Chapter Text
You’re late for your ethics lecture. Well, late to being there early enough to get a good seat at least.
You mentally curse when you walk in through the side doors and see that your usual spot has been taken. You drown out the chatter of the lecture hall, eyes darting around until you land on an empty table seat. Before you sit, you look at the woman next to you typing away at her laptop. You can tell she’s tall even when she’s sitting down.
“Excuse me,” you start. She turns to look at you, and for the first time you get a good look at her. Her sharp features are offset by the round glasses she wears, but her gaze still intimidates you. Nevertheless, you were enchanted for a brief moment. Suddenly you’re glad you were a little late for once. “Is the seat next to you taken?”
“No, you can sit there.”
“Thanks,” you say. When you get your things settled, you can’t stop yourself from stealing glances at her. She seems familiar, and you note that you always see her when you manage to get to class earlier than usual. You accidentally meet her eyes for a second and you quickly avert your gaze. You can see her blink at you from your peripheral and your ears start turning red. Smooth.
“How early do you show up to class?” Was your attempt at small talk.
“I always get here 20 minutes early to make sure I get one of these table seats,” she says. “I’m not really comfortable with the seats with the attached desks. No leg room.”
“Ah.”
You both don’t say anything else to each other after that, but the silence makes you uncomfortable.
“What’s your name? I feel like I’ve seen you around a lot.”
She pushes up her glasses and continues typing away at her laptop as she answers you.
“Yelena,” she pauses her typing. “You?”
“Y/N,” you answer.
Yelena opens her mouth to say something but is interrupted when the professor begins the class. You’re mildly disappointed, wanting to talk to her more.
You’re unable to focus during the lecture just because you’re so aware of Yelena. Her aura is confident and imposing.
An hour and a half passes and you’ve absorbed none of the new material. You sigh and quickly pack your things and stand up, already dreading the extra work you’ll have to do later. You turn towards Yelena. You wanted to at least get her number before you leave. Something holds you back right as you decide to go for it, and you’re left facing her with your mouth half-open.
“You look like you want to tell me something,” Yelena says. She slips her laptop back into her bag.
“Yeah— I, uh,” you stammer. “I wanted to ask for your number and, uh, see if you wanted to hang out later.” She smirks at you and your heart flips. Fuck.
“Asking me out already?” She teases. “No!” you say. Your reply came out harsher than you expected, and you wince. “I just wanted to be friends with you, that’s… all.” Fuck, fuck.
You could have sworn you saw something flash across her eyes, and it made you inwardly scold yourself again.
“Yeah… I was just teasing, don’t worry about it.” You give her your phone and she enters her number.
“It was nice meeting you,” she gives back your phone. “Do you wanna get coffee together before lecture tomorrow?”
You raise your eyebrows at her. You didn’t think she’d be the one initiating anything. “Yeah! That sounds fun. I’ll text you later about it.”
She towers over you when she stands up fully. She flashes you a warm smile, and your knees are weak again. You both exchange your goodbyes, and you walk back to your dorm with a little skip in your step.
“Finally, your dry spell will soon be broken!” your roommate says emphatically. “Gross, Sasha,” you fake gag, “I literally just met her, I don’t see her like that.”
As soon as you let your little coffee “date” with Yelena slip, Sasha doesn’t stop bugging you about it.
“Wait, it’s with Yelena right?”
“Yep,” you say as you text Yelena, sorting out how early you should meet up. She mentions a new coffee place that opened up near the building your class is in and you both agree to check it out together.
“Aw man, Connie told m—” Sasha doesn’t finish her sentence and instead brings her hand to her mouth. “Nevermind.”
“You’re terrible at lying. Just tell me what’s up,” you groan. You opt to worry about reviewing for the lecture later. Your anticipation to meet Yelena again will distract you from getting any real work done anyways. Sasha pauses for a minute, probably thinking of how to word whatever she had to say. “He talked to her for a little bit at Eren’s party,” she starts. “He kinda joked about her hooking up with another girl and he said she looked… grossed out? I guess?” she winced.
You purse your lips. Something unpleasant stirs within you and makes you feel a little sick.
“I’m not trying to get with her. We’re just getting coffee, that’s it.” And you leave it at that. Whether you’re trying to convince Sasha or convince yourself of that, you’re not ready to confront it quite yet. Sasha flashes a weak smile at you and the conversation dwindles down from there.
You can’t deny the disappointment that enveloped you when you learned that Yelena’s probably straight. You bury yourself underneath your sheets, hoping that sleep would soon make you forget about the bad feeling sitting heavy in your gut.
When you arrive at the coffee shop the next morning to meet Yelena, she’s there early. As you enter, the warmth of the building relieves you of the crisp, autumn air. The bustling of the café and the smell of freshly brewed coffee calms you. Yelena catches you and gives a small wave, and you smile and sheepishly approach her. You can’t help but feel giddy at the thought of spending more time with her. She’s alluring, especially today when you see she’s wearing a big sweater instead of her business casual from yesterday.
“Do you always show up to things early?” You grin.
She laughs lightly and shoves her hands in her pockets. “Maybe, but this time it’s because I wanted to leave a good impression, and pay for you.” You weren’t expecting her to be so nice towards you, so you’re initially taken aback by her hospitality.
“Oh, Yelena, you don’t have to—”
Her hand reaches out to lightly hold your wrist, and your words get stuck in your throat. You sneak a glance down at her grip, and only realize how large her hands are when they’re next to your own.
“Let me pay? Please?” You can feel your face start to flush. You look up at Yelena, her lips pouting slightly. You can’t refuse.
“Just this once,” You sigh.
She lets go of you and the loss of her touch leaves you feeling lonely. Though you’ve just met her and know you won’t ever have a chance with her, you can’t help but feel attracted. The absence of just a light touch from her reminds you of what you can’t have. Your mood dampens for a moment; at first mad at the universe for cursing you to be so unlucky, and then at yourself for being selfish. Unwilling to soil your time with her, you try to shake it off. Yelena must have noticed nevertheless when she goes to look at you as you move to get in line with her.
“Something wrong?” It takes you a second to snap out of your thoughts.
“Huh?”
“I really don’t mind paying; I’m the one that offered,” she reassures.
“No I’m fine, it’s not about that,” you reply. She nods and decides not to push further. When it’s her turn to order, she asks for a caramel macchiato and you get a mocha.
“You don’t look like the type to get sweet coffee,” you comment. Yelena raises her eyebrow at you while she pays. “Do I look that miserable to you?” She says, amused.
“Nope,” you hum.
You both move out of the way to wait for your orders, which only take a couple of minutes to get ready. You already feel more energized when the scent of your drink reaches you as you pick it up. Yelena tries to take a sip of hers, but her glasses fog up after hovering her face above her coffee for a moment too long. The sight of it makes you giggle, and she furrows her brow.
“I should’ve worn my contacts today,” she grumbles. “I think you look cute with glasses,” you say offhandedly before tasting your own drink. It’s a good mocha. “Thanks,” Yelena smiles.
She checks her phone before she guides you to a table. “Lecture’s still an hour from now. Let’s stay here until then.” She pulls out your chair for you and helps you sit, and your heart warms at the gesture. You thank her and watch her pull out her own chair and settle herself in. You admire the way she carries herself; polite, prim, and proper.
Yelena takes a sip (managing to keep her glasses from fogging up once again), and looks down at the table before speaking.
“You said yesterday that you’ve seen me around a lot. Do we know a lot of the same people?”
“Yeah! I heard you were at Eren’s party the other day and I know most of the people that went,” you reply. Yelena blinks at you for a short moment. “How come I haven’t seen you?”
“I’ve been really busy this semester so I haven’t gone out a lot,” you sigh. “And I’m not a big party goer. I like staying in my dorm by myself.”
“I understand, I’m like that sometimes,” Yelena replies. Her elbow rests on the table, head resting on her hand as she tilts her head at you. “What’s your major?” She questions.
“Computer science, but I’m changing it to animation soon.”
Her eyes widen slightly. “Why?”
“I had a little crisis a few weeks ago,” you laugh. “I realized that my major didn’t make me happy as much as art did, so I unfortunately gave into my dreams of being a starving artist instead.”
Yelena suddenly lifts her head from her hand and leans a little down towards you, eyes holding a twinkle that wasn’t present before.
“That’s crazy, I’m on the same boat as you,” she beams. “I’m in pre-law right now but I’ve been wanting to switch to graphic design.”
“Why don’t you? We can be pretentious art majors together,” you joke. She smiles and looks down.
“I probably can’t. I have a lot of… expectations to meet.” Your face falls, and you suddenly feel bad for bringing it up.
“I think you should still think about switching if that’s what you really want to do…” You mumble. “What got you liking graphic design?”
Yelena lifts her face a little, eyes looking upwards as she recalls. “If you know Eren then you must know Zeke, right?” She asks. You nod, having talked to him a few times in the past. “He’s starting this pre-med club on campus. He’s a good friend so I did a lot of the design stuff for him.”
“And you really liked doing design? Like making the logos and stuff?” You ask. Yelena hums in agreement, hands fiddling with the sleeve on her coffee. “Since I liked doing it so much I started designing more things for fun, and I guess along the way I had a crisis like you did. And now I also want to become a starving artist,” she laughs.
You find that Yelena is easy to talk to, and the conversation flows naturally. You switch the topic, instead asking her about her hobbies. You learn that she likes to visit museums and take care of house plants in her spare time. She talks about the time she tried to learn how to roller skate, but never had the time to practice and now has 70 dollar roller skates rotting in her dorm. Your cheeks warm as you listen to her talk more about her passions, liking the way her voice sounds and how animated she gets.
“You make me talk too much,” she sighs loudly. “It bothers you right?”
“I like listening to you talk,” you admit. Yelena pauses for a moment to look at you.
“I don’t, I’m more interested in talking about you,” she says. “How’d you get into animating?”
“I was obsessed with Disney as a kid, especially how all the movies were drawn frame by frame,” you say. “I started making really short animations for fun, but I ended up studying computer science since it was more practical.”
The corner of Yelena’s lips tilt upwards while her eyes bore into you. “I’m happy you’re making the switch. Animation suits you.” You watch her look off to the side for a moment. “Are you dating anyone?” She asks.
You blink at her, confused at the change of topic. “No, but I bet you’ve got something going on. You look like you’d be popular with people,” you tease. She smirks at you. “I’d say I’m pretty popular with guys,” she says. “I think Zeke has a little crush on me.”
Your chest tightens but you realize that she’s probably teasing you again. Thankfully she doesn’t notice anything wrong this time.
“Do you like him?”
Yelena ponders for a moment. “I’ve been really good friends with him for a while… but I’ve never really thought about it yet.” You exhale in relief. Yelena’s eyes drift off and she glances at the clock mounted on the wall behind you.
“Shit, it’s already been an hour,” Yelena says, standing up from her seat. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to make us late for lecture.”
“It’s okay-” You begin, but you’re interrupted when Yelena comes and grabs your hand. She leads you outside the café and you both pause to throw your coffees in the trash before resuming to lecture. You’re hyper-aware of your hand in hers, the touch you’ve craved since she dropped your wrist. She takes long strides which forces you to move quickly, but the grip she has on you makes sure you don’t fall behind her.
She lets go of your hand before you both enter the lecture hall. You sit together in the only available seats in the front. Quietly, you settle your things and move your bag out of the way of your feet. You find that she’s already looking at you when you turn your head towards her. You get nervous so you look away, and you hear her exhale softly when she laughs lightly at you.
The class period goes by smoothly and you’re able to focus more despite sitting next to Yelena again, and in such a short time you feel so more comfortable in her presence. When lecture ends you both pack your things and start heading outside together.
“I’ve gotta go and do some work in the library now,” you say. Yelena frowns for a second before her face returns stoic. “Bummer,” she mumbles.
“I’ll see you later, thanks for paying for the coffee.” You start walking away from her, but you’re stopped when she tugs at your wrist. Your eyes widen and you look back up at Yelena, her face suddenly much closer to yours. For the umpteenth time that morning, your legs feel like jelly.
“I really enjoyed coffee today. We should spend time more often,” she says softly. Her voice is almost a whisper, as if she was telling you a secret. You swallow.
“I’d like that,” you squeak out.
She drops your wrist, and you exchange goodbyes again before heading to the library to study. You take the long way to make the most of the autumn breeze, but your heart is still racing from the joy of spending the morning with Yelena. You’re certain you have a small crush on the woman, which is slightly embarrassing to you since you’ve known her for only a little more than a day.
I have a crush on her. It’s fine. It’s just a little crush, not anything serious.
You think to yourself.
It’s been a while since I’ve liked anyone, so I’m just bored… Yeah, I’m just finding something to look forward to every day because I’ve had nothing going on for a while.
Your self-reassurance makes you feel slightly better about your feelings.
You arrive at the library and hole yourself up in one of the private rooms for an hour or two. You like getting a lot of your classwork done at the beginning of the week so you have more free time on the days you don’t have class. To your surprise, you manage to get a lot of work done before your lunch with Sasha. You stand up and stretch before leaving the library, reaching for your phone to text Sasha.
You: omw to the dining hall
It only takes a few moments before you feel your phone buzz.
Sasha: kk, tell me all the juicy details from this morning hehe ;))
You scoff and decide not to reply, putting your phone in your pocket. Sasha is sitting in one of the booths when you arrive at the dining hall. She wears a shit-eating grin when she waves you over and you fake glare at her, pretending to be annoyed.
“So, how was coffee?” She asks teasingly. You roll her eyes at her.
“It went well, she’s really nice.” You sit down, stealing a fry from Sasha’s plate. She makes a noise of disapproval and moves her plate away from you.
“Really nice?” Sasha wiggles her eyebrows at you.
“You were the one that told me she was straight, why’re you hyping it up to be anything else?” You whine.
“Oh, I forgot about that.”
“You’re hopeless,” you groan. You get up, your appetite finally settling in. “I’m gonna get food.”
Comfortable silence is shared between you and Sasha when you return and begin to eat your plate. You haven’t eaten or drank anything other than the coffee today, so you feel better with food in your system. Afterward, you both walk back to your dorm and you immediately retire to your bed to take a nap.
You wake up to the noise of Sasha shuffling around and you sit up groggily looking out the window to guess how long you’ve slept. It’s dark outside now. Sasha eyes widen at you when she notices you’re up.
“Oh, sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you up,” she says. You mumble an “It’s okay,” as Sasha looks to the side nervously before opening her mouth to speak again.
“Sorry for teasing you so much about Yelena,” she starts. “I got excited when you told me about her and started assuming stuff.”
You squint at her, still feeling drowsy. “It’s okay, I know you meant well,” you reply. She smiles at you before taking her keys. “I’ll be home late,” she calls before leaving your shared dorm.
You rub at your eyes before reaching for your phone. Your heart thumps when you see Yelena messaged you about 30 minutes ago.
Yelena: What time do your classes end tomorrow?
You grin, flipping over to lay on your stomach.
You: mine ends at 4:15, why?
It only takes a few minutes for her to reply.
Yelena: If you’re free let’s hang out in my dorm and have dinner together.
You quickly reply, saying that you’d love to before climbing down your bed to do some more homework at your desk. Your phone dings with one more message from Yelena.
Yelena: Great, can’t wait to see you
You smile to yourself. Though you’re giddy that she obviously enjoys your company, deep down your heart aches. You do your best to ignore the feeling and spend the rest of the day relaxing alone.
You slept well that night despite napping in the middle of the day yesterday. Sasha’s still not home, but your worries dissipate after you see her text you that she slept at Mikasa’s dorm last night. You give into your impulses and text her back.
You: i hope you kept it pg-13
You dress comfortably for the day since you know you won’t be back at your dorm until after you get dinner with Yelena. Slipping on an oversized hoodie and some sweats, you organize your things before heading out. Typically you dislike waking up in the mornings, but you learn to make the most of it since it’s the only time of day campus is relatively quiet. After buying a quick breakfast, you start making your way to your first lecture of the day.
The time leading up to your plans with Yelena is mostly uneventful, just consisting of going to class and grabbing lunch with some friends. She texts you where her dorm building is just as your last lecture is dismissed, and the excitement of seeing her again starts settling in your chest and spreads to your head and to your toes. You text her that you’re on your way, and she immediately replies that she’ll be waiting outside to swipe you into the building.
When you arrive outside of her dorm, you’re starstruck. You must’ve forgotten how pretty she is in the half-day you didn’t see her.
Yelena sees you and waves, smiling. She’s wearing a white button-up with a black blazer along with matching slacks, which makes you feel slightly underdressed.
“You look… really good in a suit,” you say. “I hope I wasn’t supposed to dress up or anything.”
Yelena laughs. “I’m dressed like this because I just came from a meeting. Don’t worry about it.” Her eyes scan over your body, and you feel chills from her gaze alone.
“You also look cute,” she comments.
“This outfit doesn’t make me look cute.”
“I wasn’t talking about your outfit. I was talking about you,” Yelena muses. “But I think your clothes are cute too.”
It takes a moment for you to register the meaning of her compliment. “Oh, yeah— thank you,” you stutter. Your face reddens, and you look up to Yelena clearly enjoying your reaction. She grins down at you.
“If you’re gonna be like that everytime I tell you you’re pretty then I should do it more often,” she says.
“Are you always this flirty with everyone?” You grumble.
“Wouldn’t you like to know?”
You roll your eyes at her. She guides you into her dorm building, making small talk while taking the elevator to the 13th floor.
“The view is nice up here,” you say, watching the tiny crowds of people moving below from a hallway window.
“It really is,” Yelena replies. She turns to unlock the door to her dorm and you remove yourself from the window to come inside.
“Pieck?” Yelena calls out, removing her shoes and setting them aside. She’s met with silence. “My roommate’s not home right now so it’s just us,” she says. “Make yourself at home, sorry it’s a little messy.” You look around while Yelena goes to set her stuff down. You see the plants she talked about during coffee decorating every surface of the kitchen and the living room. There’s a book left laying on the coffee table, and some dirty dishes in the sink. Nevertheless, it’s still cleaner than your own dorm. And a lot bigger.
“It’s not messy at all, it just looks lived in,” you say. Yelena hums, but she doesn’t sound convinced.
“I’m gonna change into something more comfortable. Are you hungry? We have snacks here…” She coaxes you to the pantry, and you see a big box filled with chips and other foods. While you’re busy snooping around in the pantry, Yelena scans the fridge. She has to hunch over a bit to see what’s inside. “We have jelly in the fridge if you like them. Pieck likes these so I buy a lot for her,” she mentions. You perk up when she says jelly. Yelena notices and smiles at you. “We have a lot of flavors, but there’s mostly lychee here.”
“That’s great, my favorite flavor’s lychee,” you say. When you go to look inside the fridge, you quickly find that Yelena wasn’t kidding when she said she had a lot of jelly. The entire lower compartment of the fridge is filled with them, to your delight.
“I’ll keep note of that,” she mutters. She steps away and straightens her back.
“Eat as much as you want,” Yelena says, walking towards what you assume to be her room. “Just leave some room for dinner.”
You grab two lychee-flavored ones out of the fridge. It doesn’t take you long before you finish both. The jelly is sweet and delicious, but you refrain from taking any more to be polite. You decide to rest on the couch while you wait for Yelena, going on your phone and seeing multiple notifications, most of them from Sasha.
Sasha: it was definitely pg!! im a child of god
Sasha: btw im heading back to the dorm now
Sasha: where r uuuuu
You send out a quick reply, right as Yelena comes out of her room.
You: sorry, forgot to tell you im staying at yelenas and getting dinner w her
You hit send and look up to Yelena walking towards you, and you’re starstruck again. It’s getting embarrassing how easy it is for her to woo you, but in your defense, this is the first time you see her wearing something that shows off some skin.
She’s only wearing a gray sports bra and some matching high-waisted leggings. Without thinking, your eyes wander her body. She has broad shoulders, with some muscle in her arms. Her abs are toned, waist curving inwards and extending out to her hips. Her leggings hug her figure quite well, and your breath hitches. Her body is undoubtedly gorgeous. Before you let your eyes wander up towards her chest, you force yourself to look away, shame culminating within you. You feel like a pervert.
Yelena raises her eyebrow at you. “Like what you see, Y/N?”
You scramble to form a reply that isn’t creepy. She’d definitely think you were disgusting if she knew what you were thinking.
“Uh,” you begin. “How often do you work out?”
Yelena’s expression is unreadable, which subtly adds to your panic.
“I try to wake up early every morning except on the weekends to go to the gym. I hate cardio so I just lift weights,” she says. Yelena suddenly has a mischievous glint in her eye, the corner of her lip upturning slightly.
“I’ve been working a lot on glutes. Wanna see?” Before you can protest, she turns around so her back is towards you. She balances her weight on one leg and curves her back slightly. You try to keep your gaze on her backside, which is pale and smooth. Ultimately you can’t help yourself, so your eyes slowly drift down to her ass. It’s round and firm, and accentuates her hips and waist. A blush creeps up your neck, warmth pooling between your legs. You feel even more disgusting, and you try to shove your arousal away. You shift around uncomfortably, mentally scolding yourself.
Straight girls show off their butts to each other all the time. She’s just doing normal friend stuff.
Yelena seems to notice something amiss (as she always does, you realize) when she turns her head towards you, smile quickly devolving into a straight line. “Sorry, did I make you uncomfortable?”
Your eyes widen, and you’re quick to deny her. “No, I was just surprised,” you say.
“Hmm.” She goes to sit next to you on the couch, and your posture visibly stiffens.
“You can tell me the truth,” she says, legs crossing and body facing towards you. She pauses. “Is it because my ass doesn’t look good?”
You blink at her. “What? No, it looks great,” you say suddenly. Yelena throws you a knowing smile, and you suddenly want to crawl into the floor and rot.
“I’m just teasing you,” she says, leaning back on the couch. “You’re always so tense around me, you should loosen up.” Yelena’s hand goes to squeeze your shoulder reassuringly.
You realize that you won’t be able to really enjoy the time you spend with her if all you think about is yourself and your feelings. It isn’t fair to the both of you, so you decide to take yourself less seriously.
“I’ve just had a lot to think about.” You lean back against the couch and angle your head upwards, looking at her. “It doesn’t matter anymore since I’m here now.”
Yelena’s face visibly brightens, and you feel warm and light. “I’m glad you feel like that here with me.”
Your eyes leave her face and catch onto something brightly colored in the corner of the room. “Are those your roller skates?” You ask. She lifts her head and follows your gaze. “Yeah, they’ve been sitting there for a while.”
“Do you wanna try them out again in the park nearby?”
Yelena purses her lips. “I would say yes if I felt like hurting myself.”
“That won’t happen, I’ll help you,” you insist. She gives you an unimpressed look. “If I slip and fall on you I’m pretty sure I’d crush you.”
“That’s a risk I’m willing to take,” you reply. Yelena’s face won’t budge, so you start pouting at her. “Please? I used to roller skate a lot when I was younger so you’ll be in good hands.” She squints at you, frowning.
“Don’t look at me like that, that’s so fucked up.”
You continue your little begging act, furrowing your brow and looking up with big eyes. It doesn’t take long for Yelena’s steel to be broken, her expression relenting to a small smile as she releases a small puff of laughter.
“Fine, just this once,” she sighs, standing up and stretching her legs. “Your face is a deadly weapon.”
Your smile is big as you internally celebrate your victory. You decide to leave your things except for your phone and Yelena grabs her skates and carries them in a tote. Before both of you step out to leave however, Yelena suddenly stops.
“I’m gonna put contacts in, I’m not risking my glasses,” she mutters.
It’s a 15 minute walk to the park. There aren’t a lot of people around, to which Yelena is grateful. There’s an area of flat concrete with a few railings to grab onto and you decide that this is a good place to start.
“I’m already starting to regret this,” Yelena says. “We don’t have to if you don’t want to,” you reply. She removes her right shoe and starts fitting the skate on. “I’m just being a baby, of course I want to.”
After she finishes tying the laces of her right skate, she leans onto the railing and moves her foot back and forth. Her brow furrows.
“This feels way slippier than I remember,” she comments.
“That’s the whole point, you’re on wheels.”
“You don’t get it, there’s no friction happening here. I thought I’d at least feel some bumps.”
You find her nervousness amusing, but you try to keep a blank face. “Do you need help putting on your other skate?”
She stops moving her foot and looks at her other skate. “Probably.”
After you pick the skate up, you crouch down to help her foot into it. She holds herself steady with both hands gripping the railing behind her. You finish lacing her up, and you step back from her. The shoes make her even taller, so your head barely reaches where her breasts are. You’ll definitely regret it if she does end up falling on you.
“How’s it feel?” you ask.
“Like I’m gonna eat shit if I decide to let go of the railing,” Yelena says flatly.
You laugh and hold your arms out towards her. “You can do it, I’ll hold onto you so you don’t fall.”
Yelena pouts, looking down at your outstretched hands. Slowly, she removes one hand from the railing and quickly goes to latch onto you. She grips your hand tightly, and her feet slightly wobble from having to adjust. She exhales and takes a few moments before completely letting go of the railing. You slowly step back as she inches forward, hands holding onto you like a lifeline. She’s incredibly stiff, but at least she’s not slipping.
“See, you’re doing it!” You laugh. You’re proud of her, even though right now you’re just kind of dragging her around. Yelena’s eyes are trained to her feet, solely focusing on not tripping.
“Try moving your feet,” you say.
“I’m happy with you just walking me around,” she nervously laughs. Just then you move her a bit faster than what she’s comfortable with unknowingly, and her knees slightly buckle. Fortunately, you catch her in time.
You drag her back to the railing for a quick break. “We’ll build up to it.”
A few minutes were spent like this, with Yelena grasping your upper arms as you wheel her around, and going back to something she can hold onto when she feels overwhelmed.
“Okay,” her gaze is now filled with determination. “I can try moving by myself now, just be ready to catch me.” You nod, and she steadily lets go of you.
She keeps her hips low and slowly steps forward with her skates. You’re walking backward in front of her with your arms wide open, ready to break her fall. She manages to skate by herself without your help for a few moments until she reaches for you to steady herself. Rather than going for your arms like the previous times, she wraps her arms around your waist.
“Oh my god, I skated without you and didn’t fall,” she breathes. You grin, hugging her back. “You’re a fast learner.”
She laughs, and you feel the vibrations against your head. “I’m happy you convinced me to do this, it’s more fun if I have someone else here to help me,” she says quietly. She lets go of you. “I’m gonna practice some more.”
You both stay in the park for a little while. At some point, Yelena insists she can move around completely without you. She falls a few times, but she picks herself up quickly and you two share a laugh together. You cheer her on while she skates around, and it’s then when you realize how much you value her company. You don’t want your time at the park to end, but Yelena notices how dark it’s getting and decides it’s time to leave.
“That was more fun than I thought it would be.” She slips on her regular shoes, sighing in relief when she’s able to stand normally on the ground again.
“Yeah! I can bring my own so we can go on skating dates together once you’re really good at it,” you say. Yelena pauses, and for a moment you wonder if you said too much until she smiles softly at you. “I’d love that.”
You both begin walking back to her dorm, wanting to drop her things off before heading to dinner with you. When you enter, another woman is lounging on the living room couch, snacking on chips.
“We’re home,” Yelena says. “I’m dropping off some stuff before going out to dinner with my friend here.”
Her roommate sits up slightly to look at both of you. “Hello,” she greets. “This is Y/N,” Yelena says. “And that’s my roommate Pieck.” She goes to put away her roller skates and reaches for a small bag, slinging it around her shoulder.
“Nice to meet you,” you say. Pieck smiles at you and looks at the skates Yelena put down. “You went skating again?”
“Yeah, Y/N convinced me.” Yelena chuckles. Pieck hums, laying back down on the couch. “That’s good.”
You remember that you’re probably heading back to your dorm after dinner, so you go and grab your bag. Yelena waits at the doorway for you and goes to open the door once she sees you’re ready.
“Have fun,” Pieck calls out before Yelena shuts the door and begins walking to the elevators.
“Anywhere you wanted to eat?” She asks. “Eating at the dining hall is fine by me,” you say. Yelena scoffs. “I’m not treating you to dining hall food, you deserve to eat somewhere better.” You process her words for a moment. “Wait, treating me?” You ask, “There’s no way you’re paying for me again.”
“Too bad, once I’ve set my mind on something you can’t stop me.”
“You’ve already paid for me once already, I’d feel guilty if I let you pay again—”
“I like paying for others, it’s how I show affection for people,” Yelena interrupts. “If you reject my offer, it’ll be like rejecting my love, and that would hurt my feelings.”
You stare at her, mouth hanging open. Well, if she words it like that…
“Fine, just this once. I mean it this time,” you mumble.
“Thank you,” she smiles. “And don’t feel guilty about it, I like treating you.”
You blush slightly, tilting your head downwards so Yelena doesn’t notice. Once you both take a few steps outside the dorm, Yelena stops moving. You look at her curiously.
“We still don’t know where to eat.”
“Oh,” you reply dumbly. “Let’s go to a place where you like to eat, I’m not picky. Plus, you’re paying, so this is the least I can do.”
Yelena ponders, staring off into the distance. “Do you just want to eat at the student union?” She asks.
“That works.”
“It’s not that much better than the dining hall, but it’s too dark for us to be walking to the place I want to go to. Next time we’ll eat somewhere good,” she says, beginning to walk again.
You feel a chill creep up your spine when a cold wind blows in your direction, and you suddenly remember how underdressed Yelena is for the weather.
“Aren’t you cold?” You ask worriedly, eyes fixated on the goosebumps around her arms.
“A little. I forgot to bring a coat when we stopped by my dorm,” she mumbles. “I don’t want to go back and get it.”
“Are you sure?”
“If you’re so worried then why don’t you warm me up a little?” She tilts her head towards you, smirking. “Oh woe is me, seeing you warm in your hoodie while I shiver with just a bra on,” she says dramatically, head leaning backward.
Your cheeks threaten to darken again. “It’s not my fault you decided to wear that,” you say. “Here,” you wrap yourself around one of her arms, making a show of trying to cover as much of her as possible. Yelena giggles as you continue to latch onto her, your body pressing close to her side. She hunches over a little which lets you rest your head on her shoulder.
“Am I warming you up yet?”
She leans more towards you which causes her to waddle forward awkwardly, making you stumble a little with her. She laughs brightly as you both wobble together under the campus streetlights, uncaring of anything else.
“I’m really, really warm now,” she grins.
“Good,” you hum, inhaling her scent. You’re content with this, with her. For the rest of the walk to the student union, Yelena forgets how cold the night is.
“Thanks for paying for me again,” you say. Your time today with Yelena was nice, serving as a reprieve from all your other responsibilities. She treats you so kindly that you’re already itching to see her again on a future day. Sadly, dinner moves by quickly since Yelena has a class early the next morning. Before you know it, you’re leaving the student union with her.
“It’s no problem,” she smiles. “Are you heading back to your dorm now?”
You nod, “I live in building Maria.”
“I’ll walk you to your dorm. It’s on the way to mine anyway.”
You walk together in comfortable silence, making occasional small talk about each other’s plans for tomorrow. Both of you walk slowly, trying to stretch out the time you have together. You’re almost saddened when you see your dorm building.
“My dorm’s in here,” you say. “Thanks for walking me.”
“Alright,” Yelena sighs. “Thank you for today,” she says earnestly, smiling warmly at you.
“Same here.”
Pouting, she goes to lace her hands around yours. “Do you really have to go?” You squeeze her hands and laugh, ignoring the butterflies erupting in your stomach. “Don’t miss me too much, we’ll probably see each other soon anyways.”
Reluctantly, you let go of her and begin taking steps towards your dorm. “Good night, Yelena!” You wave. She waves back, a small smile on her face.
She stays and watches you enter the building before turning around and heading home as well.
When you enter your dorm, Sasha and Connie are there. They both seem fixated on something on the ground, but you can’t tell what it is from the doorway. Connie shoots his head up and looks at you when he notices you’re home.
“Y/N!” he calls. “My parents visited and brought my hamster, lookie,” he holds it up, its little nose sniffing and prodding around in the air. “Oh my god,” you immediately drop your things and sit down next to them, reaching your finger to pet its head gently.
“How was dinner with Yelena?” Sasha asks.
Memories of being close to her flood your memory, which causes you to flush. “It was good,” you say. Sasha squints her eyes at you, unimpressed. “You’re saying that like… you like like her.”
“No way, she’ll only be a friend,” you brush off. Connie hands his hamster to Sasha as he alternates his gaze between the both of you.
“You talk to Yelena?”
“They sit together in ethics,” Sasha says, already making kissy faces at Connie’s pet. “And Y/N’s been hanging around her a lot since they met.”
“Because she’s nice and a good friend,” you glare at her. “And she offers to hang out.”
“I agree, she is nice,” Connie says. “I’m surprised she reached out to you though, from what I’ve heard she’s pretty reserved.”
“Are you saying Y/N’s special?” Sasha whispers.
“I’m sure I’m nothing special,” you mumble, moving to pet the hamster again.
Sasha goes to lean her head on your shoulder. “You’re special to me,” she coos. You smile against her head.
“Gross,” Connie comments.
The three of you stayed up late that night talking until Connie had to leave. You get ready for bed but find yourself unable to sleep once you’re under the covers. You can’t stop thinking about Yelena and today, how her body looked, and the times you pressed against her. You try to dispel those thoughts from your head.
She sees you as a friend. You can’t think of her like that.
You shut your eyes tightly, sleep finally consuming you.
The next few weeks you find yourself more or less attached to Yelena’s hip. Being together whenever both of you have time becomes a regular thing, even when it’s quietly studying in the library for an hour or two before the other has to leave for class. You make friends with Pieck over time since you’re at her dorm so often, and Yelena talks to Sasha whenever she’s there when she visits. You spend countless sleepless nights with her on the weekends, talking about nothing and everything. The more you’re together the more you realize just how deep your affections are for her.
Close, yet platonic. You’re almost content with having your relationship with her remain like this.
Almost.