Maria and Janet were on a transport flight from Africa, back to America. Maria had hung back a fortnight in Birnin Zana as a S.H.I.E.L.D. liaison to the Wakandan military, where Janet was there as an unofficial U.S. ambassador, with heavy ties to S.H.I.E.L.D., as an observer of the pan-African council. Both of their presences were in regards to the B.N.U. situation.
Janet had quickly earned favour with the Wakandan royals. They accepted her – most likely – due to her respecting nature; she didn't try to force her western opinions onto anyone. She was just there as intercontinental and interagency support.
Maria was truly grateful for Janet's African integration. She made S.H.I.E.L.D.'s alliance with the continent much stronger.
After the mission that they'd secured de Ruyter and the impundulu, the rest of the Avengers had flown back to the U.S.A., which included Hope. Maria was sad to see her go, they barely even had a chance to say goodbye before she had to ship back out. Maria was glad, however, that she was going to be on the same continent as her again.
Maria was quickly briefed and familiarised with the Wakandan aircraft before they left the country. Although, there really wasn't much piloting she needed to do on their way back. It was a ship that could be fully-automated and often was. She only took it off autopilot so that she could verse herself with it for her own curiosity. She even let Janet take the controls for a little while. They were the only two aboard so they could take some liberties and try out some evasive manoeuvres to add a little fun onto their trip.
Janet had gotten out of the pilot's seat, allowing Maria to turn back on the autopilot, as she randomly started patting down her body in a bit of a frenzy like she was trying to find something. "Wait." Janet slapped her upper thighs. "Did I forget my—" She reached down to her jacket that was sitting on the nearby bulkhead-bench. "Ah!" She pulled her mobile out of her coat pocket. "Here it is!" She held it up in triumph. "I thought I just forgot the most important thing I own in Wakanda."
"Your phone?" Maria asked in bewilderment as to why she held that particular object to such high importance. "What are you, a millennial? Can't go a day without checking your social media?" she joked, not entirely sure if she'd understand the reference to the exaggerated societal bashing of her generation by people of Janet's generation in regards to technology dependency.
"Funny." She seemed to have understood enough of her intent. "But, unfortunately, no. I'm no longer a youthful hip-chick such as yourself."
Maria had to bite down a chuckle towards Janet's cute, but dated, slang. "Could've fooled me. That quantum realm must do wonders for the skin." She fully meant what she'd said. Janet was absolutely radiant for her age.
"Thank you, pumpkin. You're too gracious." She lovingly smiled at her. "No, but, honestly, the only reason I cherish my phone is because I have family photos on it. And I like to always have them with me."
"That's actually really sweet." Maria was always taken by all the love Janet had in her heart.
"Yeah, when I finally got back home to this realm I scavenged photo albums, data CDs, hard drives, and even the internet: gathering up as many pictures as I could of the family. Specifically of Hope." She said with a hint of sadness, "I missed so much of her growing up and wanted to keep those lost years with me."
Maria's interest piqued as she excitedly asked, "You have pictures of Hope?"
Janet chuckled, obviously delighted by her question. "Yes, come sit with me. I'll show you." She gestured to the bench that her jacket was laying on.
As Janet sat down and started going through her phone, Maria quickly checked the controls to make sure the course and autopilot was still correct, before finding her seat right next to her.
Janet pushed her body in close as she handed Maria her phone. Now Maria could go through them on her own while the older woman was able to still see them.
The first picture Maria saw was of Janet holding baby Hope while in hospital. "That was our first photo together," Janet said, leaning in closer to Maria.
"Hope looks so much like you." She couldn't believe the resemblance of Janet then with Hope now.
"Yeah, she got my looks and Hank's brains."
"His stubbornness too." Maria grinned, making Janet giggle.
"This is very true."
Maria proceeded to swipe through the pictures on her phone, stopping on one with great interest and complete awe. She was sure it was Hope's prom photo. It was a headshot of her softly smiling. Her her hair was in ringlets and the freckles on her face were more pronounced, making Maria think she was living at the beach with her surfboard during that time, catching a lot of sun. "Wow." Maria gawked. "She really is the most beautiful person ever. Even as a teenager. She looks like a literal angel here."
"She sure does." Janet's voice was filled with pride. "But I'm sure you were just as beautiful at that age too."
"Yeah, right," Maria scoffed. "I was this tall, awkward, gangly kid. My neighbour used to tease me about it. He called me lanky-spanky."
"Oh, that's not very nice," Janet said in a defensive mom-voice. "Was he a boy from school?"
"No." Maria laughed while shaking her head. "He was an adult. And probably my favourite one in the world at the time." Suddenly, the memory of the only grownup she respected as a kid, entered her mind. "He loved that I was long and skinny, I could crawl under the car and get my arm far down into the engine when he couldn't reach something in there." Janet looked to her in confusion. "He was building a car," Maria explained. "So after school, we'd work on it together."
"Oh. That sounds like fun." Her eyes lit up.
"Yeah, until we got to the carburetor." Maria remembered those exasperating three months. "That whole situation was a nightmare."
"What kind of car was it?"
"A 1961 Dodge Lancer."
"Did you guys ever finish it?"
"We did." Maria softly smiled. "He even gave it to me for my sixteenth birthday."
"Oh. Wow. That was generous of him."
"Yeah, extremely." To this day, Maria still couldn't believe that he'd done that. Him and his wife were Colombian immigrants with little to their names. But that never stopped them from showing kindness and charity in their neighbourhood. Even if it financially put them back.
"Whatever happened to the car? Do you still have it?"
"I do. It's parked at a base in D.C."
"Still runs?"
"Absolutely." Maria nearly took her question as an insult.
"Yeah, I guess that was a silly question." Janet lovingly nudged Maria's body with her own. "Of course you'd keep it up and running. I'd guess it's in pristine condition too."
"Oh, It is," Maria proudly said, looking to Janet.
"Are you still in contact with your neighbour?"
"Ah." Maria dropped her head, fixing her eyes on Hope's photo. "No. He died about ten years ago." Maria was lucky enough to see him a few years before his passing. She made a point to stop by there when she had enough money to pay off their mortgage. It was the least she could do after all they'd done for her over the years.
"Oh. I'm sorry." Janet squeezed her arm in comfort before Maria started swiping through more photos. When seeing one of little Hope on the back of a pony, decked out in proper riding attire, Maria asked, "Hope used to ride horses?"
Janet nodded. "For a very short period. She didn't really care for it. And I remember – at that time – she was far too busy begging for us to enroll her in a karate class instead."
Maria chuckled. "Of course she was."
"Yeah, but she didn't end up doing that for very long either." She sighed. "Hank pulled her out, to her dismay." She then said in slight amusement, "I still remember that temper tantrum. She broke a very expensive vase."
"Really?" Maria never had the luxury of having a hissy fit, her father would have shut that down real quick. Which then made her wonder if Hope had only had them when Hank wasn't around, since he had anger issues just like her own father had.
"Yeah. But she soon enough grew out of those fits. They tapered off around the age of seven."
"Why did Hank pull her out of karate though?"
"Because he saw how much she wanted to be like us. And he feared for her safety." She shook her head. "He never wanted her to be an Avenger or to join S.H.I.E.L.D."
"I can't say I'm completely devoid of that feeling either when it comes to her dangerous career choice." Maria still didn't love that Hope was going into unsafe situations and putting herself at risk.
"You and me both," Janet agreed. "But I have it worse because – I not only have to worry about her – but I have to worry about you too." She gave her a loving smirk, which sent a warm tingle up her neck. She never had anyone worry about her like that before.
Maria then looked down to the phone, needing to change the subject. "Is it alright if I send some of these pictures to myself?"
"Of course. She's your little vase-smashing rascal too." Maria, very excitedly, proceeded to send herself nearly all of them as Janet asked her, "Do you have any photos from your childhood? I'd sure love to see you as this, lacky-spanky you speak of."
"Um." Maria instantly thought of the photo that she kept so private. The one she hadn't shown to anyone. "I just have one," she said in slight hesitation but, over all, she felt safe in showing it to her. She then gave Janet's phone back to her before pulling out her own cell, searching the cloud for the photo, quickly locating it.
She gently passed Janet her phone, the picture of her teenaged self in denim dungaree shorts holding her kid brother in her arms, displayed on the scene. Janet instantly gushed. "Oh, look at you, you're absolutely precious." She stared at it a little longer. "And you don't look like an awkward gangly kid, you look like a runway model or one of those skinny girls you see in Teen Vogue." Maria turned to look at Janet's face, who was still fixated on the photo, with a heartwarming smile on. "Is this your brother?"
Maria looked back down. "Yeah." She fixed her eyes on him smiling up at her former self.
"Hope told me about him. Not that she said much, just that he passed."
"Yeah." Maria swallowed hard, trying her best to keep her composure. She'd never really gotten over his death.
"He's looking at you with such love in his eyes. You two must've been close."
A bittersweet memory came to her as she smiled. "He used to always say he wished I was his real mom."
"I'll bet," she said in a way that led Maria to believe that she knew about his birth mother.
"I take it Hope told you about her too?"
"Your step-mother? Yes." Maria felt her tense up beside her. "And I'd like to say, I hope to never meet her because – as much as I don't normally condone violence unless it's absolutely necessary – I would, indeed, find it absolutely necessary to clean her clock." Maria couldn't help but lightly chuckle at her words. "Because nobody treats my daughter like that. And that's right, I said my daughter. I've rightfully confiscated you from her. I'm your mother now, like I've said before," she insisted with fervor, before she gently pushed a piece of Maria's hair behind her ear. The action, along with her ownership of her, almost making Maria breakdown. "And that's why I've been twisting Hope's arm to get information out of her about you. A parent must know about their children." Janet then guiltily smirked at her with a plea in her eyes. "Also, please don't be mad at her for telling me these things. I know she hasn't told anyone else about this stuff."
"I'm not mad." Maria saw it like how the woman described it herself: Janet was an extension of Hope. So there wasn't much that Hope could know about her that Janet couldn't know too.
"Good." She seemed relieved that she wasn't angry with Hope. "Also." Janet eyed her playfully. "I hope you realise I'm now sending this photo to myself." She waved Maria's phone in the air, before proceeding to do as she said. "I have to add it to the digital family album."
Maria had to hold back happy tears. "Kai would've loved to be a part of your family."
"Kai," she asked so tenderly, "that's your brother's name?"
"Yeah."
"Well he's part of the Van Dyne clan now." She firmly nodded as she continued to look at the photo that she'd just sent herself. "He looks like an excellent addition. He's very cute."
"Very funny too." Maria remembered all the times that he had made her laugh.
Janet handed Maria her phone back before she looked at her, studying her face in awe. "I'm so proud of you," she softly said, her eyes now glossy.
"What?" Maria's voice was so small; the question barely came out.
"You grew up amongst tragedy. More than most experience in a lifetime." She hugged Maria's one arm, squeezing her limb in close. "And yet, you came out of it wanting to protect people. Not wanting them to suffer like you have had to." She blinked a few times, trying to dry her eyes before they ran over with tears. "So many people try to pass their pain on to others, but not you." Now Maria had to fight off tears herself. "And now here you are, Deputy Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., guardian to all mankind."
"Pft." Maria sheepishly pushed away her beautiful comment, not able to emotionally handle it. "I'm definitely not a guardian to all mankind."
"Hey, you better not be trying to dismiss my complement, young lady." She gave her a stern look of warning.
"No, ma'am." Maria conceded, resulting in Janet breaking into a beautiful grin.
Janet then moved her arms to wrap them around Maria's entire body, giving her a proper side hug. "I'm so glad Hope found you and brought you into our lives." She then kissed Maria's cheek, where the young woman couldn't help but bask in Janet's motherly love.
"For the record." Maria insisted on correcting her. "I was the one who found her."
"That's right, you were stalking her."
"Okay." Maria chuckled. "Hope's not allowed to talk about me anymore. I don't like her telling of events."
Janet rocked Maria's body back and forth as she giggled. "No, don't say that! I need my informant. Even if she embellishes a little."
Suddenly, they were interrupted by Maria's phone ringing. It was Fury, where Maria had an obligation to see to it; standing up, giving herself a little privacy, she answered the phone while walking to the back of the ship; returning to business.
For the rest of their trip, Maria was consumed with work. Then once they touched down in America, Maria and Janet had parted ways, both having different destinations and business to attend to.
Hope rounded the corner, shooting two hostiles in their chest packs before running down the short hallway past a few closed doors on her left. She took a hard right into a large break-room area, shooting another man in his shoulder sensor before knocking a table over and ducking behind it for cover. There was one more hostile in the room who was trying to shoot her with his laser gun. Unlike their large outdoor drills where they often used beanbag guns, while indoor training they almost exclusively used highly accurate laser weapons.
She looked to the side, noticing a shiny black refrigerator that was surprisingly reflective as she could see the shooter in it. Knowing that laser beams bounce off mirrors, Hope decided to test out if the appliance was reflective enough to keep the photons in a tight pathway without them disbursing, as she lined up her target behind the safety of her cover. Aiming at the man's shoulder sensor, she took her shot. To her satisfaction, his pack lit up red as she was quick to break cover and continue on.
The training building that she was sweeping through was a stand-alone structure in a field, made to mimic the inside of an office building. She knew that her next objective was to breach the door at the end of the hallway; but as she was about to make her way out of the room she noticed that there was a gap between the cafeteria wall and the ceiling. She assumed that because the building was just a mock-up they must not have bothered to connect up the two structures, creating a space about two feet in hight.
Thinking like a woman who was used to being small as a bug and having wings, she used that to her advantage, knowing that there'd be men waiting for her on the other side of the door and she wasn't one who always used traditional methods of entry.
Hope then quickly hopped on top of the counter, next to the wall, using the fridge to boost her all the way up. She then squeezed through the gap, rolling herself over onto the other side.
Landing rather lightly, she found herself in an empty boardroom. She quietly opened the door, seeing three men outside of it, all facing the other direction. She wasted no time in stepping out, easily shooting two of them in the back. She then had to run up and flip the third one over onto his butt before shooting him in the chest.
Suddenly, a bunch of lights on the ceiling flashed green, along with the vests that they were all wearing, including Hope's. The action indicated that the drill was over and she'd successfully taken out all her enemies.
She helped the man up who she'd just thrown down. "Sorry, Dan," she apologised.
"You know, you say that a lot to me." The young agent rubbed his lower back while not looking terribly pleased with her. "I need to get reassigned," he gripped under his breath while walking away from her and his other two teammates.
Looking at the other men, they simply shrugged at her before Hope holstered her weapon and went to exit the structure that led out to a large outdoor tarmac.
Walking outside, she saw Jason, Roz, and Sharon. Their instructor was next to a large dolly that had three separate monitors set up on it, all displaying different areas of the indoor training space.
"What the hell was that? Sharon snapped at her. "You were supposed to breach the other section by going through the doors. You deviated without authorisation."
"Yeah, but I saw an opportunity to enter the next one while the enemy was off guard." She defended her actions, specifically because they led to a successful outcome. "It was a snap judgment call."
"You hopped over a wall!" Sharon threw her hand aggressively out to her side.
Hope was finding her constant disapproval just plain annoying by this point. "You said our objective was to secure the building." She put her hand on her hip as she challenged her. "Are we not supposed to do that using any means necessary?"
"You were supposed to wait for my go-ahead. And that's not even mentioning your little cheat thing with the whole 'shooting the fridge' trick." She furrowed her brow, glaring at her as she spat, "This isn't the Avengers. You don't get to run around with the Hulk and do whatever the hell you want. Agents follow strict orders and guidelines. And if you can't do that, then you'll never join the ranks."
Sharon's words were so ironic that she found them hilarious. "Okay." Hope bit down a laugh.
She could see the confusion on Sharon's face as she seemed taken aback. "Find something funny, Van Dyne?" She crossed her arms.
Hope decided to be bold as Natasha's and Maria's words echoed inside her head. "It's just, if they already let one wild, unbroken horse into the ranks, I'm sure they'll let in another one." She doubled down as she said with inflated confidence, "You already set a precedent for me."
Hope heard a gasp from Roz, who was now next to her, before she muttered under her breath so only Hope would hear her, "Wudareya doing?"
But Hope ignored the young woman as she held her gaze with Sharon, both glaring each other down. Finally, after a few intense seconds, the corners of Sharon's mouth tugged upwards in an amused smirk like she knew which of her asshole friends had regurgitated that to her. Sharon then turned to Roz. "Okay, Solomón, you're up!"
Hope had to bite down another smile as she looked to Roz, who was shaking her head at her in shocked confusion. "Good luck," Hope said, finally letting her smile slip as she innocently encouraged her teammate on her upcoming drill.
Roz took her turn, followed by Jason. They all individually cleared through the building. Roz was the only one who needed a second try to get through successfully.
Once their assignment was completed they went straight off to their last session of the day; it was target practice at the shooting range with Gunnery Sergeant Mackenzie, a weapons specialist out of the Marines. It was common for the Sergeant to independently run their riflery classes. Which Hope was always grateful for since they were a welcomed respite from Sharon's constant critical nature towards her. Especially with the fact that Hope wasn't exactly an amazing marksman; not that she was necessarily bad either, but it still would've been fresh fodder for Sharon to criticize her about.
Once they were finished up with target practice the three agents-in-training exited the indoor range, into the corridor that connected the hanger-like-structure to the main building.
As they were walking Hope checked her phone to see if she'd received any messages. She saw one in particular that nearly made her giggle. Roz leaned into her, bumping into her shoulder. "You're smiling. Is it your girlfriend again?"
"No. I talked to her yesterday." Hope simply informed her, loving how Maria was constantly checking in with her now. Especially in regards to how she was handling the emotional impact of her family's funding misconduct. "This is a text from Scott and Cassie." She turned her phone around for Roz to see, playing the short, seven second video that they sent to her. "Look at the circuit she made with her dad." They took the contraption from the game Mousetrap, and automated it for Cassie's science project. The video was of their work in action.
"Okay, that's actually pretty cool." Roz nodded in approval right before she pressed on. "What did your girlfriend say yesterday?"
Hope narrowed her eyes at the young woman as she said, "I see why S.H.I.E.L.D. agent intrigued you as a career choice because you're sure interested in gathering intel."
"You're the one who shrouds her in mystery." Roz shot back. "Which is why I'm intrigued in the first place. Like, I don't even know her name. Though, I did see you have her listed as 'The Cold Bitch' in your contacts."
"You were looking at my phone?" She was instantly a little annoyed with her and hoped she didn't see anything of importance.
"I caught a glimpse, okay?" she said innocently making Hope and Jason shared a look of skepticism. "Also, you were all mad at her 'cause she was ignoring you, then you came back from your Avengers mission all happy, like during that time she reanimated herself from the dead and is now calling you all the time." The trio continued to the end of the hallway. "And, was that a coincidence? Did you see her on your mission? Does she work for S.H.I.E.L.D. or some other intelligence agency?
"Roz, you're spiraling," Jason said, reaching for the door and opening it for the ladies.
"I'm just asking questions." They all stepped through. "Aren't you curious about her?" Roz turned to Jason.
But before Jason could reply, the trio's attention was all ripped away from their conversation as they noticed Janet, standing a little ways away.
"Mom?"
She approached her daughter and smiled. "Hey, Jellybean."
"What are you doing here." Hope hurried over to meet her halfway, giving her a welcoming hug.
"I decided to stop by and visit you while on my way home from Wakanda." She pulled away to look at her daughter. "Fury granted me clearance so I'd be able to see this place."
"It's like you're fully integrated back into the agency."
"It's starting to feel that way," she said in a manner that Hope couldn tell that she was enjoying it. Her mother was always one who was driven to help people and S.H.I.E.L.D. was a place where she could do that.
Turning to see her companions slowly approaching, Hope quickly made introductions. "Mom, these are my classmates, Roz and Jason."
Roz's eyes lit up as she gushed. "It's an honour to meet you, Mrs. Van Dyne, first female superhero and founder of The Avengers."
Janet's face split into a grin. "Well, I can't say I've been called by that lengthy title outside of a women's empowerment seminar back in the eighties."
Roz nodded enthusiastically. "Ma'am, if I were you I'd put that title on a bumper sticker and cruise around town with it while waving out the window at the people."
Janet chuckled. "You're funny."
Jason then stepped up, gently taking Janet's hand in his own as he smiled. "And I feel as if I should be in absolute awe of meeting you, the first female superhero, as well – which, don't get me wrong, I still am – but, honestly, I'm more delighted to be meeting you as Hope's mother." He then kissed the top of her hand in a chivalrous manner. "You have such a wonderful daughter. A very strong and smart individual." He then gently let go of her hand.
"Oh my god. You really can't turn it off, can you?" Roz jabbed the man with her elbow before looking back to Janet. "Don't mind him. He once fell into a charm school as a kid and couldn't get out. Took his family years to find him, but once they did it was too late. The damage was already done."
Janet held her smile as she said to Roz, "Charm is never a bad thing." She then looked back and forth between them. "And it's nice to meet the both of you."
Jason bowed his head before turning to the young woman. "Okay, Roz." He rested his hands on top of her shoulders, patting them as he spoke. "Why don't we let Hope catch up with her mother here. And you can show me that – supposed – eagle's nest you think you saw." He started gently leading her down the hallway.
"It is an eagle's nest. I googled it," she retorted back at him.
"I just don't think an eagle would set up a nest so low." He then looked back to Janet as they reached the exit, just a little ways away from the Van Dynes. "It was very nice meeting you."
"Yeah," Roz called out as Jason nearly pushed her out the door, "I'm gonna brag to all my academy friends about this!" And with that, they were both gone.
Janet chuckled while shaking her head at the duo, seemingly finding them just as entertaining as Hope did.
"Want a tour of the place?" Hope offered, assuming she hadn't seen much of the grounds yet since her suitcase was sitting off to the side of them.
"Please." She happily nodded.
Hope grabbed the handle of her mother's bag, wheeling it over to the supply closet next to them. "Your stuff should be fine in here for the time being," she said while slipping it inside. She knew that no one would steal her things if they left it out; she was just concerned with it triggering an alert. There suddenly being a suspicious bag inside a restricted facility might cause an incident.
Hope then guided them down the hall, opposite the direction of the shooting range. "So, how did it go with the pitch?" Hope asked, dying to know since she hadn't gotten an update on it yet.
"Great. Romy and I are working together on a foundation. I'm thinking of starting with three billion, then we'll go from there." Janet hooked her arm around Hope's. "Is that alright with you?"
"Yes. I want it all gone," Hope said, desperately needing to rid herself of her family's dirty money.
"I know you do but it's going to be a slow process," Janet said sympathetically. "We want to make sure we're actually supporting the people by uplifting their economies and not ruining them by throwing money at them without any thought.
"Yes, I get that." Hope huffed in annoyance as to how long the process was going to take.
"And we're still going to have a huge chunk of our wealth through our charitable umbrella organisation."
"That's fine. As long as it's no longer our family trust, growing from stocks of all these sketchy companies" – she shook her head – "that's all I want." Hope was at least glad to learn that their personal fortune was being shifted to a non-profit, only to be dispensed to charities, and charities alone.
"Grandfather wasn't your fault," Janet said softly, responding to Hope's overall agitated tone. "I'm the one who should've caught that."
Hope really wasn't interested in rehashing the blame conversation with her mother again. It had gone nowhere the first time, with Janet taking the news just about as well as Hope had while bearing all the responsibility onto herself.
To avoid a repeat conversation, Hope pushed on. "Who's Romy?" She recalled back to the name that her mother had previously said.
"Ah, Queen Mother Ramonda."
A little surprised, Hope asked, "You have a nickname for the King of Wakanda's mother?"
"She calls me Ndovu." Janet grinned.
"Ndovu?"
"Yeah, apparently it means 'ivory' in Swahili."
"You guys have really gotten close there." Hope smiled, happy that her mother made a new friend. Janet had been so disconnected from her old social circles. For a while, the only people she saw were herself, Hank, and – on occasion – Scott's family.
"Oh, I love that woman." She beamed, just as Hope let go of her mother's arm to push the food-hall door open to show her inside. "She gave me an apartment in Birnin Zana and keeps insisting I just move there."
"Yeah, I'm sure dad would love that," Hope said sarcastically. "This is the cafeteria," she waved at the large empty room, filled with dining tables.
"It'd take awhile for your father to notice I wasn't around." She poked her head in to look at the space. "He's been living at the lab."
"New project?" Hope closed the door, not bothering to go inside since the place was pretty self-explanatory.
"Ah" – Janet awkwardly dropped her head – "not exactly." She started walking back down the hallway again.
"Oh," Hope murmured softly, realising that she wasn't meaning figuratively. "Living as in—"
"Yeah."
"H— how long?" Hope gently asked, processing the new information as she caught up with her mother's slow pace, falling back in line beside her.
"He moved in there shortly after you left for training." Hope slowly nodded in understanding. "We just needed a break is all."
"You both did? Or just you?" Hope was full of skepticism of her statement that the feeling was mutual between them.
"I… ah—" She fidgeted with the ends of her long hair.
"Mom, it's okay," Hope insisted.
Janet sighed. "He's a difficult man. I wanted some space." She shook her head. "Honestly, I'm probably overreacting."
"Don't," Hope firmly demanded.
"Don't what?"
"Don't try to minimise your feelings." Hope slid her arm around her mother's, linking them once again. "Whatever they are, you're not wrong in having them." They rounded the corner. "It's time for you to finally acknowledge all the pain he's put you through over the years."
"He never gave up on me when I was in the quantum realm though. He remained faithful and spent years trying to find me." She tried justifying her allegiance to him.
"You don't owe him anything for that."
"Yeah." She softly huffed. "But why do I feel like I do?"
"Because he's a manipulator. Always has been."
Janet looked to her as she tried to explain. "I know it often looked like he was the bad guy but It was never just him. I participated. I allowed a lot of it to happen."
Appalled by what she'd just heard, Hope gawked. "You allowed him to hit you?" For the first time, Hope confronted her mother about the physical abuse that she'd gone through.
"I stayed." Janet halted in her tracks, making Hope stop along with her. "I should've taken you and gotten us out." Janet unwound their arms only for her to take ahold of Hope's forearms in her grasp, facing her directly on. "You never should've been in that home. Especially after he turned violent."
"You were just trying to survive. You didn't want to rock the – already rickety – boat. It's common for victims to stay in those circumstances."
"I had a responsibility to you as a mother." She squeezed her arms. "I let my fear stop me from doing what should have been done."
"It's not like he would've just let us go."
She took a moment before sadly nodding. "This is true." Making Hope suddenly wonder if she had attempted to leave with her in the past and just never told her about it. She then let go of Hope's arms. "He did, however, let me leave this time." She cocked her head to the side, correcting herself. "Or – more accurately – he, himself volunteered to go when I said I wanted to."
Raising a brow, Hope asked, "And he did this in understanding while he calmly packed his bags?"
Janet bit her lip before admitting. "There were some words exchanged at a very high volume before he punched a hole in the wall on his way out."
"Uh-huh," Hope muttered dryly, not surprised in the slightest.
"But it was different," she insisted. "This time I didn't fear for my safety." Janet then heavily sighed. "Maybe we can fix our marriage. He definitely isn't as bad as he used to be. He really has changed for the better."
Remembering something she'd heard before, that had always stuck with her, Hope said, "If you water down a pot of soup that's been poisoned and then eat a bowl of it. You might not die, but you're still gonna get sick."
"And what if I can boil the poison out?" she asked in such a vulnerable voice.
"How?" Hope dropped her head to her shoulder, matching her soft voice. "By lighting yourself on fire to heat the pot?"
Janet looked to her in recognition and understanding before smirking at her. "When did you get so wise?" She reached for her face, cupping her cheek.
"Trust me, I'm not. I'm just parroting what San Francisco's finest therapists have told me over the years in regards to Dad." Janet, pulled away from Hope, protectively crossing her arms over her stomach as she began to tear up. "What is it?" Hope asked in alarm.
"I not only failed to take you away from him, but I abandoned you with him." She then wiped her eyes with her finger tips. "You were just a child."
"Mom." Hope reached out, taking a hold of her upper arms in support. She hated how her mother was taking on the blame of her father. It was Hank who fucked up, not her.
Shaking her head with pure terror in her eyes, Janet asked, "Tell me he never—"
"No" – Hope cut her off – "he never laid a hand on me." She then let go of her mother.
"Oh, thank heavens." She sighed in relief. "I mean, I didn't think he ever would. You've always been the most precious thing in his life." She studied Hope's face. "Not that those feelings change the emotional pain he's clearly inflicted on you."
"Mom, it's okay. I'm okay. Don't worry about me." Hope hooked her arm around Janet's, starting them forwards again. "It's time for you to move on from the past." She looked to the side as she spoke, studying her mother. "And if that means Dad is part of the past that you need to move on from, then so be it."
"He's your father. I can't exactly just leave him in the past, even if I wanted to. He'll always be a part of my life in some way or another."
"Well you can at least choose the way you want him to be there."
Janet eyed her as she said, "You're responding in a way I really wasn't expecting."
"Did you think I'd be begging for you guys to stay together forever?" Hope was – after all – the one who was estranged from her father for years, per her choice. And even though she was glad that the two of them were slowly coming together again, she'd never have the expectation for her mother to do the same.
"Begging? No." Janet shook her head. "I don't know, I guess I thought you'd just be a little more bothered by the situation."
"But instead I'm on the verge of calling up the firm to start drawing up your divorce papers."
"Yeah."
"Well, I just want you to be happy. And I know Dad's been the source of a lot of unhappiness in your life." She said adamantly, "You deserve better."
"I really lucked out on having you as a daughter." She stopped them so that she could kiss Hope's forehead. "I never could've imagined how spectacular of a woman you'd end up growing into."
"Well." Hope started walking away, towards the end of the hall. "I had a great role model."
"You better be talking about your amazingly radiant mother."
Hope turned around to look at her. "Nanny Curtiss, actually." She flashed a cheeky grin, naming the governess who Hope couldn't stand. Lucky, they only had her for a year; in the end, deciding that Hope didn't need one.
Both of them giggled at Hope's comment, but instead of Janet making her way to Hope, who was about to show her what was behind the next set of doors, she kept still in her place, bringing her focus down to her hand. She then pulled a ring off her finger, looking up to meet Hope's gaze. "I think it's long overdue you have this." She held out the piece of jewellery. "I always meant to give it to you on your eighteenth birthday."
Hope slowly took a few steps to her, taking the item while examining it. "Grandma's ring." She softly smirked while looking over the white gold band, lined with four little diamonds that had a large sapphire in the centre of it.
Hope slipped it on. "How does it fit?" Janet asked.
"Perfectly." She smiled, always loving the family ring. Hope never knew her matriarchal grandmother, but her mom would tell her stories of her kindness. Hope had always assumed that that's where Janet had gotten her big heart from.
"Good." Hope could hear the smile on her mother's voice that sounded pleased that the heirloom was the appropriate size for her, as she was still busy admiring it on her finger. "And then, when the time comes, you can pass it down to your daughter."
Her mother's words instantly squelched her happy mood. "Mom." Hope looked up to her, just wanting to get the idea of grandchildren out of her head before it had time to marinate there. "Maria and I aren't having kids. We already discussed it."
"But you could!" Janet's eyes brightened in excitement. "Have you heard of I.V.G.? In vitro gametogenesis?"
Hope, already knowing that whatever type of in vitro procedure it was, was irrelevant since Maria and her were already decided and both didn't want anything to do with pregnancy. "No, but—"
"They can make both sperm and eggs out of skin cells." She continued with the same fervor. "You and Maria could have a biological daughter! They're in the testing phase now. But we have the influence and connections to get you guys into the trials."
A biological daughter? God, this was hitting too close to her trauma now. Hope tried to take a calming breath, but it wasn't helping. "Mom, please stop," she begged her.
"Jellybean," she assured her. "I know kids might not be on your mind right now, but – I promise you – you'll get there." She nodded, clearly wanting her to follow the path that she had. "And once you're holding your little baby girl in your arms, you'll never regret your decision of becoming a mother."
Suddenly, the image of her five-month-old daughter flashed into her mind's eye. Her tiny body, that was no bigger than her hand, laying still across her one arm. Her mother had no idea what she was talking about and what Hope would, and would not, regret. "I said, stop! Okay?" She snapped. "Do you not hear?"
"I— I'm sorry," Janet stammered in complete confusion to Hope's outburst. "I didn't—"
"It's okay." Hope interrupted her, feeling a little guilty on how harshly she sounded, yet still couldn't seem to drop the edge in her voice. "Let's just change the subject."
"I didn't mean to upset you. I just wanted you to know about—"
"I said, it's fine." Again, her tone came harsher than she'd wished for it. "Through here's the gym." She turned, taking a few strides to the doors before aggressively bursting them open to then walk through.
There, in the large space, Hope was annoyed to find Sharon, dragging a mat to the centre of the floor. She was clearly setting up for tomorrow's sparring sessions. Hope angrily grunted under her breath to the sight of the woman in front of her, "You gotta be kidding me?" In no way was she emotionally sound to deal with the agent in that moment.
Sharon looked up and caught her gaze, giving her a curious look like she could sense something was up with her. Her attention then shifted to the other woman, entering the gymnasium. "Ah, Mrs. Van Dyne." Sharon took a few steps closer to the both of them. "I was told you'd been received here, and were somewhere on the premises," she said, not so much in a welcoming tone, yet not in a hostile one either. She acted like she was appraised of the situation and didn't give it much thought beyond that.
"Ah, mom, yeah." Hope awkwardly rubbed the back of her neck. "This is Agent Carter, my instructor." She gestured at her, now knowing that her mother had the security clearance to know the farm employees by name.
"Little Sharon Carter, is that really you?" Janet's confusion over Hope's mood was now, evidently, superseded by Sharon's presence. "My, you've grown." She walked right over to her, examining her closer. "And you look so much like your father."
"Yeah, I guess you would've known him. Probably knew most of my family." Sharon nodded as Hope was now confused as to who the agent was in relation to her mother. "I remember 'The Pyms' coming up a few times in conversation during my childhood."
"Yes, and now look at you." Janet grinned while glancing back and forth between the two of them. "And here with Hope too. You two troublemakers, back together after all these years apart."
"Huh?" Sharon cocked her head to the side.
"Back together?" Hope repeated in puzzlement.
"Yes. Don't you guys remember?" Janet chuckled as her memories seemingly overtook her. "You two must've been like six and seven – no – six and eight," she corrected herself. "Yes, Hope you're two years older." She pointed at her daughter before directing her attention solely onto Sharon. "Yeah, your Aunt Peggy had you in San Francisco." Hope now comprehending their families' connection. Sharon was that Carter. "And for the life of me I don't remember why— but she and Hank ended up having business to attend to while you guys were in town, so you spent the whole day at our house with Hope and myself." Janet then laughed, shaking her head. "You two were little menaces together. You guys slid down the stairs in a laundry hamper!" Hope then fixed her gaze onto Sharon who looked to her like she too was trying to see the past in her face. The crazy thing was, Hope did see it. How could she have missed it before? "Thank heavens neither of you were seriously injured by that." Janet continued on about their sliding adventure. "You flew into the wall. Even knocked down—"
"A picture," Sharon flatly said, as if her memories were flooding back like Hope's were. "It almost fell on my head."
"But I caught it." Hope gave her a look like she should be thanking her that her head didn't get bashed in by the large painting that – to that day – still hangs in their foyer.
"Don't look so smug." Sharon crossed her arms over her chest. "It never would've fallen on my head in the first place if it wasn't for your suggestion to go basket sledding."
Hope gawked, throwing her hand to her chest. "I recall only suggesting it because you wanted to go down on my old rocking horse."
"You what?" Janet asked in shock.
Sharon smirked at the older woman. "In my defense, I was six."
"Well, regardless of your young mischievousness" – Janet smiled – "I enjoyed having you running about our home with Hope all those years ago." Then her mother shifted her eyes inconspicuously to her daughter. "Makes one miss having young ones around."
Hope gawked at her mother's audacity as she felt her blood boiling in reaction to the, not so subtle, comment. She stared into the side of her mother's head as Janet had her eyes, now, glued onto Sharon.
"I think they might have a medical procedure for that," Sharon casually said to Janet.
"For what?" The older woman shook her head in confusion.
"Older women having children," Shanon simply said, which took Hope aback. "Like, even if they didn't freeze their eggs. Something to do with making new ones out of other cells in the body or something." She shrugged. "To be perfectly honest, I don't know much about it, just something I overheard once." Hope couldn't believe it. Sharon definitely overheard their conversation but was weaponising it against her mother and not her. "But, that's obviously your business and not mine or anyone else's. Deciding to have children, or to not have children, is a highly personal thing," Sharon pressed, yet never looked to Hope.
Janet was smart and seemed to have received her message as she gently nodded. "Yes." She conceded. "I suppose you have a point there." Hope couldn't believe it, Sharon Carter – out of all people – had just made her mother back off of her about giving her grandchildren.
Sharon nodded before casually switching the subject. "So, will you be staying here long?"
"Ah, no. Just passing through. I have a plane to catch in a few hours." She then sheepishly looked to Hope. "And I was hoping to take my daughter out for dinner before my flight."
"You were?" Hope asked plainly. A little disoriented by the rollercoaster of emotions that she only just experienced.
"Yes, if you're interested," Janet softly inquired with an apology in her eyes. "I promise I'll be good." She assured her that she wouldn't bring up the 'kids topic' during that time.
Hope studied her, seeing that she truly did look genuine and wanted to keep her word. "Okay." Hope nodded with a soft smirk.
"Okay." Janet smiled with relief in her eyes. She then turned to the agent. "Sharon, it was really nice to see you again. Nice to see your relationship with Hope hasn't changed much either." She chuckled before turning and walking away towards the doors. "You still have each other's backs."
Sharon shot a disapproving glare at Hope. "I'm her instructor. Her performance reflects onto me, is all"
Hope narrowed her eyes back at her as she started making her way out too. "And it kills me to know I'm making her look so good."
Hope then flashed her a mocking smirk before looking away to push the doors open. As Hope and Janet exited the gym all they could hear was Sharon grunting, "Please," towards her comment which made Hope roll her eyes at her. Sharon Carter was definitely an enigma.
They then rounded a corner to start up a wide flight of stairs, but once they hit the first landing Hope had come to the conclusion that she couldn't keep the family heirloom.
Hope slipped off the ring and spun on her heels to turn to her mother. "Here." She held it out to her.
"Why are you giving this back?" Janet shook her head in utter bafflement. "It's yours."
"It comes with an expectation that I'm not willing to fulfill. To pass it onto the next Van Dyne girl."
Janet said softly, "Hope—"
"You promised." Hope stretched her arm out further, thrusting the ring closer to her. Their eyes locked but Janet didn't budge. She looked helpless, not wanting to take it back but knowing that her relationship with her daughter was on the line. "Please take it so we can go out to dinner and have a nice evening," Hope asked assertively, yet not angrily. Janet sighed before she took the ring.
"So, where would you like to go and eat?" Hope asked, glad the physical representation of an unwanted expectation was no longer around her finger. She turned to continue climbing the stairs.
"Ah, I have a place in mind," Janet responded as if they hadn't just had a heavy moment between them. "I haven't been there in years but it's no dive so we'll have to dress for it."
"I can't say I have any formal clothing along with me here."
"That's alright. I did some shopping while I was in Wakanda. Bought a few dresses. I'm sure you'll be able to find something from my haul that you might like to wear."
They both reached the second storey as Hope smiled at her. "That sounds great. Thank you."
Janet then reached over, hooking her arm back with her daughter as she smiled back at her. "Of course."
Hope proceeded to give her mother a tour of the premises before they went to her room to get ready, thoroughly enjoying each other's company.
Janet had shown Hope all the beautiful clothes she'd purchased in Wakanda while enthusiastically telling her about all of the designers she'd met. Hope loved listening to her mother talking about her greatest passion which was fashion.
Hope ended up picking a gorgeous, flowy, floor length dress, that faded from a vivid emerald green at the bottom to a creamy sage at the top. It also had a large dark brown pattern across it that resembled the branches of an Acacia tree. Hope pinned her hair up in a messy low bun, thankful that her surgery spot had grown out by quite a bit. Now she was not as limited with hairstyles. Though, ironically, the one she chose would have covered the spot regardless.
And Janet wore a black dress with an intricate gather pattern that made the skirt fall in a beautifully unique way, almost looking like a rose bud. And she'd left her hair down, only adding a few curls to the ends of it.
After they finished getting ready they left in Janet's rental car, her mother insisted on driving; she wanted to keep the place a surprise for Hope.
They reached the city only to travel within it for a short time. Then Janet brought them into an empty gravel lot that was situated by the river. Curious, Hope studied the place, seeing a building one lot over that could very well have been a restaurant, not that she could tell for sure. "Did you turn in too early? Is that the restaurant over there." Hope pointed.
"Yes, that's the restaurant. And no, I didn't turn in too early." Janet parked the vehicle close to the water. "Come on." she got out as Hope, very curiously, complied.
"Mom, you're being suspicious." Hope followed the woman as she began walking down a set of uneven stone stairs towards the river bank.
Janet didn't say a word she merely kept walking until their path peeked out of the trees when Hope caught sight of the sun setting over the river. Then her eyes shifted down to the waterfront as she saw a dock with a pontoon boat tied up to it. But what had really caught her eye was Maria, who was standing there before the dock, wearing a beautiful maroon, floor length dress with black trim and her hair tied back. She looked like an oil painting, absolutely breathtaking.
"Maria?" Hope increased her speed, now trotting down to her. "You're here." She practically ran into her arms.
"Yeah." Maria wrapped her into an embrace, pulling her in close. "I thought I'd stop by, take you on a boat ride and feed you some fancy French take-out." She smiled at her, sapphire eyes shining.
"French?" Hope was suddenly very aware of what day it was.
"Uh-huh." She nodded. "Though, I wasn't ambitious enough to get us martinis and brandy, but I do have a bottle of wine in there." She gestured with her head towards the boat.
Maria's words were too much. Maria, herself, was too much. Hope, in reaction to her, aggressively pushed her mouth to hers, kissing her passionately. She really was the sweetest, most thoughtful person in the world.
Breaking the kiss, Hope pushed her forehead to Maria's while her hand moved to cup her perfectly sculpted face. She then opened her eyes to peer directly into Maria's. "It's the twenty-sixth."
Maria slid her hand up from Hope's neck to her face, brushing her thumb over her lips. "It is the twenty-sixth," she confirmed.
"You remembered."
"Of course I remembered our first date." She referred to their rendez-vous at the restaurant, exactly one year ago.
Suddenly, a bright light flashed around them, making the women turn to see Janet, now standing a couple metres away, holding up her phone in front of her.
"Did you really just take a picture of us?" Hope shook her head at her mother in disbelief.
"Hey, it's a mother's job to take pictures of her kids before they go out on fancy dates," she defended herself, before looking at her mobile. "Not that this photo comes close to capturing what I see." She softly smiled, gazing back up at them. "Your two particall frequencies coming together as this – like – little homogeneous star, rippling out all around you."
Hope nearly cried in hearing that they were matched up like they were before. She then turned back to Maria, once again pushing her forehead to hers, closing her eyes, needing to just feel Maria's presence. Maria responded to her actions by pulling her in closer.
"Okay, you two love birds." Janet practically chuckled. "I'm going to leave you to it and head up to the restaurant. The Peterson's should already be in there."
Hope pulled away from Maria to focus into her mother. "Like Richard and Amelia?"
"Yes, we arranged a get-together while I was here. I haven't seen them since I've gotten back." She walked up to them. "So I'll say my farewells to you girls now since I'm sure I'll be leaving for the airport before you guys get back."
She then went in to hug Hope. "Goodbye, Jellybean."
"Bye, mom." Hope squeezed her before letting go. "And say hi to the Persons for me, would you?" They were old family friends that moved to Pittsburgh years ago who Hope hadn't seen since she was a young adult.
"Will do." She nodded before turning to Maria, giving her a hug. "Goodbye, Pumpkin." Hope couldn't help but gush that the name of endearment that her mother had given Maria had stuck. Janet then pulled away, only to then grab a hold of each of their hands, looking them over. "You two look so beautiful."
"So do you, Mom."
"Like white gold," Maria said, making Janet look to her in confusion. "Classy and expensive." She clarified. "At least, that's what I think the song meant by it."
"What song?" Hope asked.
Maria shrugged. "Ah, some Bruno Mars one."
"Well, I don't know who that is" – Janet smiled at her as she let go of their hands to start backing away – "but I love the compliment. Probably one of the nicest I've heard."
Maria then whispered into Hope's ear, "Nicest she's ever heard. Catch that?" Janet then turned, making her way back up to the parking lot. "I'm winning over her favouritism." Hope then jabbed her in the ribs with her elbow in good fun. "Ow!" Maria laughed.
"Hey, no fighting back there!" Janet called out as she started ascending the stairway, not looking back at them. "And – I swear – If I hear a big splash, I'm grounding the both of you!"
Hope chuckled, now fantasising about throwing Maria into the river. She was about to flash her a playful look but didn't get the opportunity to do so, for Maria had grabbed her hand, guiding her to the boat. "Come on, hot stuff, our food's getting cold."
Maria then helped her into the watercraft, bringing her to the padded bench seat that ran the length of the starboard side of the boat. She was led right to a small table that was set up with empty plates and cutlery. "You can make yourself comfortable while I pull us out of here." She gestured to the spot as Hope then silently complied as she sat down.
While Maria untied the boat, started the engine, and pulled them out from the dock, Hope couldn't help but stare at her. Maria was so captivating in her beautiful dress, that she assumed her mother had lent to her too, as it majestically blew in the wind. The way her garment plunged down in the back, exposing her long, elegant spine, gave her shivers just looking at it. And when Maria turned her head, and Hope caught a glimpse of the side profile of her perfect, angular face, that only exuded strength and beauty, while presented on top of the most exquisitely protracted neck, Hope lost her breath as her her brain forgot the importance of air.
Maria didn't take them out very far, but instead she lined up the boat in the centre of the river before cutting the engine so that the current could slowly take them down stream.
She then went to a wooden chair that was situated by the small table, opposite Hope, and sat down. Pulling out a large thermal bag from behind her, she started placing black foam take-away boxes out on top of the table. But before she opened them, she reached to the side of her, on the ground, for a medium sized tupperware container that held two wine glasses, a bottle of merlot, and a corkscrew.
After Maria placed the glasses on the table, Hope reached out, asking, "May I open the bottle?" She almost demanded with a large measure of enthusiasm. "Please?" She flashed a smile, realising her tone. "I love opening wine bottles. Decorking things is fun."
Maria chuckled at her, handing her the bottle and corkscrew. "Whatever floats your boat."
Hope giggled at the silly exchange as she proceeded to rip off the seal at the neck of the bottle while Maria started distributing food onto their plates.
"So, How long are you staying here in Pennsylvania for?" Hope asked, praying that it wasn't just for a few hours.
"Couple days. If I don't get called away sooner, that is."
"Really?" Hope nearly bounced out of her seat.
"Sure." Maria gave her a cheeky smirk. "Gotta check in on my future agents. See how their training's going."
"Oh, I see how it is." Hope yanked the cork out of the bottle, producing a loud pop sound that she'd always enjoyed hearing. "You're just here for work. It's merely a coincidence I'm here too."
"To be honest, I almost forgot you were in the program. Luckily, your mom reminded me when we were on our way over."
Hope giggled. "Shut up."
Maria looked rather proud of herself before she asked. "How's Carter been treating you guys?"
Suddenly, Hope felt very awkward as she didn't want to complain about Sharon or drag Maria into the issues that she was having with her.
Pouring the wine into Maria's glass, she simply said, "Fine."
"Wow. That bad?"
"I didn't say anything." Hope shook her head in innocence.
Maria sighed, clearly knowing exactly what was going on. "Has she been singling you out?" Hope didn't know what to say so she stayed silent while stiffly pouring some wine into her own glass. "That asshole," Maria grunted.
"It's not that bad. Really," Hope insisted.
"I'm sorry you have to put up with her," she said in remorse.
"Again, it's not that bad. And besides, it's not like she's your fault."
"No, she's absolutely my fault," Maria grumbled. "It's gotten to the point where if I so much as express interest in a girl, she'll act like a grade-A bitch towards her. She's like the annoying, over protective sister I never asked for."
"I'm glad you have her." Hope couldn't help but be grateful that she had someone watching her back over the years. "She's a really good person."
Maria looked taken aback. "That's an odd thing to say about someone who's got you in their crosshairs."
"Call me optimistic, but I'm pretty sure I'm already winning her over." She thought about their interactions from earlier that day. "Though" – she wondered while gleefully fantasising the scenario out in her head – "I feel like I'd get further with her if I could punch her in the face." She then quickly clarified, "While sparing with her, that is."
"Learning that your instinct to win her over is to literally deck her, truly gives me hope that you might actually achieve your goal in befriending her." Maria smirked just as she put the final food item onto their plates.
"Ratatouille." Hope looked to what Maria had just placed in front of her. "God, my ex was such a snob about ratatouille." She then thought about it for a second longer before adding. "Actually – to think about it – he was kind of a snob about all French cuisine." Hope picked up her fork, scoping into it before trying a small bite.
"Well does it pass the test?" Maria asked.
"It definitely passes my test," Hope practically moaned out after swallowing. It was so delicious. "It probably wouldn't pass his though. I mean, the audacity of it being served in uncultured America! High crimes. Failure." She took a second forkful, already addicted to it. "No hope for it." she placed it into her mouth.
Maria smiled at her as she started digging into her own food before asking, "Which ex is this?"
Hope loved that she had to ask, it meant that Maria hadn't gone fishing into her dating history like Sharon had. "Michael Dubois." Who was her boyfriend from France. They'd met at a charity gala. "He was really something else." Hope shook her head just thinking about how juvenile he and their relationship was. "He thought owning a restaurant in Paris made him a culinary expert. Despite the fact he'd never once so much as taken a cooking class or worked in a kitchen."
"He sounds very annoying."
"Oh, he was." Hope agreed wholeheartedly. "Why I dated him is still a mystery to me." Hope then started cutting into her roasted asparagus. "Also, I have a suspicion he slept around on me."
"What?" Maria came sharply while taking an unexpected Hope off guard. She was not expecting such a serious reaction from her off-handed comment.
"I don't know for sure." She wanted to clarify. "But, going off of the type of guy he was, and the fact that we were often separated by an ocean." She shrugged, letting Maria fill in the blanks on her own.
"How could anyone cheat on you? You're like the hottest person in the world." She sounded so offended and pissed off. "God, I hate men," she growled while sawing into her food.
"Hey." Hope pointed her fork at her. "No one hates men more than the people who are attracted to them." Maria chuckled at her which made Hope grin in response. "I think that's why I liked Scott. He wasn't an asshole." Hope theorised, since there really wasn't much beyond his kindness and his cute dopey face that Hope actually found appealing in him as a partner.
"Wow, what a low bar." Maria snickered.
"Yeah, I know." She sighed. "Pretty sad." Then a playful mood struck her as she continued. "And you know what else is pretty sad? The person I'm currently seeing can't even hit that bar." She dramatically shook her head as she looked off down the river that was growing darker by the minute with the sun almost now completely gone. "'Cause, man, she's a real bitch." She then turned back to Maria who had a look of amusement on her face. "One might even say, she's a top tier, primo, cold bitch."
"Fuck off." She laughed.
"You're only proving my point here." Hope chuckled before taking a sip of her wine. "Besides," she said after swallowing, "you can't judge me for my exes when yours were obviously no better."
"How would you know? Maybe every single one of them was a perfect little angel, but they all ended up perishing in horrible, unrelated deaths; ending every one of my relationships with them."
"The pastor's daughter?" Hope raised her brow, challenging her statement.
"I lied about her, she's actually very dead. Tragic baptism related drowning." Maria shoved a fork full of food into her mouth before dramatically ripping out her clean utensil.
Hope burst out laughing at her ridiculous comment, finding her emotional evasion tactics to be quite humourous at times.
Once she'd taken a calming breath she asked with more weight, showing that she wanted a real answer this time. "And Natasha? You guys were a thing, right?" Hope had always assumed this but had never flat out asked for confirmation.
"Sort of." Maria then took a moment like she was properly mulling it over. "It was more of a friend's with benefits type situation," she finally said.
"So you guys were never in love with each other?"
"No," Maria confidently said as Hope honestly didn't know how she felt about her answer. She definitely believed her but there was a part of her that wished that she had someone to truly love in those times before the two of them had met.
"Well" – Hope decided to pick a lighter response, not wanting to bring the mood down – "I guess that's good since she seems to be very interested in Clint."
"Thank you!" Maria practically pounded the table. "They're so into each other but won't admit it." Maria then started stabbing at her food with her fork. "God, between them and Sharon and Steve, I'm surrounded by idiots who won't confess their love for each other."
"Wait." Hope's interest was now fully piqued. "Sharon and Steve?"
"Yes." Maria then gave her a look of warning. "But this doesn't leave the table. Seriously, Sharon'll kill me if she finds out I told you."
But Hope couldn't help but instantly start brainstorming ideas of how she could mess with Sharon, now that she had this newly presented information.
"I see a devilish look in your eyes." Maria continued with her firm tone. "Whatever you're thinking, don't. And that's an order."
"I don't know what you're talking about." Hope looked down to her plate, stabbing a piece of her dumpling. "I'm just sitting here innocently eating my delicious veggie quenelle." She then pop the said item into her mouth, giving her a tight, closed mouth smile.
"If you get murdered, I'm not avenging your death. Last thing I need is to lose any more agents." But as soon as her last statement left her mouth, the spark in her eyes went out as she unintentionally made herself sad; evidently now thinking about all the fallen agents that she was responsible for. "I'm going to move the boat before we run into this bank here." She awkwardly got up while she gestured at the low hanging trees on the shoreline that they were approaching on.
Hope sighed, hating how she was still so burdened by the event as she watched her turn on the engine to line the boat back up. Hope took the job of making sure nothing had fallen off of the table as the craft quickened through the water.
The slight breeze from the deveated motion sent a shiver down Hope's spine. As soon as the engine was cut and she no longer had to use her hands to hold down their wine glasses, she hugged herself for warmth.
"Are you cold?" Maria walked to her.
"A little." She tried to say as nonchalantly as possible, not wanting to be a bother.
Maria then moved to a crate sitting off by the bow, flipping it open to grab a blanket from within it. She then walked back over to Hope, slowly sliding it behind her back, careful not to bump the table. She then wrapped it around her while she herself sat down next to her on the bench.
"We should've just eaten in the restaurant." Maria pulled the blanket more snugly around her. "I could always turn us around. Have a drink inside to warm up."
"What? Why? Because I'm cold?" Hope nearly barked out, annoyed that her slight chill brought on such a drastic suggestion. "I have a blanket and we've got wine, problem solved."
"Good, 'cause I'm not exactly keen on going in there," she said in a tone that seemed a little too serious for the situation.
"What do you mean by that?" Hope prodded, suspecting there was more behind her words.
"Nothing." she shook her head, trying to drop the subject.
"Maria." Hope insisted.
"It's just." She sighed. "We're not exactly in super progressive San Francisco right now."
Suddenly, it made sense to Hope. Maria had come from a past of such extreme homophobia. Admittedly, a level of homophobia that Hope had never known herself. So Maria going out into public with her would be something that she'd be hyper aware of. Way more than she herself would ever think to be.
"No, we're not in San Francisco. But we are on a boat that we have all to ourselves, underneath the stars." She tried to ease Maria's discomfort. "See." Hope pointed at the night sky. "Look how bright the Big Dipper is tonight."
Maria followed her finger with her eyes. "Wish it was always that bright. Makes it easier to find the North Star." Maria then pulled Hope's finger downward so it pointed to the brightest astronomical body instead. "Worst is when you're without gear, don't know where the hell you are, and there's cloud coverage," she gripped.
Hope dropped her hand, bringing Maria's along with it, as she whipped her head to the side to glare at her. "Would you stop looking at the stars as a map for one evening, Commander, and simply enjoy them for their beauty and the stories they hold."
"And which stories are those?" Maria smirked as she looked to her with intrigue.
Hope mirrored her facial expression before looking back up to the sky, now leaning into Maria's shoulder. "See, like the Andromeda constellation." Hope pointed out. "That cluster right there." Maria shifted her body sideways in her spot, sliding her one thigh onto the seat. She then wrapped her arms around Hope's torso, pulling her into her chest. Smiling at her actions, Hope leaned back while lifting her feet up onto the bench so that she could sprawl her legs out comfortably. She then continued. "According to Greek Mythology, Cassiopeia, who was a very vain queen, thought she was fairer than the infamously beautiful sea nymphs. So when the nymphs found out about this, they went to Poseidon to complain about her where he then sent a sea monster, named Cetus, to flood Cassiopeia's husband's lands."
"Is everyone in Greek Mythology petty?"
"Gods and people alike are petty across all religions."
"Fair point."
"Anyway." Hope continued the story that she heard back in highschool. "So the king, desperate to save his lands, sought out advice from an oracle as to what to do. He was then told to sacrifice his daughter, Andromeda, to Poseidon by allowing Cetus to kill her. Only then would the monster stop destroying his lands. So the king – sorrowfully – decided to do it."
"Yeah, that seems about right," Maria grunted.
"Yeah," Hope agreed, also well aware of the 'disposable woman' trope. "He chained her up against a rock and left her to die. But" – she said with a little more excitement – "before Cetus could get to her, Perseus spots her as he happened to be passing by. He then ends up saving her by killing the monster and freeing her. After that, the two fall in love and get married."
"Well, I guess that's not the worst story." Maria seemed pleased with how it turned out. "She gets to live and even gets a happy ending, unlike Jephthah's daughter from the Bible."
"Wait, what happened to her?" Hope wasn't well versed in many Jewish stories.
"Her father wins a battle so he vows to God that he'll offer the first thing that comes out of his house as a burnt offering to him in thanks."
"And his daughter comes out," Hope said in understanding.
"Literally dancing around playing a tambourine to greet him home from war."
"Does he go through with the sacrifice?"
"Yep."
"Yeah, I'll take this Greek myth over that biblical one any day." Hope then added to really drive in her point. "And this one even honours Andromeda when Athena places her image amongst the stars next to her husband Perseus." – she pointed out his constellation in the sky – "and her mother, Cassiopeia." She then moved her hand, gesturing to her matriarch's stars.
Maria thoughtfully said, "I don't know much about Athena, but every time I hear anything about her she seems to really have her shit together."
Her comment made Hope laugh out in realisation of something that she'd never thought of until that moment.
"What's so funny?" Maria asked in notable confusion.
"It's just, you are Athena."
"What?"
"She's the goddess of wisdom and warfare. And she also never took a male lover." It was now uncanny to Hope. "You're like the incarnate of her, walking amongst the people of the modern era."
"See" – Hope could hear the smile in Maria's voice – "like I said. She has her shit together."
"Unbelievable," Hope gawked through a grin. "This is why you don't meet my low bar, because right now you're turning my complement into a brag, when instead you should be telling me how I'm also a beautiful goddess."
Maria chuckled, squeezing her tighter as she pushed her face to the side of her head. "You're the most beautiful goddess of them all," she said into her hair. "You lord your elegance and unworldly hotness over all the other deities. And the sea nymphs are all terribly jealous of you for it."
Hope giggled, always weak for whenever Maria called her 'hot'. She wasn't used to hearing people say that directly to her face. Upper class society didn't normally throw that word around while complementing one's beauty. "Okay, now you're soaring over that bar."
"Well that was easy. Good to know stroking your vanity would work so well."
"Yes, make me feel pretty and I'm all yours."
"Oh, on that topic." Maria unwrapped herself from her as she reached down to the thermal bag beside them. "I got you something."
"You did?" Hope turned a bit in her seat, her feet now bent under her butt to better face her.
Maria pulled out a black jewellery box, handing it to her with, what looked like, slight hesitation. "I didn't really know what to get." She nearly stammered out, or as much as controlled Maria Hill could stammer. "If you hate it, that's totally fine, I can return—"
"Did you get me an anniversary present?" Hope asked, her heart already melting from her thoughtfulness.
"Yeah," she said like she didn't know if what she was doing was the appropriate thing to do. Which really showed just how foreign relationships were to Maria.
Loving Maria so much at that moment, Hope looked down to the box. She opened it to find a beautiful dainty necklace within it. It was a golden hornet pendant with silver wings, hanging from a silver chain. "Oh my god, it's a little wasp," she gasped.
"I know it's probably not what you're used to getting, I just—"
"I love it," Hope blurted. It was so personal. It was probably the only piece of jewellery she'd ever received from a partner that wasn't just an expensive, generic tennis bracelet or a set of diamond earrings.
"Really?" Maria asked, clearly needing a little more reassurance.
"Yeah. It's perfect." She went in to fiercely kiss her, breaking away to insist. "You're perfect." Pushing her mouth back to hers only to then rip away again as she shamefully admitted, "I don't have anything for you."
"That's okay," Maria assured her. "This is kind of an unofficial anniversary anyway. It's not even of the first time we met. Or of when we officially got together."
"Don't forget about our first kiss," Hope said as she was already clasping her pendant around her neck. She couldn't help but smirk in the process, full well knowing that their first kiss had escalated into a lot of other firsts, making that particular one an anniversary a few times over
"That one too." Maria smiled.
"We do kinda have a few anniversaries, don't we?"
"Yeah."
"Well." Hope dropped her blanket so that she could move up onto her knees to then straddle Maria's lap. "I'm not against the idea of celebrating all of them." Hope slid her hands to Maria's bare shoulders as the other woman held her by the hips. "Especially if this is what I'm treated to on them." Hope then dropped her head to push her lips to Maria's.
Maria opened her mouth to greet Hope's tongue with her own. The action churned her stomach into knots. She still couldn't get over just how much Maria's kisses had always impacted her.
Maria's hands then slowly worked their way up Hope's body, stopping at her face where she then pulled Hope away, only to say, "You know, eventually you're gonna have to pull your own weight on these too. Plan an anniversary so I don't have to."
"And I will," Hope insisted before pushing their mouths back together only to then pull them back apart. "Like you said, eventually."
"Preferably in this century." Maria opened her eyes to give her a stern look.
"We'll see." Hope flashed her a smile.
"You know, you talk about your low bar but it seems to be getting higher by the minute with all these expectations you suddenly have of me here."
"Baby, it's you who's raising the bar so high that it's now in Andromeda's possession, way up there in her constellation." She flicked her wrist in the direction of the stars. "That's not on me. This problem is of your own making."
"You're impossible," Maria said as she brushed her thumbs over Hope's cheeks.
"And also – what was it? – a smidge entitled but in an adorable kind of way." She recalled to what Maria had said about her back in Africa.
"Adorable and non-egotistical kinda way," Maria corrected her.
"Uh-huh." Hope didn't care to carry on the conversation any longer as she captured Maria's lips once again as the two continued to enjoy their first anniversary under the stars.