fortress | kate bishop

eight.

2020
Manhattan, New York

"Kate told you that she loves you and you told her you wanted to be like geese?"

Anya bangs her head on the counter of her sister's kitchen, and she hears the soft giggles of four kids. Anya lifts her head to find the triplets and TJ watching her with grins and Anya smiles over at them before looking over at Natasha.

"It's like I wanted to say it but then I got scared," Anya responds, "I don't know why I'm scared because Kate loves me back, I just – I can't say it."

"I know why you can't say it," Natasha says, "Because I couldn't say it either. It's because he conditioned and trained us not to love and we may be free, but there is a part of us that still can't do it."

"Is that why you almost let Kennedy marry a man that she didn't love?" Anya asks. Natasha's eyes narrow at the mention of her wife's former fiancé.

"Yes," Natasha answers, "Don't be like me."

"I would never let Kate marry someone that isn't me," Anya says, "Obviously I'd kill them."

"Hey!" Kennedy exclaims, "Do not use the K-word in front of my children!"

"Sorry," Anya apologizes.

"Don't apologize to me. Apologize to them," Kennedy says as she nods toward the four kids who were playing on the floor.

"I'm sorry guys," Anya apologizes.

"It's okay," TJ says as he reaches over and gently pats Anya on the arm. Anya smiles at him and leans over to kiss him on the cheek, making TJ giggle.

"Kiss!" Franklin exclaims as he reaches out to Anya. She picks him up and kisses Franklin all over his face, making him giggle uncontrollably. Franklin buries his face in Anya's neck, refusing to let her go.

"Kiss kiss, Anya!" Diana exclaims and Anya leans over and plants a kiss on Diana's cheek. She looks over at Elena, but the eldest of the triplets shakes her head.

"No."

"Too bad," Anya says as she leans down and kisses Elena on the cheek, causing her to squeal in surprise, which quickly dissolves into giggles. Anya is satisfied and takes a seat beside her sister at the counter, Franklin still in her arms.

"As I was saying, you need to tell her that you love her," Natasha says, "Because life is short and anything could happen and you don't want to live your life wondering what if. Besides, I ran a full background check on her and she's squeaky clean."

"Nat!" Anya hisses, "Obviously Kate doesn't have a record. She is a college athlete so she can't do drugs and she's a lightweight, so we try to keep her away from alcohol."

"When do we get to meet her?" Kennedy asks, "We can have pizza? I'll even decorate the house in purple! Oh, what if we could get a purple pizza? Is that safe?"

"How would we know? You're the doctor," Natasha points out.

Kennedy looks at her wife, "Was that a smart-ass comment Natasha?"

"Swear!" TJ yells.

"This is a necessary swear," Kennedy insists as she gently strokes TJ's curly red hair.

"I mean you are the doctor," Anya says softly.

Kennedy looks over at the college student, "Did you say something?"

"No," Anya says quickly shaking her head. She looks over at Natasha, "You need to respect your wife."

Natasha rolls her eyes, "Push over. I bet you let Kate push you around like a shopping cart."