That One Time We Kissed // Bishova College AU

Swimming Pool

"There is just no way in hell she's this good," Bobbi complained, head shaking as she folded  for the third consecutive game. "You're never playing again, KB."

"Don't need to." With a gleeful laugh, Kate laid claim to the blonde's chips, completing her conquest. "Better luck next time."

"Great. Taking a third L right before the party starts," Natasha sighed, standing from her lawn chair. "Gotta go drink away my sorrows, I guess."

"As if you needed an excuse." Bobbi stood, stretched, and headed for the grill. "If you're going in, will you bring me a beer?"

As a honey-golden sun set on the emerald back lawn of the Tri Delta sorority house, the event of the evening, a rager, came to life. With Natasha having not yet lit a fire and with waning daylight, Kate bid her counterparts farewell and tracked down Yelena before the music and crowd grew migraine inducing.

The blonde, ready to let loose after a full day of party setup, spotted Kate slipping in the sliding back door and called out, "babe, over here!"

Eyebrows raised at Yelena's tantalizing outfit, a skin tight red shirt and black mini skirt, Kate whistled, saying, "damn, do you come here often?"

"Not in a while," she whispered, pulling Kate close and softly kissing her on the cheek. "You haven't been to many of these, so I'm pretty excited."

"Sometimes I forget what your world looks like. It's really..." Kate chuckled. "It's really loud."

"Look, if gets too crowded or something and you need to just chill, my room is-"

"Not tonight," interrupted Kate, intertwining both of her hands with Yelena's. In a rare display of control, Kate gently pinned the blonde against the adjacent wall, eyes and voice low. "Not tonight. I want to enjoy it all with you."

Yelena matched Kate's challenging gaze. "Okay, Kate Bishop. Mind getting me a drink?"

With a parting kiss, Kate strolled to the kitchen, hands in her jean pockets. Yelena could not tear her eyes away from the strong figure, attention only drawn by a hand waving in front of her face.

"Lena?" Came a voice, and she turned with a warm smile.

"Steve," the woman greeted warmly, wrapping her arms around the taller man's neck. "Haven't seen you in a while. How's football?"

"He wouldn't know," cut in a third voice, a dark skinned man with aviator sunglasses. He slung a jovial arm around Steve's shoulders, laughing. "My man here rides the bench."

"Do not," Steve rolled his eyes. "Sorry about him in advance. He just transferred and is insisting on hitting as many parties as possible."

"I gotta scope the scene out, man." Offering a hand, he continued, "I'm Sam."

"Yelena," said the woman, shaking, "nice to meet you."

"You too. And not that I don't love small talk, but is there a keg?"

"On the front lawn, probably," Yelena responded, and Sam was out the door before she finished her sentence. "New roommate or something, Steve?"

Steve scratched the back of his neck, smiling sheepishly. "Yeah, something like that. Been looking for one since James graduated, and he needed another football player to room with."

"God, I forgot you bunked with James."

"Oh, me too. Blocked that out of my memory."

Kate returned with a few crisp beer bottles, dolling them out as if she were a gracious host. The group moved to the living room with Steve taking up most of the love seat and the girls lounging on the couch. Kate did not bother with sipping on her brew; she downed it quickly, calming her nerves as the party really came to life.