Betty doesn't mention the way Kate is wrapped around her in the morning, even though it's obvious Kate has been awake for some time, reveling in the security of Betty. Kate's head is on Betty's shoulder, her hand is fiddling with Betty's pyjama collar and her torso is pressed right up against Betty's, a leg flung over her. When Betty moves, Kate looks up at her and Betty has to swallow suddenly.
Betty just gently entangles herself and come back with two coffees. Kate sits up to drink hers, looking expectantly at Betty, expecting some sort of response and while Betty isn't exactly sullen, she's not talkative. She just props herself on the door and stares at her coffee. Kate sips hers; it's just how she likes it and it makes her ache a little that Betty still knows how she likes her coffee. There were moments when Kate would remember tiny things about Betty, chronicled somewhere in her brain, reminding her at inopportune moments. The way Betty held a pencil, her favourite brand of cigarette, her birthday, her favourite spot in the factory shower. When Kate looks up, Betty is still staring at her own coffee.
"Thank you for last night," Kate starts hesitantly. Betty grunts. "I'm sorry I took up so much space." Betty snorts because she knows Kate's apologising for crowding her in a way that makes it seem like it wasn't deliberate.
"You can't keep giving me false hope," Betty says, tightening her lower jaw in the way that Kate knows means Betty's said something she found difficult to say.
"I don't mean to," Kate says, thinking about how she can tell Betty it's not false, but Betty turns, hand on the doorknob, ready to walk away. "Stop. We're going to live together, Betty. We need to talk about this some time, why not now?"
"Because I know what you're going to say." Betty looks so crestfallen that Kate rushes forward and hugs her.
"You don't, or you wouldn't look like that." Kate murmurs and Betty freezes, not just at the contact but also at the words. Kate pulls back a little.
"I'm not saying… I'm not sure, but I feel… I feel better about you than I ever did about Ivan. I like being with you more than I liked being with him. You know who I am, even when I'm not sure. I don't want to put any pressure on this, but I don't want you to keep pulling away from me, to wait for me to come to you. I'm comfortable with you, Betty." Betty looks up, uncertain. "I think you're amazing." Kate says.
Kate's been kissed often enough now that she can see the warning signs. But Betty is still scared, she ducks her head and looks away and after what Kate said the last time Betty kissed her, Kate can understand why. Kate feels awkward when she cups Betty's face, because Ivan always cupped hers and she always hated having his hands that close to her throat and because she's never been this side of the face-cupping. The look on Betty's face when she meets Kate's eyes is one of the most beautiful things Kate's ever seen. It took Kate a while to notice that she thought that Betty was attractive, but now that she does, she knows she's never seen her more stunning than barefoot in her pyjamas and full of hope.
Betty's mouth is warm and wielding under Kate's mouth. Kate's been kissed by three people, Betty being one of them, but she feels powerful when Betty's knees give out a little and she has to steady her, hold her tight and upright while still pressing against her. She wonders briefly if this was how Ivan felt when he kissed her before she remembers he never made her knees weak. Kate ends up walking Betty backwards, backs her up against the wall before pulling away a little breathless to rest her forehead against Betty's.
"Wow," says Kate.
"Yeah… w-ow," Betty replies unsteadily. Kate has to prop her up again, hand on Betty's waist. Betty feels softer under her hand than Kate had let herself imagine. Kate isn't really sure what comes next, so she just kisses Betty until Betty seems to awaken from her daze and starts to take the lead. Betty's tongue surprises her initially but Kate rolls with it, lets Betty in between her teeth, gasps into Betty's mouth when Betty finally brings her hands into play and holds Kate tight against her.
"Are you sure?" Betty asks a few minutes later, her hands resting on Kate's lower back, under the pyjama top. Kate runs her thumb over Betty's cheek, pauses over her beauty spot before brushing her lips. She nods, biting her own lip. Betty sighs and pulls her hands away. Kate looks at her, confused. "We've got all the time in the world. I don't want to rush you because you had a stressful night; I want to court you properly. Let me take you out for dinner?" Kate just laughs, tangles her hands in Betty's.
"You've been courting me for years, Betty," Kate tells Betty, eyes sparkling.
"We'll be alright, won't we?" Kate asks much, much later. Betty just nods and nuzzles deeper into Kate's shoulder.
FIN