Within a half hour, Hope had driven them into a shipping yard, brightly lit by the afternoon sun, where – to Maria's glee – there, next to a large stack of containers, was their lab.

"You brought your place with you?"

"Yeah." Hope smirked, pulling up to the building to park.

When they got out of the car, Hope shrunk her vehicle and picked it up to bring with them. Grabbing Maria's hand, she guided her inside.

Once the elevator doors opened, revealing the familiar apartment, Hope smiled as she said, "We're home."

Her innocence words almost made Maria cry. All she wanted was for that apartment with Hope inside of it, to be her home forever.

Hope then turned to Maria as she asked, "You still want a shower and a bed?" Maria nodded. "How about something to eat?"

Maria couldn't tell if she was hungry or not. She simply said, "Shower." Her vocabulary was becoming limited as her energy felt more and more depleted with every passing minute.

"Okay." Hope pushed loose locks of Maria's hair behind her ear. "Let's go." She gently pulled her to the back and into the master bedroom.

Hope let go of her hand as she said, "You'll need a change of clothes." She moved to her closet, opening it. "What would you like to wear after your shower? I'm thinking something comfy, yeah?"

Maria took a few steps towards her, but instead of looking at the clothes, her eyes glazed over while gazing through the window, off into the distance across the water. The Statue of Liberty was in full view, now under construction. The sight triggered the memories of the moments when she'd given the orders to attack, not only the statue, but all of the small S.H.I.E.L.D. bases within North America as well as Europe too.

"You are not paying attention to me at all, so I'm just gonna choose for you." She dimly heard Hope say as she moved about in her closet and inside various drawers.

Soon Maria could feel Hope's calming presence as she approached her. She then slowly wrapped her hand around her forearm as she softly said, "She'll be back to her former glory in no time."

Maria continued to stare out the window, watching a crane bring up materials to the workers on the arm of the statute. Hope began to gently take the twist out of Maria's hair as she proceeded to pull out her elastic. Hope then combed her fingers through Maria's dry, filmy hair that suffered through too many washings with a bar of soap.

"Come." Hope gently pulled her arm, guiding her into the washroom. She picked up the pile of clothes, that she'd gathered, off the corner of the dresser as they passed by it.

Hope put the clothes on top of the vanity before she let go of Maria to start rummaging through her lower cabinet under the sink. "You can use anything you need. Feel free to go through here if I've forgotten anything." She pulled out a new toothbrush, still in its packaging, a new razor, and a towel, also placing them on top of the counter. "Think you'll have to use my deodorant" – she opened the medicine cabinet, adding said item to the pile – "'cause I don't seem to have a fresh one."

Maria nodded. "Okay." Her words sounding hollow even to her own ears. Hope turned to her, studying her as Maria could see that she was concerned by her current melancholy state. "Thank you," Maria said in a small yet sincere voice.

Hope nodded, stepping to her as she kissed her lovingly on the cheek before walking out. As she closed the bathroom door behind her, she said, "I'll be right outside if you need me."

Once she was alone Maria closed her eyes, taking in a deep breath before she opened them to strip down and hop into the shower.

She'd forgotten how nice it was to bathe without being watched like an animal on display, as well as the experience of using the appropriate hygiene products for her body. The aroma around her from the scent of the conditioner while she washed her hair was intoxicating. It smelled just like Hope. Now the scent of her own hair would remind her of the other woman, which was a huge improvement – to say the least – from the musky bar soap that she'd become accustomed to smelling like.

Once she was done trying to scrub the feeling of traitor off of her skin – finding no success in her endeavors – she turned off Hope's fancy rain shower and stepped out onto the towel that she'd previously thrown onto the ground.

She moved to the vanity, looking at herself in the mirror, barely recognising her own reflection. She looked gaunt; her body was thin and her face was hollow. She touched the side of her torso, noticing that the bruising was now gone. Though, she could still feel the discomfort of where the guard had kicked her. She took in a deep breath, realising that she hadn't changed her feelings about the injury, still believing that she had very much deserved it, as well as all her other beatings.

Maria then pushed herself along, brushing her teeth, gliding on deodorant, and putting the fresh pair of underwear on that was given to her. She'd then proceeded to throw on the pair of black LuluLemon sweatpants and the grey racerback tank top that Hope had lent her, not bothering to put her bra back on.

She then hung her floor towel and threw a smaller one around her shoulders, allowing her wet hair to drip onto it. She didn't have the energy to deal with anything else.

Maria exited the bathroom to find Hope, out of her suit jacket, barefoot sitting on the bed, up against the headboard with her phone in hand. The woman was quick to get to her feet, putting her mobile on the end table.

"Clothes seem to fit you alright. Do you feel okay in them or do you want to wear something else?"

Maria shook her head. "They're fine."

Hope looked at her softly as she asked, "What do you feel you need?"

Maria had the desire to collapse, eyeing the inviting looking blankets sprawled across Hope's comfortable mattress.

"Bed," Maria muttered.

Hope turned to grab a hair brush from off of her dresser before she went to Maria's side, hooking her arm around here to guide her to sit down next to her on the edge of the bed.

Wordlessly, Hope started gently drying Maria's hair with the towel before she began to brush it. Maria closed her eyes, basking in the touch that sent a warmth throughout her body and a tingle down her neck.

Soon, Hope placed the towel on the pillow at the top of the bed, throwing the brush on the ground before she wrapped her arms around Maria, easing her to lay down on her back with her head falling onto the covered pillow. Hope had her arm tucked underneath Maria's neck, with her weight on her elbow as she lay on her side, pressed up close to Maria's body. She threw her long hair behind her shoulder before she studied Maria.

"Are you sleepy?" she eventually asked, her head hovering over top of Maria's.

"I'm something." Maria couldn't even comprehend her own state of being.

"Emotionally exhausted?"

"Yeah," she conceded to the notion, "I'd say that sounds pretty accurate."

"Then we'll just stay right here." Hope reached to her face, sweeping her hand gently down from her forehead to her cheek.

Maria felt so safe and loved as she asked, "Can we stay here forever?"

Hope smiled as she answered, "Absolutely."

Maria reached up to Hope's face, the back of her fingers brushing over her cheek as she got lost in all of the woman's faded freckles. They weren't prominent on her skin, but Maria was still captivated by the way they were faintly peppered about on her gorgeous face. Maria's hand then brushed down to Hope's jawline, following it, as she then moved her thumb to sweep over the dimple at her chin. Maria had always been so mesmerized by the woman's beauty, but this was the first time that she had the opportunity to fully take it all in. She memorised – not only – every freckle, wrinkle, and dimple, but the texture of her soft skin underneath her touch too, as she etched her features into her memory to keep forever.

Maria couldn't believe Hope was there in front of her, that she hadn't abandoned her, even after all she'd put her through.

"Maria, baby," Hope muttered as she combed the other woman's long bangs to the side of her face. "Are you alright?"

"I don't deserve you," Maria said so softly that she could barely hear her own words, before she looked into Hope's olive eyes.

Hope looked horrified as she asked, "What are you talking about?"

"You're just so supportive and perfect and all I seem to do is bring you misery."

"What! I'm not perfect, and you do notbring me misery," she countered back adamantly.

"Yes, I do. I brought trouble to your lab. I put you in the infirmary for days. I messed your relationship up with both Scott and your dad. I betrayed you as an Avenger and then abandoned you for prison, and—

"Okay, okay, stop. Literally all of those things are blown way out of context and you know it." Hope took a hold of the hand that was still at her face, pushing her mouth to Maria's palm, kissing it lovingly before she said, "You need to stop beating yourself up. You're in a stupor trying to find anything to cling on to so you can keep punishing yourself."

"But—"

"No buts," Hope cut her off before leaning down to cup her face and ever so softly kiss her lips. "You bring me peace, not misery," she murmured into her mouth.

Maria felt the sincerity of her words through her loving kiss, and yet she was still distressed. She still didn't feel worthy of her, nor could she shake all her guilt, especially for what she'd done to the people in whom she was responsible for at S.H.I.E.L.D. The people who had lost their lives because of her.

She could feel Hope lift her head away from hers, her breath now no longer hitting her lips. Maria couldn't bring herself to open her eyes; her past shame started to haunt her present remorse.

"I'm gonna need an update on your status here. Where are you now?" Hope asked softly as she gently stroked her thumb over Maria's cheek.

She opened her eyes, seeing a gentle expression on Hope's face. "I just—" Maria sighed, shaking her head. "It's just like how it felt when I was a kid, all over again." Maria's thoughts fell back to the first house that she could remember living in. It was a drafty shack of a place that still lurked into her nightmares from time to time. "Like I'm back in that horribly cold house in Chicago." her eyes shifted away from Hope's, her gaze now fixed on the bedroom door. "There with my dad and his constant shouting." She closed her eyes, hearing him in her head. "Always yelling at me about how it's all my fault."

"What's all your fault?"

"My mother's death."

"You're mother's death?" Maria could hear the confusion in her voice. "But I thought she—"

"Was alive to kick me out of my brother's funeral?" Maria opened her eyes – looking back to her. "Yeah, that was technically my step-mom, my dad remarried when I was seven." She recalled back to when the woman had entered into their lives. Maria had ironically seen her as her guardian angel at the time, because after she'd married her father, and they all had moved into their new house together, he had stopped smacking Maria around. It wasn't until later that she'd come to know her as the most emotionally manipulative person she'd ever met, who'd treated her like an inconvenience, especially after her brother was born. "She's the only mother I ever knew," Maria added.

"Oh."

"My biological mother died in childbirth." Maria heavily sighed. "And when I was young, my dad convinced me it was my fault." Maria swallowed hard and closed her eyes. She carried the guilt of her death for years. "I feel like that again. Like he's right here screaming into my ear that they're all dead and it's all my fault."

"Oh, god," Hope gasped like she were aghast.

She pulled Maria into her body, rolling her over onto her side until the weight of Maria's torso fell up against hers. Hope wrapped her up close, even throwing her leg around her lower body as she sunk her fingers into Maria's damp hair. She pulled her head into her shoulder.

Maria clung to the other woman's body before Hope moved her face to quietly talk into her ear. "Would it help any if I went to Chicago, shot your dad with my blaster, and trapped him inside a mason jar? Then maybe his screaming wouldn't be so loud."

Suddenly, Maria's internal voice of her father shifted from a hair-standing vocal assault, into a humorous chirping, making her smirk. "Make him sound like a chipmunk stuck inside a hollow tree."

"Yeah." Maria could hear the smile in Hope's voice.

"And we could shake the shit out of the jar when his squeaks get to be too much."

"We'll just make it into a snow globe. Have a little fun with it."

"I want the snow to be pink sparkles though. His toxic masculinity would have a field day in that."

"You know, I think Cassie has some unicorn stickers. Maybe she'd lend a hand and decorate the outside of the jar for us."

Maria chuckled at Hope's suggestion, suddenly feeling leagues better like Hope had trapped her current destructive thoughts inside of that jar. She then pulled her head away from Hope's grasp while she slid her hand to lovingly place it atop of Hope's cheek and slowly pressed her mouth to hers.

The kiss was tender, as they lay side by side, slowly drinking in each other's love. Maria still couldn't believe just how much she felt for Hope; like this other woman had unlocked this whole new spectrum of emotions within her that she was now experiencing for the first time.

Their kiss grew lazier with time as Maria's emotional exhaustion was taking over her body, turning into physical burnout.

Eventually Hope allowed her lips to fall away only to gently kiss Maria's forehead. "Don't fall asleep on me here," Hope spoke into her skin, "I want to get some food into you."

"I don't need to eat," Maria muttered.

"You do." Hope lowered her hand, as she glided her palm along the side of her uninjured torso. "You're practically skin and bones here. You definitely lost weight over the past couple months."

Maria knew she was right, she'd barely eaten the whole time that she was in prison, as well as the weeks leading up to it.

"So you're gonna have to tell me what you want to eat."

Maria refused to open her eyes as she said, "I don't know."

"Come on, you've gotta give me something here. I can literally make anything."

"Anything?"

"Try me. And I guarantee it'll be delicious," Hope said in a cocky manner.

Maria smirked, now needing to see Hope's confident face as she opened her eyes. "Do you have mad cooking skills?"

Hope chuckled. "The maddest." She glided the back of her index finger across Maria's jawline. "Although, I am – admittedly – hoping you don't want a slab of meat. Not to say I can't work with that, it's just..."

"You're a bleeding heart vegetarian." Maria made an assumption, remembering back to her plate when they'd shared lunch together at the Avengers Tower. Her dish was filled vegetables, and only vegetables.

"I wouldn't say 'bleeding heart'." She narrowed her eyes at her, confirming Maria's suspicions.

Maria innocently smiled before she pondered over what she thought her stomach could handle, finally settling on a plant based dish that she'd always enjoyed as a teenager, that she hadn't had in years.

"Carrot ginger soup."

Hope's face broke into a beautiful smile as she repeated, "Carrot ginger soup. I can do that."

"You have the ingredients?"

"I should have enough carrots but I don't have fresh ginger." She scrunched her face in disgust. "And I refuse to make it with powder, so I'm gonna call one-eight-hundred-mom to go pick some up for us."

"Your mom's here?"

"Of course. She was so annoyed that she wasn't allowed to attend your trial. She made us text her as soon as we could, to tell her the verdict."

Maria was once again overwhelmed by Janet's love and support. Hope got onto her elbow to reach over Maria to grab her phone off of the nightstand.

"You don't have to bother her though. I'll have something else." Maria felt guilty, not wanting to put Janet out.

"She insisted we call her if we needed anything." Hope started to type, evidently choosing to text rather than call. "Trust me, it'll make her happy knowing she's helping you. Even if it's just a ginger run."

"Your mom's amazing." Maria was still taken aback by how nurturing Janet was.

"She really is." Hope threw her phone at the foot of the bed, once she was done typing. She then looked back down to Maria. "So, I'm gonna go start cutting carrots. You can stay here and rest if you like."

"I can help," Maria insisted; she was not ready to be left alone. "I'm really good at bringing water to a boil, and then watching the water as it's boiling." She innocently smiled, thinking about how her cooking skills had basically started and ended with preparing an M.R.E. in a pot of water over a campfire.

"Oh yeah?" Hope laughed. "That may come in handy."

"Good." Maria started to lift herself up into a sitting position as Hope helped her. "But I have to warn you, once things are put into the boiling water, I might get a little lost."

Hope grinned. "It's okay, I'll help you navigate through carrot filled troubled waters."

Maria smiled at her silly play on the famous phrase. "You're such a dork."

Hope smacked her shoulder in response just as her phone buzzed. She then picked it up, reading it as she crawled out of bed. "Kay, she's heading out now to get the ginger. She said she'll only be about twenty minutes. Which makes sense. There's a grocery store just down the road from here." Standing up, she reached over to Maria. "Come boil some water for me, my sous chef."

Maria grinned at her as she grabbed her hand. Hope then pulled her up, but as she did, Maria felt a sharp pain in her ribs which made her involuntarily retract into herself. She hissed in response as she sat on the edge of the bed, grabbing at the injured area.

"Oh, shit, what did I do?" Hope dropped to her knees in front of her.

"Nothing, You did nothing." Maria looked up to her. "It's nothing." She tried to stand up, but Hope pushed her down by the shoulders, making her weight drop back onto the mattress.

"Yeah, no. You're not going anywhere," Hope demanded as she slowly lifted Maria's shirt. She then gently pushed Maria's hand, that was at her ribs, away while replacing it with her own.

"Don't worry about it. It only hurts if I move in the wrong way." Hope then pushed down on the area, making her wince. "Or if you do that."

"What happened?" Hope asked with concern, keeping her hand in place while she looked to Maria's face.

Maria shook her head, not wanting to say it out loud that she'd been beaten in prison.

Hope seemed to have understood as she asked in hurt anger, "How often did this happen?"

"Hope." Maria closed her eyes, begging for her to stop asking about it.

Maria heard her sigh before she stood up and sat next to her on the bed. She then wrapped her arms around her as she slowly laid her onto her back. She then pushed Maria's shirt up again to better inspect her side.

"We should get this checked out. You might have a fracture." Hope placed her hand over the area, pushing lightly as she moved along her ribcage.

"Oh, I'm pretty sure I do. It's been too long now and it's still not healed." Maria then gently took ahold of Hope's wrist, lifting her hand off of her body. "But there's no need to get it x-rayed, they can't do anything about a cracked rib anyway."

Hope sighed as she seemed annoyed by her dismissal of the injury. "You're a horrible patient."

"You sound just like Jane."

"Maria," Hope said so gently as she locked onto her gaze. It was clear that she was distraught by the fact that she was mistreated in the Raft.

Maria lightly sighed, realising that she had to allow Hope the opportunity to care about her, even if she herself didn't feel the same way about her situation. She then slowly placed Hope's hand back onto her sore side, surrendering to the other woman's wishes.

Hope gave her a small smile in acknowledgment of her actions before Maria said, "You know what would really help?"

"What?"

"Soup."

Hope softly chuckled before she nodded. "Okay."

She assisted Maria back into a sitting position as she took the opportunity to give her another soft yet intimate kiss.

Maria smiled into her lips as she said, "This really helps too."

Maria then tried to initiate another kiss, but Hope pulled back as she playfully asked, "Do you have a prescription? If you need a refill on your medication, you're gonna have to provide one." She smiled at her mischievously.

"You call me a horrible patient, but really it's you who's the horrible caregiver." Maria scoffed. "You know what? I'm writing a negative Yelp review on your services."

"Oh yeah?" Hope eyed her. "What's it gonna say?"

"I went to see my pharmacist, Dr. Van Dyne, under false pretenses – thinking she was a kind individual, just wanting to help the people. But she revealed her true colours when she suddenly refused to continue providing me with my medication." Maria referenced the woman's kisses. "A medication, if not received on a regular basis, could cause death!"

Hope snorted out a laugh as she shook her head. "You're ridiculous." She then stood up and eased Maria to her feet, this time being overly cautious while treating her like glass.

"I'm really not gonna break," Maria assured her.

"Yeah, I'm not so much worried about you as I am my Yelp review. Don't need you adding more negative feedback to it."

Maria grinned at her before Hope took her by the hand, leading her into the kitchen.

Hope pulled her hair out of her face with the elastic that she always kept around her wrist. She still couldn't put her ponytails as high as she normally liked them, due to the length of hair at her surgery spot, which was still too short to tie back unless the hair was gathered right on top of the anomaly area.

She then quickly washed her hands before busying herself, pulling out everything that she'd need while Maria watched her.

Soon she placed a cutting board and a knife in front of Maria on the island, saying, "Okay, I know I said I'd let you boil water, but we actually need to sauté the carrots and onions before we bring the stock to a simmer."

"A simmer?" She huffed in humorous exaggeration. "I don't know if I can handle that. You're throwing a curveball at me here."

Hope chuckled before she said, "Think of it as a soft boil. I believe you'll be able to manage that just fine, Commander." It was clear that Maria was biting down a grin, which was such a relief for Hope to see, watching her come out of her stupor. "So, you're gonna help me cut veggies first." Hope opened the bag of pre-washed carrots for Maria before putting an onion in front of herself to cut up. "And I know you know how to use a knife."

Maria picked up the mentioned item as she said, "Handles for holding, blades for stabbing. Unless you're throwing, then blades for holding andblades for embedding."

"I swear to god, Maria" – Hope pointed a carrot at her, with a tone of warning – "if you throw my Böker knife, you won't live long enough to eat this soup."

Maria chuckled at her as she grabbed the carrot out of her hand and started to neatly slice it up on the cutting board.

Maria and Hope fell into a comfortable silence as they chopped away at onions and carrots. Unfortunately, though, after some time passed, Hope noticed Maria's goofy mood diminishing. She could see the weight she'd been carrying, crushing her once again.

Maria had finished cutting her last carrot when she'd started to disassociate again, with eyes glossing over, looking out over the apartment. Hope didn't know what to do or say, so she just watched her. She fixed her gaze onto the most beautiful woman she'd ever seen. The woman who made her laugh and who made her cry. The woman who she loved more than any other person before her, and the woman who was being tortured by guilt right in front of her eyes.

Suddenly, both of their attentions were pulled in the direction of the elevator as the doors opened, revealing Janet as she came walking in with a plastic grocery bag in hand.

Hope noticed her mother instantly lock her gaze onto the agent as her face broke into a heartwarming smile. "Maria," she practically sang while she made her way over to them.

Janet quickly put the bag onto the counter, pulling out the small root, handing it to Hope, with her eyes still on the other woman. "Some ginger for my jellybean." She then reached over the counter, taking Maria's hand as she guided her around the island to stand right in front of her. "And a summer pumpkin for my pumpkin." The older woman handed Maria this adorably small sugar pumpkin, no bigger than a grapefruit, from the bag. Maria gently took the item in both hands, staring down at it in confusion. "I wasn't sure as to what the appropriate gift was for someone who'd just gotten out of prison, but when I saw this little guy" – Janet pointed at the squash – "I knew that's what I wanted to give you."

The most precious smile came across Maria's face as a tear escaped down her cheek. "Thank you," Maria looked to her like she wasn't talking about the pumpkin at all, but about something else entirely. Hope wondered if it had something to do with whatever her mother had written in that letter for her.

"Oh my, pumpkin." Janet threw her arms around Maria. "I'm so glad you made it back to us." The woman rubbed her back as Maria was quick to nestle right into the embrace, while holding the squash by the stem in her one hand that had found a home around Janet's back.

Hope covered her mouth with her hand trying to keep herself from crying, now having an even greater understanding of what her mom's love for Maria would have meant to her.

Janet eventually pushed Maria back as she studied her while running her hands down her thin arms. "Look at you, you're so skinny." She glanced over to her daughter. "Hope, you're making her more than just soup, aren't you?"

"I don't know." She shook her head, realising that her mother was right. Maria should probably have something else to go with her carrot dish.

"How about some homemade biscuits?" Janet looked back to Maria. "I'll make you some."

"Flour and baking powder are in there." Hope kicked out her foot to point at the appropriate cupboard.

"She didn't even let you respond. Did you notice that?" Janet smirked at Maria. "Hope used to beg me to make these all the time when she was a kid." She started off to where Hope had gestured to as she gave her daughter a look. "Nice to see things haven't changed."

Hope turned to Maria as she exaggeratedly mouthed, "They are so good." Maria chuckled at her.

While Janet started making dough, Hope poured broth over the sautéd vegetables. Just as she reached for the dial, wanting to turn down the burner, Maria burst out, "What are you doing?" Hope looked over to her in confusion as Maria narrowed her eyes at her. "You told me I get to simmer." Hope grinned at her as Maria stepped over. "I get to turn the knob."

"Fine." Hope threw up her hands in surrender, finding her annoyingly adorable in that moment as she stepped back from the stove. Maria then proceeded to reduce the heat.

"Hope, are you being a bull in the kitchen again?"

"No!" Hope blurted defensively.

Janet looked to Maria. "When she was a kid she used to do that to me too. Like, all the time. Just completely take over when we were cooking."

"Not all the time."

The eldest woman then nodded at Maria, as to say, it was a constant occurrence. Maria smiled with amusement.

Janet then recalled out loud, "I still remember this one time, the two of us were about to make lasagna together – Hope must have been about eight at the time – and we pulled out all the ingredients, ready to go, but then I was called away for an Ant-Man/Wasp mission. So I told her we'd make it later when I got back." Janet eyed Hope like she were still aghast as she continued, "But when I got home – low and behold – there was a fully cooked lasagna sitting there right on top of the counter." Janet was now nearly laughing. "And I knew the little brat made it all on her own, because if she'd gotten help from our housekeeper, the kitchen wouldn't have looked like a war zone." Maria instantly laughed where Janet joined in with her.

"Okay, okay, but was the lasagna good?" Hope asked, full well knowing the answer as she crossed her arms in annoyance towards the two who were having way too much fun at her expense.

Janet sighed in glee. "That's the best part. It tasted better than any lasagna I'd ever made."

Maria turned to look at Hope with a sparkling smile on her face, which made Hope weak. She'd instantly given up on her pride as she chuckled along with them.

Hope couldn't remember feeling this happy, she was not only back in the kitchen with her mother – a past time that she'd always cherished – but Maria was there with them too. Like she couldn't imagine being in that kitchen without her.

"So," Janet said after they'd all settled down a bit as she finished kneading the dough, "I met another pair at the store today." She turned to her daughter.

Hope scrunched her face in confusion. "A pair?"

"Two people with a shared particle frequency." Janet then grabbed the baking sheet from off of the other counter that Hope had already put out for her. "Teenagers," she added while she started balling up dough pieces to place them on the pan. "I'm pretty sure they were sisters." She smiled. "The older one gave some of her own money to the younger one so she could buy some candy. It was precious."

Hope was very intrigued to hear about her experience. Especially after learning that there were others, and they were in other types of relationships too. They weren't all romantic like hers was with Maria.

She asked, interest piqued, "Are they the only other ones you've seen?" Curious as to what other pairs of people were like her and Maria.

"No. I saw an elderly couple about a month ago." She sighed, shaking her head. "But I didn't have the heart to tell you about them at the time, because of the whole… well you know," she said awkwardly. Hope understood that she was referring to Maria's time in prison, when she had kind of lost herself.

"Wait, what are you guys talking about?" Maria looked back and forth between them. "What's a shared particle frequency?"

Janet gawked at her daughter as she threw her hands to her hips. "Hope Veronica Doris Pym, did you not tell Maria?"

"I— ah," Hope stuttered, "I didn't really get the chance to yet." She lied. The truth being, she'd been scared to tell Maria. Scared that somehow it was all just some weird coincidence and Maria didn't actually feel the crazy strong connection that Hope had to her. Though, Maria's love declaration had given her more confidence in the phenomenon than she had before.

Maria studied Hope's face before looking to Janet. "Tell me what?"

Janet caught Hope's eyes, knowing that she was searching for her permission to fill Maria in, as Hope simply nodded to her, giving her approval.

"I can see particle frequencies," Janet addressed Maria. "And sometimes, on rare occasions, I see people who share the exact same frequency." She then smirked. "Like you two." She pointed back and forth between them. "The building blocks of your beings match up to each other. I theorise this phenomenon is what some philosophers have described as soulmates." Maria looked dumbfounded as she slowly turned towards Hope, which made her heart start racing with nerves. Hope knew that she should've said something, but instead, she just stared into Maria's eyes.

"You know what?" Janet quickly said, obviously noticing the tension in the room. "I'm gonna leave these biscuits here for you guys to finish up. All you have to do is roll a few more and bake them for about ten minutes." Hope moved her gaze off of Maria to see her mother go to the other side of the counter as she added. "Scott invited me to lunch with the Avengers, so I think I'm gonna go catch up with them."

"Wait, Mom," Hope called as Janet was already making her way across the room.

"Yes?" She turned to her.

Hope stared at her for a second, realising that she'd addressed her out of panic without having something in mind to say. "Ah, thank you," she finally said, meaning it entirely. She'd been such a godsend to her for not only that day, but the past couple of months too.

She smiled. "You're welcome." She then went to the elevator and loading in. "Maria," Janet called to her just as the doors were closing, "make sure you eat lots." And then she was gone.

Hope focused back to Maria who was still looking off towards the elevator with that same blank expression on her face, which was making Hope's nerves go wild.

"Maria?" she timidly asked, hoping to get her to respond.

"I just can't believe it." Maria shook her head.

"It's just a theory," Hope blurted in a panic, "she could be totally wrong."

"No," Maria said as she turned to her. "Not about that." She took a step towards her as she grabbed a hold of Hope's hand, dropping her head to focus on her action. "I just can't believe I found you." She started playing with Hope's fingers, eyes still glued to their hands. "I really did think – with my whole being – that I'd be alone forever." Maria then looked up, making Hope's breath hitch in the back of her throat as she locked her gaze with her. Maria then gently smirked. "But then one day you showed up, crushed my windpipe a couple times, called me a cold bitch, and everything changed." Hope couldn't help but quietly chuckle at her choice of words. "I knew you were different."

"Because I was yours," Hope insisted, taking a step closer to Maria. "From the moment you sat down across from me in that restaurant, and you looked at me with your impossibly blue eyes." Hope reached out to Maria, taking her chin in her hand. "You already had me."

They were staring at each other so intensely, Maria's eyes glistening with tears as she pushed their palms flat together and folded her fingers over the back of Hope's hand, gripping tightly where she then gently pushed her mouth to Hope's, kissing her.

Hope had instantly gotten lost in her touch, yet again. Her lips were like a euphoric drug to her soul. They let go of each other's hands only to wrap their arms around the other's body – never wanting to let go.

They eventually broke for air as they dropped their foreheads together. "Does this mean I get to keep you forever?" Maria asked her as she lightly panted.

"You're gonna have to. I didn't come with a receipt, so you can't return me."

"Good." Maria smiled just before she captured Hope's lips once again.

Hope giggled into their kiss, beyond elated in that moment as she soaked in the knowledge that she was going to spend the rest of her days with her soulmate.

Hope eventually pulled away from Maria as she said, "I need to add the ginger to the soup. I have to finish making this food so you can eat."

Hope turned away so that she could start grating some of the root into the pot, hating to break away from Maria, but knowing that feeding her was a necessity.

"I didn't say you could go," Maria said in annoyance as she moved to stand behind Hope, wrapping her arms around her waist while pushing her cheek up against the side of Hope's head.

The woman had to bite down a giggle as she fully welcomed the embrace that would still allow her to cook.

She continued to work with Maria's arms around her, which refused to let go of her; they only briefly detaching when Hope had to put the biscuits into the oven.

Not long after, they both sat down to eat. Hope had been so pleased with the amount of food Maria had consumed, and the fact that she seemed to really enjoy the meal.

Soon, they found themselves on Hope's yellow sofa, bellies full. Hope was reclined out, with her feet on the ottoman, book in hand. Maria was stretched out across the chesterfield, her head on a pillow that was resting on top of Hope's lap, passed out from a food coma.

Hope could barely concentrate on her readings as she was too distracted by Maria's faint, adorable snores. So she decided to put her book down, only to comb her fingers through Maria's hair. As she was doing that she soon found a new fixation on the woman's left hand, that was resting on her thigh. She then moved to gently rub her thumb over Maria's ring finger, not liking how naked it looked. Determined that something would have to be done in due time to remedy that situation.