That One Time We Kissed // Bishova College AU

Two Thanksgivings Because Her Parents Are Divorced

"That went so well," Kate gushed, tapping her hands excitedly against her car's steering wheel. The pair were back on the road, now heading for Kate's dad's cabin upstate. "Like, way better than I expected."

"Did it?" Yelena said dryly.

Kate sat back, casting a glance at the other woman. "Yeah... I thought so, at least. I mean, Mom liked you. That's good, right?"

"It's great, Kate."

"I'm not sensing much excitement here."

"So perceptive," Yelena deadpanned.

"What's wrong?"

"What's wrong? Seriously?"

At a loss for words, Kate shrugged. "I'm sorry, love, I thought it went well?"

"Why hadn't you told your mom about me? And you let her push me around."

"Oh, right." Kate sighed, resting a soft hand on Yelena's thigh, and the blonde allowed it. "Do you remember the secret I told you at the party?"

"How is that relevant?"

"I told you that I liked girls. And that I'd never told anyone else."

"Oh, shit..."

"So I wasn't trying to hide you, Lena. I'm not ashamed of you. It's just... I don't know, straight people don't have to come out, they just bring people home. And I'm not that great at conversation, anyway, so instead of telling her, I thought I'd show her. Let her see how amazing you are firsthand."

"Okay, now I feel like a jerk."

"No, no, you have a right to be mad. I forgot to mention that I forgot to mention you. There's like, six levels of miscommunication in there. So I'm sorry for that. And I'm sorry my mom was so abrasive. I guess we caught her off guard."

"Yeah, she sure was something. She came around at dinner, though."

Kate smiled. "Yeah. It was nice."

"It was, baby. It was."

"But my dad," Kate continued, thumb rubbing absentminded circles on Yelena's thigh, setting the blonde's skin ablaze, "will be even nicer."

"You haven't told him about me either, have you?"

"No," she admitted. "But for a different reason. I want to genuinely surprise him. And I think he knows I like girls, anyway. No straight girl watched as much Glee as I did in high school."

"Glee? Was that your awakening?"

"No, mine was probably Kiera Knightley in Pirates of the Caribbean."

Yelena burst into giggles. "Oh my God, mine was Shego."

"Shego? Like Kim Possible Shego?"

"Yeah. Cartoon lady Shego."

"You know what, that's valid. And I kinda look like her, huh?"

"I mean... you have the black hair. So close enough."

"And the amazing personality?"

"Yeah, sure, that too." Yelena sighed happily, eyes now on the gorgeous wooded scenery outside her window. "What's your dad like?"

"Nothing like my mom, if that's what your asking."

"Kind of. Is he like you?"

"Smart but stupid, a bit of a rebel. Yeah, I would say so."

"Then I'm sure I'll love him."

"Love him," Kate mumbled, blushing. "What about you?"

"Hm?"

"What about... I don't know, your dad. Your mysterious Russian dad."

Sighing, Yelena shifted in her seat. "It's complicated. Well, I guess it's not. It's weird. And makes me sad."

"Like I've said before, Yelena, you don't have to tell me anything. But I am here to listen."

"My parents were Russian, but you already knew that. They immigrated here before I was born, then had me." She gently grasped the hand on her thigh. "And then they died. Sorry to be so blunt about it, but there's no way to sugarcoat that. I honestly don't even really know what happened. Car crash, I assume, but I was like, eleven years old with absolutely no family in the country. I got put in foster care and... yeah. That's... that's it."

"Jesus, Yelena, I'm sorry... losing your parents so young and then going into the system. I'm not going to pretend like I understand, but I know foster care can be tough."

"Tough is a mild way to put it. Some of the homes they put me in... let's just say I'm glad they were all temporary."

"All temporary? You never got adopted?"

"A few years ago I got placed with this nice lady, real rich. We connected super well and I thought we had something, but I aged out and went to college before we could do anything official."

"You remember her name?"

"Of course," Yelena said, wistful smile on her lips. "Her name was Pepper. Pepper Potts. We always joked about how silly 'Yelena Potts' would sound."

At the name, Kate nearly slammed on her breaks, eyes wide. "Pepper Potts? Like, the Pepper Potts? Redhead, nice smile, kind of a MILF?"

"I- yeah? Why?"

"Holy shit, Yelena, you know who she's married to now?"

"No?"

"Tony fucking Stark."

"Oh my God," Yelena breathed in disbelief. "The guy you're interning for? He's married to my ex foster mom?"

"If we're talking about the same people, then... yeah." Kate glanced down at the woman sympathetically. "If I could swing it... would you wanna see her again? I know that might be like, painful to think about, what might have been, but-"

"Yes." She responded, eyes watering. "Yes. I'd love to. Thank you, Kate."

Kate kissed Yelena's forehead briefly before directing all of her attention on the road ahead of her. Squinting at a mile marker, she said, "well, we're only a few minutes out. You ready for another adventure?"

"With you? Always."

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Does that count as a plot twist?