fortress | kate bishop

nine.

2020
Manhattan, New York

Anxiety was a new thing for Anya. She'd been conditioned not to deal with it so having to navigate the emotion was unlike anything she'd ever experienced before.

"She's going to hate me," Anya mutters as she walks through aisles of dinner tables. They were searching for items to furnish their apartment and rather than order some really expensive stuff using Kate's credit card, Anya suggested they go rummaging through antiques.

"She's not," Kate informs her.

"She is," Anya insists, "I'm like poor and from the wrong side of the tracks. The wrong side of the world honestly speaking."

"That doesn't matter," Kate says as she looks over at Anya.

"What if she wants us to break up?" Anya asks.

"That's not going to happen," Kate insists, "I'm never breaking up with you."

Anya smiles and she sheepishly tucks a strand of hair behind her ear as she looks over at the dinner tables, "I like this one."

"It looks very vintage," Kate says as she steps beside Anya.

"Which is code for you don't like it," Anya says as she looks over at Kate.

"What? No! I love it!" Kate says unconvincingly.

Anya laughs as she leans over and kisses Kate on the cheek, "You are a terrible liar."

"Hey, I'll make a deal with you," Kate tells her, "You can pick the table if I can pick our mattress."

"Are you negotiating with me?" Anya asks.

"I am," Kate says nodding her head, "Do we have a deal?"

"Yes," Anya tells her, and Kate grins.

Anya watches as Kate gives the table a pat, "Looks like you're coming home with us."

"Our second piece of furniture!" Anya exclaims as she holds a hand up and Kate high fives her, "Now our couch has a friend."

"We should name them," Kate suggests, "Like – like they're our children."

"What?" Anya asks with a smile.

"Likeeee our couch could be named Cushion and our table," Kate gives the table a pat with a smile, "Our table is Woody. Because he's wooden."

Anya nods her head, "Yeah okay. Woody and Cushion, our firstborns."

"Hey," Kate says as she traces her finger over the table as she looks up at Anya, "Do you – do you ever think you'll want kids someday?"

The question stuns Anya to silence. She honestly hadn't really envisioned a domestic future for herself until she met Kate and now she wanted all of those things, marriage, kids, all of it. But Dreykov had ruined that for her, and she couldn't exactly share that with Kate without revealing her horrible past.

She wasn't sure how to answer that question.

"Um, you know what? Forget I asked," Kate says with a nervous laugh, "We haven't even been dating for a year yet, I'm moving way too fast."

"I like children," Anya answers politically, "I just – giving birth seems awful."

"I mean if you didn't want to, I could?" Kate says, before quickly adding, "Assuming that you want kids with me."

"I certainly don't want them with anyone else," Anya responds.

Kate grins, "Well that's a relief and there's always adoption! Not that we really need to think about this because we are only nineteen. I just – I can't help but think of a future with you."