Chapter 2
A cold nose pressed against the back of your neck and stirred you from the sleep you so desperately wanted to cling to. You let out a groan that invigorated the owner of said nose even more. Alas, you had awoken and couldn’t focus on steadying your breathing to trick the company in your bed.
When you opened your eyes, you were met with an abundance of gold fur and a panting pink tongue. Lucky stared at you expectantly, his tail wagging, his paws on either side of your head. You didn’t know what time it was, but the light streaming through your bedroom window indicated that the sun had barely risen.
“Luck,” you spoke the words in an exhale. The sound of your tired voice just gave him more cause to wiggle around, the smile on your face growing as he surged forward and hit you with a brigade of sloppy kisses.
Kate had morphed into quite the early riser ever since she took over Bishop Security. Both you and Lucky had to adjust to her side of the bed growing cold. There were meetings and international phone calls, and fires to put out all around the city.
Lucky’s morning breath was enough to stir you into getting up for the morning. You pulled on enough layers to fight off the cold and padded into the kitchen. Lucky waited patiently while you sipped your coffee and scratched behind his ears. Once you were both satisfied enough, you pulled on a coat.
The second your fingers touched the leather leash by the door, Lucky started tapping around in circles. He blinked expectantly at you with his one eye. You kept the bookstore closed on Sundays and Mondays, and that meant you had all the time in the world to walk Lucky through the melting snow, pulling him from his favorite trashy pastimes.
You held the leash for illusion. Lucky had a surprisingly fantastic recall and would walk at the same pace you did. Though, after both you and Kate had gotten odd looks from women with small dogs in their designer purses, you figured the leash was a good backup plan.
Once you had made it to central park, you settled down on one of the brick dividing walls. There was a man-made lake behind you and a vast, mostly green, lawn in front of you. There were people curled under trees, those walking their dogs, and a competitive frisbee golf team warming up.
You dug a ball from your bag and threw it for Lucky, his tongue lolling to one side in excitement before he dashed off in its direction. By the time Lucky had brought the ball back for the sixth time, it was dripping with slobber and dirt from half-melted snow. You held it like it was toxic, eying the all-too-happy dog.
“That is one gross ball.”
A heavily accented voice startled you into dropping the object. Lucky picked it up and dashed off. He pranced around a white ball of fur with a muddy brown patch over her eye. You glanced at the woman who had plopped down on the wall. She grinned at you dorkily, blonde hair dripping into her gray eyes.
“I didn’t mean to scare you. My dog seems to like yours.” She held out a hand dawned with a multitude of rings; her nails painted a loud red that only she could pull off. “I’m Yelena”
You weren’t used to anyone in the city actively starting conversations. You had grown up here, and had gotten used to the baristas who had a dark inflection to their voices, and the businessmen that would shove their way through the crowd, talking loudly on their phones. Still, it was a good change of pace, you took her hand. “Y/N, nice to meet you.”
“You look familiar. Do I know you from somewhere?”
You took a long contemplative sip of the coffee you had picked up on the street corner. It warmed your insides and made you shiver. She didn’t look too familiar, as captivating as she was. Though, you had met a lot of people on your father’s political circuit through your high school graduation and so on until you cut ties.
“Richard Y/L/N!” She said, pulling you out of your thoughts. You startled again at her excitement, not entirely unwarranted. “The runner-up for Governor these last few years. I think I met you once going door to door.”
“Don’t remind me,” you laughed, swallowing the hazelnut on your tongue. “We’d tackle whole neighborhoods like we were strategizing for candy and not for votes.”
“I think my sister slammed the door in your face.”
“I would have too, honest. There’s nothing worse than a Republican showing up at your front door with campaign buttons.”
“Mm,” Yelena hummed with a smile “Mormons.”
You both laughed at that. It would have been easy to mistake you for one. The whole family would dress in their Sunday best despite the cold and go to the richest neighborhood you could find. Some of them were gated but residents had no qualms about letting you through. How dangerous could you be? Your mother used to peddle you around and used you to her advantage when it came to the school district angle of your fathers’ campaign.
Lucky chose this exact moment to plop the slobbery ball back into your lap. You scrunched your nose but reluctantly took it. He panted in the cold, well-worn from his frolic with Yelena’s dog. “Fanny, Ko Mne!”
The dog had great recall, standing at attention as Yelena attached her lead. She controlled her breathing, much unlike the one-eyed mutt that slobbered all over your shoes. You scratched behind his ears, never craving anything different.
“Hey, uh” you dug in your back pocket “I don’t know if you’re a big reader, but I own a bookstore on the West End. You can stop by if you’re ever looking for something to do. The first book is on me, you know, as an apology for all the unnecessary pedaling.”
Yelena smiled at you and made a show of slipping the beautiful vanilla cardstock into her wallet before tapping the leather. All the while, Fanny stood at attention. Lucky licked your hand free of any crumbs left over from breakfast.
Kate pressed the call button at the base of the steps whenever she forgot her key, which was often despite the number of copies you had made, and subsequently hid in different spots in her car for emergencies. You both joked about making her wear it around her neck with a chain. But you had become accustomed to the crackle of the speaker by your front door and had no qualms buzzing her up.
“Y/n,” Her voice was muffled by the archaic architecture of the building. “Can you come downstairs and help me out?”
“Rodger,”
Kate was stubborn and nearly impossible to lend a hand to. You didn’t ask what she needed help with, though you figured it was a good bout of catering from the event Bishop Security worked. The fridge was always stocked with fancy finger food and different varieties of cheesecake. During the winter months, you relaxed into the idea of green and red sprinkles, gold edible paint, and giant cocktail shrimp expertly seasoned.
Snow had just barely begun to fall, the pavement was wet and Kate’s hair was sprinkled with fat flakes of ice. She grinned at you and waved excitedly as you pulled open the bottom door. Kate…had a Christmas tree.
It towered over her and still had the bulbs on the branches. White elegant glass and strips of silver tinsel. She held it up straight, showcasing its fir glory. The scent of pine hit you like a brick. Kate’s leather jacket was dusted with brown and green needles.
“Baby, did you steal that?”
“Please, give me some credit. It was on the sidewalk. Not stealing if it was abandoned.”
“It looks important.”
“Wouldn’t be on the sidewalk if it was. Come on, help me lug it upstairs.”
You shrugged and maneuvered yourself so you could keep the door open with your foot while you pulled the tree inside. Kate had no doubt dropped more than half of the ornaments on her trek home. The two of you were supposed to drive into the country to pick out a tree on Friday, but truthfully, this seemed like the better option.
“Pivot,” Kate said as they reached the break in the stairs “Right- no, my right, your left.”
“Kate,”
“Pivot”
“It’s a tight fit! Don’t even think about it.” You grumbled but hauled the Douglas Fir up the last flight of stairs until you got the front of your apartment. Again, you balanced the tip of the tree as you pushed open the door. Lucky picked his head up from the couch before resettling, and you swore you saw a sigh.
Kate was breathing heavy, stray pieces of hair falling from her bun. She pressed her back against the door with a goofy smile. “I’m proud of my restraint there. I could have made so many jokes.”
“Mm, ever say Pivot in the bedroom and you’re sleeping on the sofa with Lucky.”
The tree chose that moment to slide from its propped position into a heap on the floor. You both watched with quirked eyebrows before Kate pulled you into a hug and kissed your temple. Her lips were cold, she smelled like the weather.
“That’s like, half the Christmas decorating done!” Kate said as you pulled her fleece jacket from her shoulders, hanging it up on the hook next to yours. She visibly shivered as the warm air hit her skin. “I can get the stand from storage tomorrow.”
You hummed again, pulling her in for another kiss that she melted into. At the beginning of your relationship, the height difference was a hindrance. But you found and familiar solace in wrapping your fingers around the collar of her shirt, the lapel of her jacket, guiding her to you.
Her hands were cold, tracing the outline of your jaw. She smiled into the kiss before gently taking a few steps forward. The small of your back hit the kitchen island. She deepened the embrace, squeezing your hips as she lifted you onto the granite countertop. Kate fit perfectly between your legs.
“Someone had a good day at work.” You said, stretching your neck to the side as her lips moved across various points of contention. You wrapped your legs around her and pulled her closer.
“Did I ever. We signed a new client.”
“Congratulations, baby. I want to hear all about it.” She grinned at you, draping her arms around your neck. You frowned.
“What?” Kate asked.
“I think I’m sitting on an ornament.”
You had started the morning by getting a call from the fire department. Your phone was obnoxiously loud, it lit up the room and burned your eyes. The last thing you wanted to do was pull away from the warmth of the blanket cocoon you had formed.
Your palm was flat against Kate’s stomach, having wormed its way under her shirt, your face buried into her neck as she snored softly, like she often did when she fell asleep on her back. Lucky was squeezed behind your legs, breathing in tandem with you both.
Kate groaned, the sound vibrating against the side of your face. She reached blindly for the phone. “Hello?” still nothing until she squinted and slid it open. “Hello?”
She sat up abruptly, fast enough to make her dizzy. You pulled a pillow from your side of the bed and moved the cold material over your face to cancel out the noise. Neither of you were strangers to the early morning phone calls.
“Darling,” Kate’s hand was cold against the small of your back “There was a gas leak scare at the store.”
You sat up quick enough for Lucky to let out a drawn sigh. “I’m up, I’m awake”
The walk to the store felt crueler than usual, having stirred both of you from sleep earlier than intended. Kate had been a good sport when you said that you would handle this yourself. She insisted to at least walk you down there so the both of you could enjoy a warm breakfast at the café.
You could see the lights from the firetruck before you reached the beginning of the block. A few exhausted-looking people stood against the sidewalk. One held a cat, the other a goldfish that was suspiciously low on water.
“This is just protocol, you understand?” The firefighter had removed his helmet, scratching a dry spot on the back of his neck as he held out a clipboard. “We cleared everything, though. Nothing but a false alarm. Sorry to drag you folks out this early.”
You scanned the crowd that had formed as Kate scanned the documents, tapping the edge of the pen against the edge of the plastic board. Your eyes were locked in on one thing: your mother. She wore her workout gear, a heavy coat over her toned arms to block out the cold. Her features were shaded in the alternating red lights.
Part of you wondered if it was coincidental. She never came into the city, she made a point that everything she needed was in the town that marked the midway. There was a small grocery store and a clothing boutique that fit her tastes. There was a bookstore, a library, and a diner. It was entirely too comfortable.
“Kid?” The firefighter shoved the papers into your hand. “Just sign here.”
You nodded dumbly and did as you were told. The crowd started to disperse, an angry grumble rocking through the tired residents. Kate took the papers, and folded them before shoving them into her back pocket. She squeezed your hand, pulling you from your thoughts. “Are you alright? These things happen. I know it’s scary. But no one got hurt, that’s what matters.”
God, Kate. Your Kate.
Despite the sleep that tugged at her, she kept the supportive nature that brought her into your family drama in the first place. Faking your way through Christmas had been an adventure that made you inseparable. Even now, she moved her touch to the small of your back, and followed your gaze toward the lingering crowd.
“Oh,” Kate whispered the word, turning her face to the side “Oh, shit. Mama bear.”
“Yeah. She sure has fantastic timing.”
Your mother had stepped towards the side of the building, hugging her yoga mat closer in the cold blowing wind carried from the alleyway. She lingered as the firefighters tipped their helmets and loaded into their rig. They shut off the lights before backing carefully out. Kate hugged her arm around your midsection. The fleece from her peacoat soft against your cheek.
“Why do you think she’s here?” Kate asked voice drowned out by the hum of the truck’s engine.
“Casing the place for burglary.”
“Y/n,”
“Okay, I think she heard from Clara and walked past here out of curiosity when she saw the firetrucks and got concerned like only a mother would.”
Kate smiled despite herself. The sarcasm in your voice dripped like a fine wine. She pressed a cold kiss to the side of your temple. Flurries had begun to fall from the gray, rolling sky. The truck had finally retreated. Your mother rolled the pendant on her necklace around her forefinger and her thumb.
You pulled your shoulders back and reluctantly pulled yourself away from your girlfriend. You took a few steps towards her, meeting her in front of the frosted windows of your storefront.
“Mother,”
“Y/n” She glanced nervously at Kate, then back at you. “Is everything alright? The… Firetrucks, I mean.”
“False alarm. Everything is fine.”
“Right. How have you been?”
She swallowed hard and shoved her hands into her pockets. You had never seen your mother swallow back her words. It was like second nature for you, not acting out, keeping your opinions to yourself. Something that Kate Bishop had slowly ebbed away in your nature these past few years.
“I’m well. We’re well.” She breathed out and a cloud of smoke pooled between you both. “Look, Y/n. Would you consider lunch? It doesn’t have to be today, or even this week. But I hate the way things ended.”
How you ended things.
“Okay,” your words shocked you both. If it had been your father, with his combed hair and his pressed suit, standing in front of you, you wouldn’t have entertained the idea. But your father most likely didn’t know that your mother was even in the city. “Okay. Lunch sounds nice.”