Maria guided Hope towards her room. She could feel her leaning on her more heavily during their walk; clearly, her body was growing weaker with physical exhaustion the further they went.
When they arrived at their destination, Hope grabbed the wall right outside of Maria's apartment, letting go of the her while Maria opened her door and flicked on the lights. She then looked back to Hope, who seemed a bit nervous. The confidence she had just moments ago, now lost.
"I thought you said you were walking to my bed? This is just my door." Maria smirked at her, hoping that all she needed was a proper invitation.
Hope's face split into one of her beautiful smiles, exposing the dimples at her cheeks and the one at her chin, a smile that Maria feared she'd never see again back when Hope was lying there in the infirmary.
Hope reached towards her as her hand was enthusiastically seized and she was pulled inside. Maria closed the door behind them.
Maria guided Hope a single step in, planting her hand on top of her dresser so that she could use it to lean up against. Maria then independently wandered off to her closet which was off to the right of the entry.
"Go on, it's right over there." Maria pointed at the bed, which was on the far side of the room, before she pulled out a fresh pair of sleepwear for herself.
"You're not gonna help me over?" Hope asked in confusion.
"Nah, I don't think so." Maria shrugged mischievously. "I'm banking on you collapsing onto it once you get there if I don't help you stay upright." She wandered over towards her washroom.
"Where are you going?" Hope huffed at her with a smile.
"Brush my teeth, put my pyjamas on, maybe even take a shower. We'll see," she innocently said while hanging onto the doorknob. "Make yourself comfortable once you've fallen down there. I shouldn't be too long if you require assistance in any way," Maria said teasingly before shutting herself inside the washroom.
"You know, you really suck at this whole caregiver thing!" She heard Hope yell at her.
Maria then popped her head out and said, "Or am I actually just really good at hostage situations?" She flashed a fake smile of innocence before pulling herself back into the room, shutting the door as she called out, "Try running away now, hobbles!"
Maria pressed her ear against the door where she could hear Hope chuckling. She then waited a moment, listening to make sure that she got to the bed alright. She was pleased to hear the sound of springs, accompanied with a flop noise, where her bed was located, after just a few seconds had past.
Maria was then quick to get ready, pushing through her exhausted state, only taking a short shower to hose down her body while not bothering with washing her hair since she'd recently done it earlier that day (well, she was pretty sure it was still that same day).
She soon exited the bathroom with minty fresh breath, while wearing a pair of grey flannel pants, and a white S.H.I.E.L.D. t-shirt.
Maria had to chuckle at the sight of Hope who was flopped out onto her side, crosslength on the bed, with her feet hanging off the edge.
"Have you moved at all since you fell there?" Maria went to turn her bedside lamp on and flick the room lights off.
"No," Hope muttered. Maria then went to her, crawling to her head as she sat cross legged on the mattress right in front of her. "I tried to move, but my back hurts." Hope flopped her arm onto Maria's lap.
Maria then gently pulled Hope's shirt up as she looked at the mentioned area. "Oh, wow," she gasped at how big and purple the bruise was. "This really does look intense." She ran her hand softly over it, where she had then stopped at her spinal surgery scar. Her eyes soon began to water as she was reminded – yet again – of Hope's time in the infirmary.
As Maria kept her hand on her back, Hope moved her arm on Maria's lap to lightly grasp her thigh while she pulled her forehead into Maria's knee. Maria then placed her other hand on Hope's head as she gently pushed her fingers into her hair, resting her palm over her other scar while she blinked away the tears in her eyes.
After a moment Hope murmured, "I can't believe I'm letting you touch my bald spot."
"It's not bald anymore." Maria smirked, her attention being pulled back into the moment as she moved her hand to rubbed her fingers over it. "You've got hair here growing. You're already halfway to a wicked undercut."
Hope turned her head, looking up at her as she grinned. "You're really not giving up on that, are you?"
Maria chuckled. She honestly didn't care one way or another how Hope wanted to wear her hair, for that she would be beautiful with any cut. It was just fun to tease her about it.
Before Maria could think up a retort, she yawned as her eyes watering – yet again – in the process.
"Okay." Hope patted her leg. "You need to lay down and sleep."
"You're going to stay with me for awhile, right?" she asked with vulnerability, dropping her teasing tone.
"Well, I don't think I could get up even if I tried." She smirked, reaching up to Maria's face while wiping a tear away that had escaped down her cheek. "My body has completely given up on me here."
Maria smiled at her, ecstatic that she'd agreed to stay with her. She then leaned over sideways to Hope's feet and slid off her shoes and socks for her in preparation for bed, not bothering to offer her pyjamas for that she looked comfortable already in her athleisure wear. Then she got onto her knees and grabbed her comforter, by her pillows, and yanked it down to herself, in turn, completely covering Hope's body, minus her feet.
"Hey!" Came a growl from underneath the blankets.
"You're in the way. It's not my fault." Maria playfully poked at the blanket that was over Hope's head.
Hope threw the comforter off of herself as she looked at Maria with eyes of both glee and intrigue. "You know, for a cold, stoic, commander, you're kind of a goofball behind closed doors."
"I assure you, it's the sleep deprivation and nothing more." Maria stood up out of bed while she took Hope's hand, gently pulling her up into a sitting position. "I'm normally an extremely serious person."
Hope eyed her suspiciously as she said, "Uh huh, sure you are."
Maria smirked before she said, "Okay, grab onto me for a sec while I pull the covers down." Hope did as requested while Maria helped her to her feet as she was quick to throw the blanket out of their way before placing her back down onto the edge of the mattress. "Do you want to lay on your side again?" Maria asked.
"I kinda want to be on my back. Once I'm on it, it should be fine. It's just the initial pressure that hurts."
"Alright." Maria took a step to the head of the bed as she stacked her pillows so that Hope didn't have to lay down completely horizontally. She then crawled to the other side of the mattress nearest the wall.
"Kay, feet up." She smacked the sheets at the foot of the bed before Hope did as she was told. Then Maria carefully guided her to lay down, using her one good arm, holding behind her shoulder, as she eased her to the pillows. Hope's face contorted in pain as she shimmied her butt over a bit to straighten herself out. "Are you okay?" Maria studied her as she settled into her spot.
"Yeah, but now I regret wearing this underwire bra." She squirmed as if her undergarment was poking her.
"Do you want help taking it off?" Maria made sure to ask in an innocent way, really just wanting to make her more comfortable. Hope locked onto her gaze as she silently nodded. "Kay." Maria nodded back before fixing her eyes onto her navy blue, loose fitted t-shirt. "Is it a back clasp or front?"
"Back."
Maria slipped her hands underneath her shirt as Hope was quick to arch her back for her while her fingers went to unhook her bra. Maria then speedily slid her hands out of her shirt, trying to be respectful. She may have had permission to run her hands as she pleased over Hope's body the last time they were in bed together, but she'd not received that invitation, as of yet, to do it again.
Hope then maneuvered out of her bra straps, sliding her arms out of her sleeves before pulling her garment out from the bottom of her shirt; She then through it on top of the dresser, off to the side, after her shirt was properly put back on.
"Better?"
"Much." Hope smiled before she took a hold of Maria's uninjured arm. "Kay, sleep time." She pulled her down to her torso, Maria's head resting right underneath her breasts. Hope then reached behind Maria's back and grabbed hold of the covers, tossing them over their lower bodies.
Maria rested her sore shoulder atop Hope's body as her arm lay across her stomach. Her hand then slid under her shirt, as her fingers innocently moved over Hope's rigid abdominal muscles, as Maria basked in the ripple of her incredibly sculpted body. Hope then wrapped her strong arm around Maria's back, bringing her hand to her head to gently combing her fingers through her shoulder length hair. The action sent a tingling sensation down Maria's neck. Hope then rested her other hand on Maria's forearm, claiming it in a loose grasp.
Maria closed her heavy eyelids as she sighed in total bliss, feeling like she'd arrived home for the first time in her life. There, in Hope's arms, was where she'd longed to stay for all eternity.
After a few silent minutes, Maria's mind started to flutter away into obscurity as sleep had almost taken her over completely, when Hope asked softly, "Maria, are you still awake?"
Maria mumbled, "Somewhat. Why?"
"Nothing. Never mind. Go to sleep." She stroked Maria's hair.
Maria's curiosity got a hold of her as she forced herself to be alert, prying her eyes open. "No, It's alright. What is it?"
"It's just." Hope sighed. "I'm going back home at the end of the week."
Maria swallowed hard, the mentioned fact tearing her out of her perfect state of bliss. "Yeah," she muttered.
"Yeah," Hope repeated in the same downtrodden tone.
Maria then slowly started to panic. She didn't really think about it much until then, but the fact was, she was married to her work. The longest relationship she'd ever had was with Natasha, who happened to work directly with her at S.H.I.E.L.D, and – ironically – what they had wasn't even technically an official thing.
"I'm called away a lot," Maria said.
"Huh?"
"For work, I'm called in to report to various places around the globe, for unknown lengths of time. And often I have to leave at the drop of a hat."
"So basically, you're currently stationed here in New York, and still aren't even always around."
"And you're located in San Francisco."
"Literally on the opposite side of the country from here..." Hope's words faded off.
Maria was desperate as she pointed out, "We'll see each other when the Avengers are called to action. And I can fly to you on my off time." Her mood soon fell, realising that that was probably not enough for Hope. Maria had girlfriends before that had broken it off with her for that very reason. She then sighed, "But, all-in-all you won't get the time commitment you deserve from me." She instantly felt defeated as she put forth a fear based opinion. "Maybe you shouldn't have broken up with Scott. I can't give you the stability he can."
"Excuse me!" Hope snapped at her sharply which took Maria completely by surprise. "Are you telling me you don't want to be with me? That you'd rather me be with somebody else?" She sounded crossed.
"No!" Maria's head jerked up as she turned to look at Hope who was eyeing her in what looked like hurt confusion. "God, no! The thing I want most is for us to be together. I just don't want to be the cause of your unhappiness because I can't give you what you need." Maria could feel her body vibrating in that moment, absolutely terrified that she was about to lose Hope.
Hope's eyes instantly softened as she gently grabbed at Maria's arm. "Come here," she said as she coaxed her higher up onto her elbow so that she could bring her head to hover over her own. The woman underneath then lovingly cupped Maria's face in her hands as she locked her eyes with hers, the glow of the lamp light setting off her beautiful green irises as they seemed to look into Maria's very soul. "If it comes down to it, I'd rather see you one week out of the year than be with anybody else."
Maria's body went from a subtle vibration, to a full on shake as her eyes began shedding tears in hearing her words. It was beyond what her exhausted state could handle. Hope was choosing her as she was. She liked her enough to commit to her when she'd had an easier option in somebody else, in Scott. Maria's head started racing as her thoughts then fell back onto how Hope had literally almost died for her. How her spine was severed and her brain injured, all in the pursuit of keeping her safe. The only thing Maria wanted to do in that moment was tell Hope just how much she loved her, but she feared that she'd scare her with such a strong declaration after such a short amount of time of them knowing each other. Instead, Maria dropped her head to Hope's, colliding their lips together. She kissed her with such desperation, more than she'd ever felt before. She needed Hope to know how much she meant to her.
Maria brought her hand to Hope's cheek while she continued to shake and weep into the kiss that Hope had instantly reciprocated, when eventually Hope, ever so slightly, pulled Maria's head away from hers, breaking contact with her mouth, as she then quickly pressed her lips onto her wet cheeks while fiercely kissing her tears away. Her gentle touches came like comforting raindrops on her face. She then worked her mouth to her forehead, lovingly kissing it before she mumbled in a soothing tone, "Okay, baby, lay down." She then gently pushed Maria's head to rest on her shoulder while keeping her hand positioned on her crown, while her other one rubbed her back in a calming manner, sending a warmth throughout her body. "Go to sleep," she hummed as she pressed her cheek to Maria's forehead.
Maria sniffled as she possessively placed her hand on Hope's other shoulder, her eyes still wet and closed as she could feel herself quickly shutting down. Within moments her exhausted brain had given up as she'd fallen fast asleep in the safety of the arms of the woman whom she was utterly in love with.
There was an odd foreign chiming noise that aroused Hope from her sleep. She opened her eyes, having to orientate herself on her surroundings, instantly smiling when she recognised the room and looked down to Maria, who was stirring awake right next to her, her body tucked into Hope's side. She assumed the woman had rolled off of her at some point during the night.
Maria groaned as she got up onto her elbow and reached over Hope's head, quickly pressing a button on a small wall panel just beside the headboard. "Hill," she said, somehow quite coherently for just being woken up.
"Hey, Maria." Hope recognised Natasha's voice. "Is Hope still there with you? 'Cause Jane is wanting her to check in at the infirmary." Maria looked to the mentioned woman, a lazy smirk on her face, as Hope couldn't help but smile back at her and her messy hair. Hope reached over to comb her fingers through the part that was standing on end.
"What time is it?" Maria dropped into a groggy voice like she didn't care how she sounded, now that she knew that it was her friend on the other side of the line. She then collapsed on top of Hope, the woman beneath chuckling as she wrapped her arms around her.
"Zero-five-hundred."
Maria moaned into Hope's neck in response to the number that Natasha had just said.
"Don't complain, you don't have to get up, Hope does."
Maria grumbled, "I wasn't complaining, that was Hope."
"It was not," Hope defended herself as she annoyingly poked the inside of Maria's ear as a punishment.
"Ah!" Maria lazily swatted her hand away while refusing to move her head from its spot on her.
"Don't worry, Hope," Natasha said, "I know a Maria growl anywhere. She can't blame her childish sounds on you when I'm around."
"Okay," Maria huffed in annoyance while lifting her body and reached out to the panel, once again. "Hope will report to the infirmary. Thanks. Bye," she said shortly before hanging up on Natasha. She then proceeded to fall back on top of Hope.
"I really like Natasha. She has such a beautiful way with you," Hope hummed through a smirk as she combed through Maria's hair with her fingers, now feeling totally awake.
"I forbid you from becoming friends with her. She's a terrible person," Maria groaned into her collar bone. Hope chuckled at her ridiculousness before she grabbed a hold of Maria's upper body and shifted it off of herself. "Hey," Maria huffed at her actions, "my pillow."
Hope could only shake her head at just how cute, stone cold Commander Hill was when she was fighting to stay awake. Hope knew, however, that Maria had the capacity to put on a tough act even then in her sleepy state, but the fact that she wasn't, made Hope grin with joy. Maria clearly felt safe enough while showing her vulnerabilities to her which made Hope only fall even more in love with her.
Hope then awkwardly, and a little painfully, pushed herself up, swinging her legs off the side of the bed, before she stretched her arms to the ceiling with a yawn. She then grabbed her shoes and socks, that were right beside her on the floor, and began putting them on.
"Wait, slow down," Maria mumbled, "I still have to get dressed."
Hope looked behind her to see Maria, who was practically passed out with her eyes closed, hugging a pillow. She smiled towards her adorableness before ordering her softly, "You're not going anywhere. You're staying right here, in bed, and getting some more sleep." Hope then turned to grab her bra and put it on, wincing as it scraped her sensitive back in the process.
"I have to walk you down there..." Maria's words barely came out after far too much time had passed, like it had taken that long for her brain to process Hope's last words to her.
"I'll be fine on my own." Hope turned to her again. "Besides, I can hold onto the wall if need be." She pulled the blanket up to Maria's shoulder before leaning down to kiss her cheek and softly mutter into her skin, "I'll see you later, my sleepy bitch."
Maria then mumbled out incoherently, "I cold bitch no sleepy." This made Hope chuckle. She found it utterly remarkable in just how fast she'd fallen back asleep, truly realising – in that moment – as to just how exhausted Maria must have been.
She didn't get up straightaway, instead she sat there for a bit, completely mesmerised by just how peaceful her beautiful Maria looked in that moment. She just could not believe that the woman laying there was hers; it gave her butterflies just thinking about it.
Finally, she found the strength to tear herself away from Maria as she got to her feet, pleasantly surprised by the fact that she didn't have to grab a surface around her to assist her up. She couldn't believe just how sturdy she was after taking a few steps. She still felt a little clumsy, but it was nothing like the weakness she was feeling the day before.
Hope then quietly slipped out of the room before heading off to the elevator at the end of the hallway.
On her way down to the infirmary, she remembered the time of day – five o'clock A.M. which was the time that her dad usually had his morning cup of coffee; he'd always been an early riser. Hope then sighed, quickly pressing the cafeteria floor, wondering if he'd be in there, keeping his routine.
Not to her surprise, when the elevator door had opened, she found a completely empty cafeteria save for Hank, who was sitting at a table, mug in hand. Even despite the time zone difference of the coastlines, his body always seemed to be able to sense a sunrise while having this need to be awake for it.
Hope then pushed the 'hold door open' button as she called out to him. "Dad." She motioned with her head for him to join her in the lift.
He looked to her, then, without a word, got to his feet as he proceeded to walk over and into the elevator, coffee in hand.
"Infirmary," he stated as the doors closed, noting the light for the medical floor lit up.
"Yeah, I have a checkup," she said plainly.
"So," he looked into his coffee cup as he said, "I managed to fix the crack in your suit."
Hope tried to conceal a smirk, noting that he'd referred to the wasp suit as hers. "Good." She nodded as the elevator stopped at their floor, doors opening.
They both stepped out and began walking the hall as Hank continued, "I think I may have figured out a way to tweak those blasters so they can manipulate organic structures. We could possibly work on them together when we get back home," he suggested as if he were extending an olive branch to her. He then turned to her, for the first time, as he smirked. "The greatest Avenger should be going out with the greatest tech."
Hope smiled back, knowing that this was his twisted way of apologising to her by showing her his support. "Sounds like a plan," she said, agreeing to work with him.
"Good." He nodded just as they stopped outside of a room in which they could see Jane inside of, through the window in the door.
"Well, I'm gonna go in now." Hope pointed to her destination. "Thanks for walking me to my appointment."
The man simply nodded before she opened the door and left him behind.
Her examination didn't take long, just over a half hour as Jane had shown her the digital readings from the device on her spine. She said they looked great. She also gave her fresh medicine for her patch and checked her reflexes and finemotor skills, which were still not at a hundred percent yet.
Once she thanked the doctor she exited the room, surprised to see her mother sitting in a chair in the hallway.
"Hey, what brings you down here?" Hope asked with a smile of greeting.
"Your father." She got up to her feet. "He told me you were here. I'm pretty sure he wanted me to see how your checkup went so I could report back to him." She stepped to her daughter. "I told you he cares. He just has an odd way of showing it."
"Because apparently getting you to come down here instead of just waiting himself for me to finish was showing too much care?" She rolled her eyes, but yet was not surprised by his actions.
"Well, your father is an emotionally stunted idiot, I'll give you that." She smirked. "So, how did it go? What did Jane say?"
"Everything's looking good. She has a physiotherapist coming in to work with me in the gym later on today. But she seems very hopeful that I'll make a quick and full recovery."
"Oh that's wonderful, Jellybean." She reached out and ran a finger through her unbrushed hair.
"Want to grab breakfast with me?" Hope asked as she decided to leave Maria to sleep, not wanting to wake her by returning to her room.
"I'd love that." She hooked her arm with Hope's before they turned to the elevator. "Then you can tell me all about your conversation with Scott yesterday." She then quickly added, "Well, if you feel like sharing, that is."
"Sure." Hope nodded as they made their way up to the food hall. She felt excitement, with a dose of nerves, to share with her all that had transpired from the last time that they'd seen each other.
The cafeteria floor was still empty when they arrived, but they could hear the kitchen staff in the back prepping food. However, both Janet and Hope settled on just a simple bowl of raisin bran each, from the cereal dispensers that were already out. Hope also made herself a cup of coffee and Janet a cup of tea, using the single serve hot beverage machine.
Once they sat down together, Janet turned to her and asked, "So?"
"So, Scott." Hope nodded, ready to jump right in. "Yeah, our conversation was a bit intense, but good." Hope stirred at her cereal as she spoke, "We – ah – ended up breaking up. It was mutual." Hope thought on it a bit more as she scrunched her face. "Well, sort of." Then she nodded confidently as she looked to her mother. "But we're still good though. We're still friends." Oddly enough, Hope felt closer to Scott now that romance was off the table. It was like it was a hindrance in their friendship, not an addition.
Janet studied her face like she was trying to figure out if Hope really was genuinely okay, but within a brief moment, she smiled softly like she fully believed her daughter as she said, "Well I'm glad to hear that you two are in a good place." She put her hand on Hope's arm as she rubbed her thumb over it. "Scott's a good man."
"Yes, he is." Hope said with the utmost conviction, truly in awe of how amazing he was to her.
"So, back to my other question." Janet eyed her playfully as she gave her arm a squeeze before letting go of it.
"What other question?"
"The one from yesterday." She flashed her a not-so-innocent smile. "The one about Maria." Hope had to look away as she bit down a grin; just thinking about her made her feel on air. "Your whole face just lit up, you know that, right?" Janet chuckled.
"I...ah." Hope dropped her head as she tried to shake off her grin. "Well… we." She cleared her throat. "I spent the night in her bed last night." She then looked to her mom who was smirking at her. "We just slept," Hope clarified, "We were both exhausted." Her thoughts then went to the image of Maria hugging her pillow before she'd left her that morning. "I'm sure she's still passed out in bed now actually." She chuckled, reminiscing on her sleepy adorableness.
"Tell me about her," Janet asked like she were excited for Hope.
"You mean, besides her being beautiful and brilliant, with a great sense of humour who just happens to be super badass too?" Hope sighed deeply, totally smitten with her.
"Yeah, besides all that." Janet laughed.
Hope stifled a chuckle before sighing in happiness. "She gets me." Hope smiled as her thoughts went to their first few encounters. "Even before we were allies she had this ability to just see me." Hope gazed out the window, catching sight of the sunrise starting to breach the horizon. "It's like there's this safety and honesty with her like I can tell her anything." She shook her head at how ridiculous she probably was about to sound. "It feels like somehow she already knows everything about me, and has already accepted it as a part of me, even though she doesn't know the exact details of it all yet."
"And there's your answer to your 'shared particle frequency' question that you had." She turned to see her mother who was beaming at her where Hope couldn't help but smile back. Hope had truly felt as if she'd found her soulmate in Maria.
"So." Hope couldn't help but bring up, needing confirmation of her mother's position. "You seem pretty okay with me having these feeling for another woman."
"Of course. People are people, regardless of gender." Janet wrapped her arm around her shoulder pulling her into a side hug. "We're all just stardust trying to make connections in this universe. And – evidently – you've found yours."
She couldn't believe how lucky she was to have Janet Van Dyne as her mother, and that the woman was back in her life, once again. Hope focused on her, looking upon her beautiful face as she smiled. "I love you."
"Oh, I love you too, Jellybean." Janet then pulled her daughter closer to her while wrapping her other arm around her, careful of her bruised back, as Hope was quick to envelope her mom as she hugged her back.
Just then the elevator pinged open and out walked Natasha and Clint.
"Hey, Hope." Natasha smirked at her before looking to Janet. "Mrs. Van Dyne." She bowed her head in acknowledgement as they both walked over to them.
"Hi." Hope smiled at the two after her and her mother had let go of each other.
"So, Clint and I were talking, and we were wondering if we should try to convince Steve to let us have a hangout and chill day today in the penthouse instead of starting back up with a training session."
"Yeah, we were thinking we could all use a break together as a team," Clint added.
"Sounds good to me." Hope welcomed the idea. "But I do have physio this afternoon."
"Okay, we'll make sure to do it beforehand then." Natasha started walking backwards towards the buffet table that the kitchen staff was now putting hot food out on. "But not too early. Gotta make sure Sleepyhead has an opportunity to stop by." Natasha winked at her before turning away.
"Who's Sleepyhead?" Clint asked as he followed her to the food spread.
"No one. Nevermind," Hope heard Natasha say to him.
"Wait." Janet looked to Hope. "Does she know—"
"Yes," Hope interrupted her question before shoving a spoonful of cereal into her mouth, not wanting to admit to her mother that Natasha had caught them making out in the control room last night.
"Okay, I won't ask." Janet chuckled at her as Hope continued to eat while not looking to her.
Hope then smirked to herself, excited to spend time relaxing with the team that day, and even more so, she was excited to spend time with Maria, the woman of her dreams.