#verse 01.k

Ally rests her shoulder on the jam of the door to their bedroom, watching as Juliet runs in ahead of her to unceremoniously wake Kate up despite the suggestion not to.

There was a long time where Ally thought this was out of her reach. She had done so many incredible things, survived wars, rebuilt worlds, but a love and a family felt like the most insurmountable thing.

And here they were. Kate is beautiful as ever even with exhaustion spread across her face, and their daughter--their daughter!--was perhaps the best thing this universe had ever given her. Well, technically she and Kate created her with the help of science, a little bit of Phoenix force to get both women's DNA in there, and nine months of pregnancy, but you know. The universe can get a little credit.

She walks into the room and kisses Kate's cheek, nose scrunching at the bit of wetness left there by their daughter, and sits on the edge of the bed. "They're really good pancakes, I gotta admit. And we've got multiple types, right?"

A noise that can only be described as a whine bubbles up from Ally's throat as Kate stops and sits up from touching her, the beautiful sensation of what she was doing gone. "Kaaaaaaaate."

Be still.

Ally's brow furrows at first, unsure what Kate is about to do, but when she is kissed, she lets out a soft breath. The affection is always welcome, but the tenderness is less expected. The two of them are a love of laughs, of silly faces and teasing each other until they're shirtless in someone's bedroom, hands held overhead, and snark silenced with tongues.

This is different. It's gentle and sweet, and of course Ally knows Kate is capable of it. Kate is capable of anything she wants. She supposes she doesn't expect to be the recipient of it. She doesn't know when that shifted; when she was young, all she wanted was a gentle love. She wanted someone to look at her the way Tony looked at Pepper, the way Clint looked at Laura.

Maybe it was after Thanos snapped, when two-thirds of the world died and no one could stop it, when she thought, "Maybe you don't get everything in life you want."

Maybe it was after Tony sacrificed himself, when she truly became the orphan she felt she was at sixteen, looking around at the hoards of friends and adopted family who attended his funeral that she thought, "Maybe that kind of love is not meant to find me. I have so much of this instead."

And then Kate comes along with her charm and beautiful eyes and smile that can light up city blocks. She warms the center of Ally's chest and melts down the walls she spent years trying to build up, trying to shield herself from further chances of experiencing that heavy loss that has permeated her life since she was young. She reminds her that she can get what she wants in this life. Love is for everyone, even the tired ones.

𖥔⋆｡°✩ LOVESICK FOOLS

Ally is in the kitchen, apron on, laptop open to a new recipe she is doing her best to follow. She is more of a baker than a cook, but she does love to make dinner when she can. Kate is here, which makes it extra special. She's got pasta in a pot of boiling water, the sauce simmering in a pan next to it.

She senses Kate approaching through the currents before she sees her, and she turns to smile at her. "I think it's working," she nods. "The sauce isn't too thin or too thick. The lemon and pepper are in balance. I just need to not overcook the pasta. My Italian ancestors would be so proud."

𖥔⋆｡°✩ LOVESICK FOOLS

Ally is sat on her couch, one leg folded under the other, her eyes on the tv in front of them as an episode of Love Island USA plays out. "I cannot believe Sincere is still here; I want him off my screen so badly."