesitated. “Thank you for coming over when I asked,” she said softly. You smiled softly. 

“Of course, baby. I’d do anything for you,” you replied. She squeezed your hand softly in response. 

You begin to think about what she was originally gonna say. She had hesitated. ‘Was she gonna say…?’ your thoughts trailed off. No. Maybe not. She’s probably not there yet. You bit your lip as a slight feeling of disappointment settled in you. Then again, you yourself were not brave enough to say the words. You looked down at her and noticed she had fallen asleep. 

You smile again at her sleeping form, but then realize there’s no comfortable way for you to move to sleep without waking her up. You did not care, though. One night of uncomfortable sleep for her own comfort was worth it. So, you laid your head back against the headboard and slowly slipped into a peaceful sleep.