The Color Of You

Chapter 25

First of all, this is my little gift to you all. I'm about to head into my birthday weekend, so I thought I'd start the celebration by posting this chapter. 😆 Second, this chapter is heavy on dialogue. I couldn't help myself—I really enjoyed writing it, even if it was a bit of a challenge.

Happy Pride month to you all! I wish you happiness and an endless amount of love. Treat people with kindness, and if you have something nice to say, say it. Don't hold back kindness and love—let it free and let it grow into something beautiful.

❤️🧡💛💚💙💜

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Your heart was pounding in your chest, an unrelenting drumbeat of fear and dread as Kate's eyes darted between you and Natasha. The room seemed to shrink in on itself and the air felt thick with tension with an overwhelming scent of panic. Kate's stunned expression was a mix of shock and disbelief, her eyes wide as if she was trying to wrap her head around the situation before her.

"No, no, no," you mumbled, barely audible as you tried to piece together words that could somehow make this better. You had dreaded this moment for so long, and now it was here, crashing down on you with the force of a tidal wave.

Natasha, usually the embodiment of calm and control, had a clenched jaw, her posture rigid as she stared at Kate. Her eyes were sharp, and you knew she was torn between protecting you and not ruining your friendship with Kate.

"Kate," You pleaded, your voice fragile and trembling. "This isn't what it looks like."

Kate's eyes widened further. "Isn't what it looks like?" she echoed, her voice rising in pitch. "What else could this be? What are you doing with—" She cut herself off, her gaze snapping to Natasha with a look that made your stomach twist painfully. "What the hell is going on?"

Your throat felt dry, your mind a whirlwind of desperate thoughts. "Kate, please," you pleaded, your voice cracking. "It's complicated."

"Complicated?" Kate's voice was a harsh whisper, her face a mask of disbelief and confusion. "You're with Natasha! What about Wanda? What about—" She shook her head, as if she tried make sense of the chaos.

Natasha got off the bed and took a step forward, her hand reaching out slightly, a gesture meant to calm. "Listen to me, Kate. You don't understand. There's more to this than you know."

Kate's eyes flashed, with anger. "What more is there to know, Natasha? You're cheating on Wanda with—" She broke off, her voice trembling. "How could you do this? And you," she turned her gaze on you, "how could you be a part of this?"

The words struck you with the force of a freight train. Of course, Kate's mind would leap to Natasha cheating on Wanda—it wasn't a stretch given her parents' bitter divorce over infidelity. It was a wound that hadn't healed, a scar that made betrayal an unforgivable crime in her eyes.

You felt your throat close up, your heart aching with the weight of her words. "Kate, it's not like that," you tried to explain, your voice crackling with emotion. "I'm... I'm with both of them. Natasha and Wanda. It's... it's not what you think."

Kate's jaw dropped, her eyes widening as she processed your words. "What?" she breathed, her voice barely audible. "You're... both of them?"

Natasha nodded slowly, her expression softening but still tense. "Yes, Kate. We're all together, and we planned to tell everyone in a better way, but—"

Kate's face twisted as her eyes filled with disappointment. "And Yelena?" she interrupted. "Does she know?"

The silence that followed was deafening, a confirmation in itself. Kate swallowed hard, and took a step back, shaking her head with a chuckle that lacked any amusement. "Okay, this is too much. I... I can't deal with this." She turned and fled the room, the sound of her footsteps echoing down the hallway, leaving you and Natasha in a painful, suffocating silence.