That One Time We Kissed // Bishova College AU

Heart 2 Heart

Thankfully for Kate's ankle, Natasha's liver, and Eleanor Bishop's wallet, Spring Break was finite; a drop of booze in the vast college bucket. Upon returning to campus, the crew was in the home stretch until summer break (and internships, and jobs, and way more stress...) and the only hurdle that loomed was final exams in a few weeks.

Yelena was not thinking of exams, though. After a week of sun and surf, her mind was squarely on summer. Staying in the city with Kate, crushing her internship, maybe meeting...

Pepper.

Truthfully, her mind was on Pepper, more than she thought it would be and more than she would have liked to admit. Little things would remind her of their time together; making cookies for the sorority house, watching romantic comedies with Kate, hell, even her color coded notes.

Pepper Potts touched every part of Yelena's life in two short years, and Yelena could not help but wonder, what if? What if she stayed, what if they had more time, what if things had worked out between them? What if she had a home to fall back on, someone to call on Mother's Day? It wasn't often that Yelena allowed her past to eat at her, but lately, she felt sixteen, terrified to meet the uncompromising Pepper Potts all over again.

Part of her felt guilty for being so stuck on the past. Her present was fulfilling and her future promising, could she not be grateful? Kate granted her more stability and comfort than she'd had in a long time, and admitting she wanted more felt selfish.

But she did want more. She needed it, deserved it, even, and Yelena did not fully know how to deal with that.

One afternoon, in the process of searching the Tri Delta house for Wanda, Natasha stumbled upon Yelena staring longingly at a picture of herself and Pepper at her high school graduation.

"Lena?" Natasha said softly. "Have you seen Wanda?"

Startled, Yelena hastily wiped her cheeks with a sniffle. "Um, no... I think she's in class, maybe."

"It's six pm..."

Yelena frowned, glancing down at her phone. "Oh. Right."

Natasha sat down at the kitchen table next to her. "You good? And don't you lie to me, I'll know if you do."

"I'm not good, really... but I'm not bad, either. Is there a word for that?"

"Gad?"

Yelena huffed with humor, wiping her nose. "I was thinking more along the lines of melancholy or contemplative, but I like that too."

"Can I ask why? Even though I think I already know."

"Pepper."

Natasha nodded. "Want me to get Bishop over here?"

The redhead moved to stand, and Yelena lightly grabbed her wrist in protest. "No, that's okay. She knows about this anyway. And you're..." she shrugged. "You're one of the only people who really get it."

Emotion swam in Natasha's eyes, and Yelena knew she understood her meaning. Though usually strong and solid, Natasha had her own share of childhood struggles and traumas, and her path was similar to Yelena's. Both in foster care at times, both bounced around homes, though Natasha eventually found a stable and loving family in her teens. Yelena did as well, but of course, missed the window on official adoption.

"So, Pepper's on your mind," Natasha noted, more serious than Yelena had seen in a while. "Any reason why?"

"Well... you know Kate's internship?"

"Yeah. With Tony Stark, right?"

"Right. And you know who he married last year?"

The lightbulb went off for the redhead, and she sat back in her chair, eyebrows up. "He married Pepper? Holy shit. Yelena, holy shit."

"I know. Kate said I could... I could maybe see her again. Even just for one afternoon, or something, I don't know."

"That's a lot to unpack, Yelena. You really want to see her again?"

"I think so. Even to just let her know I'm okay, and to thank her, and," she chuckled sadly, "I kind of just want a hug. Isn't that dumb?"

Natasha wrapped a strong arm around Yelena's shoulders, wishing she could shield her from the cruelties the world had brought on her. "Absolutely not. You and Pepper had something special. It's normal to mourn the loss of it and want it back, even years later. In a way, it's cruel that you're reminded of her like this. So close yet so far, I guess."

Yelena nodded, knowing the feeling. She did feel cheated, mocked, by the revelation that Pepper was married and effectively had a new life. Pepper had apparently moved on, and Yelena tried to do the same, but she was still hung up from time to time. Yelena doubted that billionaire business mogul Pepper Potts missed having her around; she was more of a stray cat than anything.

But still, Yelena had to see her again. She needed closure, needed reassurance, and she just really, really wanted to talk to Pepper again. Like they used to.

"Damn it, I miss her," Yelena confessed, tearing up.

Natasha fully pulled the other girl to her, one hand smoothing her hair. "I know you do. I know."

-

Kate watched anxiously as Peter tried again to correctly measure their solution. Her goggles were foggy beyond belief, lab ended thirty minutes ago, and she and Peter were barely past step one. 

Finally, her counterpart successfully filled their test tube and handed it gently over to Kate. She carried it to the rack and placed it by the other tubes, but when she let go, it fell through, cracking as it hit the table.

"I'm gonna lose my fucking mind, Pete," Kate grumbled, ripping off her goggles in frustration. "I always do shit like this."

Peter turned, lifting his goggles up to rest on the crown of his head. "KB, what? It's okay, we'll just try again."

"It's not okay!" She grabbed the busted test tube, disposing of it with a bit too much force. "It's not. It's a simple lab and I can't get it right."

The boy's frown deepened as he observed the frazzled, anxious state of his friend. "Are you okay? We've goofed plenty of labs before with no outbursts."

"That's the problem, Pete. I'm tired of goofing up labs, messing everything up. Do you think this will fly at the Stark internship?"

"Is that what this is about? Stark?"

"I guess... I just don't want to get there with all the other gifted kids and be a screwup. I'm kind of an idiot, and for once I don't really want to be."

Sighing, Peter leaned back against the classroom counter, crossing his arms over his white lab coat. "You're not an idiot, Kate. Clumsy? Sure. Oblivious? Maybe."

"Wow, thanks, Pete. I feel better already."

"What I'm saying is, you're the smartest person I know. Sometimes you can be spacey, but maybe that's because you're just on a different level, or something. You're ahead of us all, whether you know it or not."

Nodding, Kate responded, "I see what you mean. I'm kind of clairvoyant, right?"

"...Right." Peter stood, continuing work on the lab. "And besides, screwing up is part of science. Part of the process. How will we know what works until we find out what doesn't?"

Fastening her goggles, Kate focused on the test tube at hand. "You've got a point. We're gonna kick this internship's whole ass."

"Yeah, we are. And trust me, Kate. If Tony Stark doesn't see your potential, then he's the idiot."

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This chapter is dedicated to the time I got put in the wrong chemistry class and didn't have one clue what was going on. My lab partner hated me but it was not really my fault. I skipped class for three months straight ! Worst semester of my life xoxo