starving [hailee steinfeld one-shots]

u-turn [K.Bishop]

summary: kate calls out one of your recurring habits and accidentally sends you into an overthinking spiral. thankfully, her kisses can help you forget almost anything.

warnings: none, i think?; a smidge of anxiety; me using this as an excuse to explore kate's character and habits; fluffy morning cuddling; not proof-read, whoops

wordcount: 1.1k

a/n: it's been SO long since i've written pure fluff so i tried to go back to my roots with this one. just a short, fluffy piece featuring kate being kate. also, i'm incredibly guilty of doing this all the time too so maybe i felt seen with this request lmao. anyway, hope you enjoy <3

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You didn't know how you had ended up in this situation. With Kate Bishop's arm wrapped around your waist and her front pressed snugly against your back.

It wasn't a situation you had ever imagined you'd be in considering how famous the archer's commitment issues were. She always tried to deny the rumors but you knew her well enough to know the truth behind them, even if she always found some random excuse to justify how quickly she shut potential girlfriends out of her life.

That's what you were used to. Not this version of Kate. The one who gave in to her desires but stuck around afterwards. The one who didn't run and instead talked about her feelings.

Which is how you had ended up here.

Not just loving her but being loved by her. It was surreal and unlike anything you'd ever experienced before. Mainly because Kate was...well, she was Kate.

You truly loved her but that didn't make you blind to certain bad habits she couldn't seem to break.

The most recurring of which was not letting you get up in the mornings.

"Five more minutes," Kate mumbles against your neck. "It's too early."

You can't stop yourself from laughing in response. "That's because you went to sleep at three in the morning last night."

"That's not my fault!" She whines, her tired voice suddenly growing higher in pitch despite its raspiness. "It took me forever to convince Yelena to play Call of Duty with me, I couldn't not stay up with her!"

"My point still stands, doofus."

She grumbles under her breath and you can practically see the pout that must be plastered onto her face. You know she's simply being dramatic to distract you and keep you in bed longer but unfortunately, you've never been particularly good at resisting her. Especially when that pouty, puppy-dog look is involved.

You turn around in her arms so you're face to face and lo and behold, there's that pouty look staring right at you. "Hey, you."

Kate clearly tries to make a show of her "hurt" feelings but the playful twinkle in her eye completely gives her away. Her reply comes in the form of a soft hum and it takes all your self-restraint to stop yourself from laughing at her.

This was your favorite part of dating Kate. Of course, you loved every part of her but you'd never had a relationship like this one. One that was just as passionate as it was silly. Where you could get lost in stupid jokes and drawn-out playful moments. Where you didn't need to overthink or worry about meaningless things.

It's definitely taking you some time to get used to it, though.

A soft kiss to your forehead brings you out of your thoughts. "Where'd you go?" She asks.

"Sorry, just zoned out," you mumble. Somehow, the brunette's affectionate actions are even more distracting than your thoughts.

"Yeah, I noticed." Her words are accompanied by a small smile. "You didn't even comment on my super adorable face."

"That I'm not sorry about." Your voice regains its playful edge and Kate rolls her eyes, even though the smile on her face grows.

"You're such a jerk." She tries to sound annoyed but the way her hand slips under your shirt to trace shapes on your back gives her true feelings away. She didn't need to voice her need for affection for you to pick up on it.

"Sorry, babe."

You wrap an arm around her waist and pull her impossibly closer to you. The physical contact seem to be exactly what she was looking for because her fidgeting fingers come to a rest against your skin.

A calm silence settles over both of you for the first time since she woke up. You love your girlfriend but she really can talk your ear off. It's usually endearing but not when you're hungry and craving a hot cup of coffee.

To no one's surprise, the silence doesn't last long. It would be fine if Kate's words didn't trigger your flight reflexes.

"Has anyone ever told you that you say sorry a lot?" She blurts out.

You hear her loud and clear but you pretend like you didn't as the shock moves through your body. "What?"

She looks at you, her eyes soft and warm like always. "I just...I noticed you say it a lot. And most of the time, you don't need to, y'know?"

You do know because unbeknownst to Kate, it's a habit you don't necessarily enjoy. It's weird how your anxiety moves you to apologize for every single random thing but it also reminds you how weird you sound when you apologize for everything.

It's not exactly something you can simply fix, though, so you made your peace with it a long time ago...at least, you thought you did. But now that uncomfortable feeling of insecurity is back and worse than usual.

"Yeah, I know. Sor-"

You cut yourself off with a sigh, not fully registering the adoration on her face.

Thankfully, Kate doesn't like to keep you guessing.

The self-deprecating joke on the tip of your tongue fades away the second the brunette leans in closer. You meet her half-way, allowing your lips to meet in a brief but sweet kiss.

The care and affection in her actions is more than enough to silence your bad thoughts. It's a reminder that she sees you just as much as you see her. Bad habits, lovable quirks, and all.

A smirk pulls at the corners of your lips once the two of you pull away. "You know, for someone that has such a horrible attention span, you pay far too much attention to my bad habits."

She laughs and the sound helps to fully ground you in the present. In her and the warmth she so easily radiates.

"Yeah, well, so do you. Yelena told me all about your group chat with Kamala and Peter. I can't believe you guys keep count of how many times I talk about trick arrows in a day."

"It's a lot, Kate!" You reply. "We do it because we love you...and we're worried you have an addiction."

"Shut up," she mumbles as her cheeks turn a light shade of pink.

You open your mouth to make fun of her but she's faster than you and pulls you into another kiss.

You're quickly learning there's no better way to spend a morning than like this.

With her.