A wave crashed into her face. The saltwater tried to choke her as she flew to the floor before being swept into a bulkhead at the rear. She knew opening that hatch would result in a scenario such as that but she had no choice. She had to access the stairway at the aftmost of the deck.
The helicarrier was sinking to the bottom of the ocean. All her crew had already safely evacuated, it was only Maria left. She stayed with the ship, giving them time to get out as she piloted the craft and performed an emergency landing straight into the Atlantic.
She trudged down the corridor, wading through the freezing hip deep water. She made her way to the stairs at the end, climbing up with suddenly heavy limbs. But, as she reached the top, the hatch was locked shut. It wasn't sealed from the other side – no – there was a chain that looped around it with a deadbolt fastening it. She grabbed at it, screaming without sound as the water level raised around her. She dove off of the stairs into the water that she could now swim in, looking for something to pry the lock off.
Suddenly, like it appeared out of thin air, a case was visible inset into the bulkhead beside her. Within it, she could see Hope's blue Wasp suit hanging up behind a piece of glass.
Maria instantly moved to it, it held the key. She didn't know how she knew this but she did. She smashed her elbow into the glass, breaking it. She then reached into the case, up to the breastplate of the suit, and slid her hand inside through the open zipper. She felt something in the interior pocket, pulling out a golden, heart-shaped key.
She quickly moved back to the lock, and inserted the strangely shaped key, turning it as the chain disappeared and the hatch door vanished.
As Maria climbed to the upper deck, the water following her as it spilt out at her feet on the next level. She panicked, there was supposed to be a hatch out to the deck, but instead, there was a glass wall, with a wooden door that led out to the vacuum of space, overlooking the stars.
In the reflection of the glass, Maria could have sworn she saw Jemma's body floating behind her but when she turned around nothing was there.
She looked back to the glass pane, her stomach churning in uneasiness as she walked to the door, the water rising to her knees as she moved.
She shook her head. She couldn't go out there. It wasn't safe.
"It's not safe in here either."
Maria looked over to the voice that emanated from beside her. There, stood Hope, hair down in beach waves, wearing a light blue, floor-length dress. But where Maria's legs were submerged, Hope's remained dry, the water was just a puddle beneath her bare feet.
"Hope?"
"You have to go do what you promised me you would." Maria shook her head in confusion. Hope turned to the window, pointing at the stars. "Fight the universe for me."
"I don't have anything to fight with."
"I already gave you my heart."
Maria looked down to see that the heart key, that was still in her hand, had grown in length and was now a proper sword. But when she brought her gaze back up, Hope was gone and the water was suddenly at Maria's chest.
"I'll be waiting on the other side." Maria heard Hope's voice whispering across the air.
Maria knew what she had to do. She dove under the water and swam to the wooden door. The cold dark ocean water around her faded into a warm teal colour as she reached for the handle. She opened the door where a bright light blinded her as it shone pure white.
"Maria?" She heard a voice as the light made it hard to focus. A figure then came into view, red hair falling in front of her as a familiar smile seemed to materialise before her.
"Tasha?" Maria moaned as she shifted her weight. "My body feels heavy." She closed her eyes again, slowly adjusting to her current state.
"I'll bet." She could hear her smile in her tone.
It took a moment for Maria to comprehend that she wasn't underwater and was laying in a bed.
"Are my legs and arms still attached?"
"Yup. You even have your head too." Maria forced her eyes open again as she fixed her view on her friend whose head was hovering over her own. "Missing a kidney though."
"I'm what?"
"Don't complain." She smiled while she reached behind her, dragging a chair closer to the bed. "Two kidneys is a little excessive anyway." She sat down.
Maria, still disoriented, asked, "What happened?"
"Well, you know how you promised me I could have your knife when you died?" Natasha shifted as she reached for said item out of her back pocket. "Thanks." She flipped open the blade. "I really love this thing." She gently placed the base of the blade on her finger. "It's got perfect balance." It teetered a bit before stilling itself on her digit.
"I may be out of it, and apparently – down a kidney, but I'm pretty sure I'm not dead."
"Not anymore you're not." Natasha flashed her a grin as she skillfully flung the knife in the air and caught it by the handle. She then quickly folded the blade back in.
Maria couldn't recall the last thing she remembered, her mind was still hazy. "Seriously, what happened?"
"You died," Natasha simply said as she leaned back in her chair while placing her foot up on the cushion. She casually rested her arm on her bent knee as she fiddled with the knife in her one hand.
"You're literally the worst person to wake up next to, you know that?"
Natasha softly smiled as Maria noticed a sheen in her eyes. She was holding back tears. "Yeah, well, Sharon dragged Hope off like an hour ago, so you're stuck with me." Natasha blinked her tears away before they could escape.
Maria knew not to mention her state. That was something that they did for each other. They made sure not to overreact when something was wrong.
"Where are we?" Maria pushed on as she looked around. Although, she didn't have the best perspective since her head was horizontal on a pillow. But she could tell that they were in some sort of medical facility.
"You really don't remember?"
"I—" Maria closed her eyes, trying to jog her memory. "Asgard." She suddenly remembered holding down a mountain.
"Yeah."
"We were in battle." She opened her eyes again.
"We were." Natasha smirked. "We even came out the winners."
Maria could barely remember the details of the fight as she asked, "Any casualties?"
"Nope. We really kicked ass."
She nodded, glad to hear everything worked out in their favour.
She then went back to Natasha's previous statement about Sharon dragging off her girlfriend. "Hope?" she asked, wanting to know where she was.
"Yeah, your fiancée too. She kicked ass so hard she scared Cap," Natasha carried on like Maria was asking her about her performance and not her whereabouts. "Seriously, if we don't stop him he's gonna – for sure – give her his job by year's end."
"My fiancée?" Maria's eyes widened at the memory of their proposal flooding back to her. "That's right" – a smile of pure joy grew on her face – "I'm engaged." It felt like her heart was singing with that realisation.
"Yeah, you are." Natasha eyed her. "And under any other circumstance, I'd be worried about the abruptness of your engagement." She then smirked. "But – honestly – you guys've gone through more in a year than most couples go through in ten. So I think your marriage will do just fine." Natasha gave her a smart-ass look.
Maria had to bite down a smile. If Natasha thought she was doing the right thing in marrying Hope, then there wasn't a chance it would fail. "Thanks for your vote of confidence," Maria said as dryly as she could, not wanting to show her how much she relied on her opinion.
"You're welcome." She grinned, obviously knowing what Maria was playing at.
Maria couldn't help but lightly chuckle at her reaction. To her discomfort, the movement sent a sharp pain to her abdomen.
Suddenly, the sound of a door swinging open was heard from the side of the room. Maria turned her head to see a stern woman in crisp, white clothing approaching.
"You're awake." The woman simply said. She then wordlessly turned on something that projected Maria's internal workings above her in a holographic form. The lights that formed the image were mesmerizing.
"Your health seems adequate," the woman said after studying the imaging. She then turned off the machine and proceeded to sit Maria up as she lifted the head of the bed. Maria winced at the movement as she grabbed her stomach in pain. Whoever this Asgardian was, she sure didn't seem use to working with fragile humans. "You'll stay here for the allotted three hour observation period before you'll be permitted discharge." She nodded and walked away through the same door she'd entered from.
"Who was that?" Maria's eyes were still fixed on the spot that the woman had just exited from.
"Cruella Deville if she went into medicine instead of fashion."
Maria looked back to her friend, noticing that she was now sitting up tall as her eyes wandered about the space.
"What are you looking for?"
"Someone to go get Hope" – she focused back on Maria – "preferably, who's not a Disney villain." She smirked. "'Cause if your girl finds out I didn't call for her the moment you opened your eyes, there's gonna be a fresh corpse laying in her warpath."
Maria lightly chuckled. "Without her suit, you could probably fend her off."
"Oh, she's not gonna come after me." She dramatically threw her hand to her heart as she gestured to herself. "I'm delightful and she likes me too much." Maria nodded in agreement. Natasha and Hope did have an instant respect in regards to each other. "She'll just transfer her anger onto someone else."
"Definitely Sharon."
"Sharon does like to paint a target on herself, doesn't she?" Natasha smiled before getting up to look out towards the door that lay to the foot of the bed. "I'm sure one of those aids are around here somewhere." She started moving towards the exit.
"Wait." Maria suddenly felt a little self-conscious.
"What?" Natasha turned to her but as she did Maria felt a little silly. She studied Maria for a second before tilting her head. "What?" she repeated.
Maria looked down at her lap with slight embarrassment before meeting her friend's eyes again. She slid her jaw to the side before she asked, "On a scale from T'Challa to Dr. Strange, how do I look?"
Natasha cracked a smile as she made her way back to Maria, reaching to comb her fingers through her hair as she said, "Don't worry, you're close enough to T'Challa that Hope will still swoon. Death really becomes you, ya know?"
"Was I really dead?" She shook her head just as Natasha finished preening her. "I honestly can't remember what happened?"
Suddenly, a large man entered from the side of the room. He was dressed in the same white uniform as Cruella Deville, M.D. was.
"Børge." Natasha addressed him.
"Yes?" He responded with a kind demeanour. "Do you require assistance?"
"Yes. Would you please go find The Queen Slayer and call her back here?"
"Of course." He bowed his head.
"Thank you," Natasha called to him as he left to go find her.
"The Queen Slayer?" Maria raised a brow at her word choice. "Really?"
"Yeah. All the Asgardians call her that. She's like a superstar here."
A wave of pride washed over Maria as she muttered to herself, "That's my girl."
"And to answer your other question – yeah, you were really dead. Arrow right through the heart like a shish kabob."
Maria looked down at her chest, pulling her gown open to expose her skin. She examined it, not seeing anything amiss. She then ran her hands over the area, but again, nothing seemed off except for Hope's wasp necklace that she found there. "I see nothing."
"Yeah, apparently the quantum realm is weirder than I initially thought."
Maria's head jerked up. "Was I in the quantum realm?"
"You were." She nodded. "From what I understand – Hope brought you there and then somehow managed to put a copy of her heart into your chest."
Maria shook her head as the memory of Hope saying that same thing, came back to her. "Her heart was killing me," she softly said while remembering Hope's tears running down her face as she told her that.
"Yeah." Natasha looked at her in confusion as to how she knew that. "It wasn't compatible with your body." She tilted her head to the side. "Well, not until Helen manipulated some stuff in your blood, that is."
Maria asked, "Dr. Cho?" Natasha nodded. "She's here?"
"She's here, Janet's here, Pym's here. Apparently, it takes a whole task force to bring you back to the world of the living." Maria let her words sink in as she looked back down to the pendant around her neck. She took a hold of it. She didn't know why it was there, but it did put a smile on her face.
"So, I'm still waiting," Natasha said.
Maria looked up and dropped the little wasp against her chest. "Waiting for what?"
Natasha had a cocky smirk on her face. "For you to officially ask me to be your maid of honour, of course. Also, I'm expecting a gift with my proposal."
"Is my favourite knife not enough already?" Maria gestured at the item that was still in her friend's hand.
"Nah, you can keep this." Natasha put the blade down on the small table next to the bed. "I'll take it off your body when it doesn't re-animate itself."
"Seriously, how long was I dead for?" she asked as she pictured Natasha having the time to rifle through her pockets as she lay lifeless on the ground.
"May thinks it was around the three-minute mark before Hope shrunk you." Maria nodded, forgetting that she would've needed to be brought to the quantum realm quickly after her death. "By the way." Natasha studied her. "How're you feeling – mentally speaking, that is? Did the post mortem oxygen deprivation give you any brain damage?"
"Absolutely."
"Prove it." She playfully poked Maria's cheek. "Recite the first paragraph of the Agent's Handbook."
Maria sighed in annoyance. Although, there was a part of her that wanted to prove to herself that her mind was in top form. "The Legal Handbook for Special Agents is not intended to be a treatise of the law." She pictured the text on the fifth page of the booklet. "Rather, it is designed as a compilation of basic principles of constitutional and criminal procedural law in those areas of greatest concern to the Agent-Investigator. It is written in understandable language and incorporates, where possible, applicable Bureau policy."
"Well," Natasha said as she crossed her arms, "I don't exactly have the handbook on me to verify that, so I'll just assume it was wrong, meaning you are indeed a big dummy now."
They both chuckled as Maria hissed in pain at the action, not that she paid it much heed; Natasha's teary eyes had the most of Maria's attention.
"What is it?" Maria couldn't help but ask this time. Natasha wasn't concealing her emotions well enough, so Maria didn't feel obligated to pretend that she didn't notice them.
"You were out for three days and not a moment during that time was smooth sailing." She dabbed her eyes dry. "Your body was shutting down for the majority of it."
"I'm sor—"
"Don't." Natasha put her hand up to stop her. "I get it. And I know you know that I don't need to hear it."
Maria softly smiled. "I do know," she said with so much love in her heart for her best friend.
"I know." Natasha smiled, clearly finding entertainment in the number of times they'd repeated that word now.
Then, bursting into the room, Hope was suddenly before them. She stopped dead in her tracks as the door swung closed behind her. Her eyes searched for Maria's. When they met they instantly teared up.
"Maria?" she said in a small voice.
Maria's stomach fluttered at the sight of her. "Hey, hot stuff."
Hope's face broke into a smile as she began crying on the spot.
Natasha leaned in close to Maria as she spoke in a low tone. "It was like tattered sails and typhoon waves." She kissed her forehead. "Remember that," she said right before she turned and left the room, patting Hope on the shoulder as she passed her.
Hope's tears were significantly greater than Natasha's; Maria's guilt increasing with every drop that slid down Hope's cheek. Maria needed to hold her – right then and there – so she could beg her for forgiveness. She didn't mean to put her through so much turmoil. She had to write her wrong.
Maria reached out her hand to her, twinging at the slight pain in her abdomen. Hope didn't hesitate, she hurriedly crossed the room to her and sat on the side of the bed with their thighs touching. Maria pulled her in as Hope instantly buried her face into her neck while throwing her arms around Maria's body.
"You came back to me," Hope whimpered into Maria's skin.
Maria held her in her arms, not caring that there was a faint stabbing sensation in her lower torso as she pulled her in. "Of course I did, my love." Maria fiercely kissed her scalp. "I promised."
Hope lifted her head just so that she could push her lips to Maria's. Hope simultaneously giggled and cried as she gave her one kiss after another, holding Maria's face firmly in her grasp. The sense of relief that she was exhibiting made Maria tear up too as she held her tightly.
"I'm sorry," Maria managed to get out in between kisses.
Hope tugged her face slightly back as she looked into Maria's eyes. "Yeah, you're gonna be spending the rest of your life making this up to me."
Maria nodded, fresh tears running down her cheeks. She was so happy to do just that. "That sounds fair," she said through a smile.
"I thought so." Hope barely got out before she pulled Maria back to her, their mouths colliding.
They continued to kiss as Maria savoured every bit of her dear love. Hope's soft lips, her salty taste, and her sweet scent. Curiously, even though Hope smelt divine, there was something peculiar about it.
Maria parted their mouths temporarily as she asked, "Question?"
"Huh?" Hope mumbled as she captured her lips again, not making it easy for Maria to continue her inquiry.
Maria couldn't help but smile into her action. She loved how forceful Hope was at times. She'd never felt so claimed by a person before. But despite Hope's possessive ways, Maria managed to get out of the kiss, quickly pushing their foreheads together in a means to keep the woman at bay.
"Why do you smell like Sharon?" Maria gently combed her fingers through Hope's scented hair.
Hope opened her eyes to look at Maria as she smirked. "Well, you were out for so long I was exploring my options – just in case, that is," she said cheekily.
"Uh-huh," Maria grunted dryly, not buying her intended meaning for a second as she brought her head back to better look at her. "And what did you discover?"
"Her purple shampoo is not ideal for my hair type."
"Groundbreaking. Glad to see your Harvard science degree is going to good use."
Hope giggled as Maria reached out and wiped the woman's teary cheeks dry.
The mention of her scientific knowledge made her think about the last remarkable thing Hope had done with it. "Thank you," Maria said as she stared into Hope's eyes.
"For what?" she gently asked.
"For giving me your heart."
Hope was looking at her like she was her whole world before Maria caught a mischievous twinkle in her eyes. "I mean, isn't that kinda old hat by now? I gave you that like a year ago."
Maria chuckled with slight pain as she cupped Hope's face, dropping her forehead back to hers. Despite her cheesy words, Maria couldn't help but feel overwhelmingly loved by them.
Hope moved to kiss Maria on the forehead before leaning back. She gave her body a visual scan as she asked, "How're you feeling?"
"Great."
Hope looked at her through slitted eyes. "Really?"
Maria grinned. "Well you're here, so yes."
Hope smirked. "Not what I meant, slick." She pushed a strand of Maria's hair behind her ear. "Are you in any pain or anything?"
Maria shrugged. "My abdomen kinda hurts but it's not too bad. Who knew losing an organ would feel so benign?"
"So you already know about your kidneys then?"
"Kidneys? Plural?" Maria gawked.
"You lost both of them." Hope placed her hand on Maria's thigh, rubbing her palm over it. "Luckily Jane found you a donor on Earth."
"Not on Earth." Maria turned her head to see Janet entering through the side door. The woman smiled, eyes teary as she caught her gaze with Maria's.
She walked over, sitting on the opposite side of the bed as Hope, as she instantly hugged Maria. "You came back to us, my sweet girl."
Maria carefully wrapped her arms around her, squeezing her in return as she basked in Janet's motherly comfort. "Yeah, well Hope made me."
Janet chuckled as she lovingly rubbed Maria's back, sending warm tingles down her spine. "She's very demanding, isn't she?"
Hope didn't seem to take notice of the comment as she asked, "Wait, what do you mean by, 'Not on Earth'?" She then gestured to the side of the room. "And why do you keep entering through that door? What's over there?"
Janet unwrapped herself from Maria as she looked to Hope. "Your father," she sighed.
Hope scrunched her face. "Dad?"
"He doesn't want me to say" – Janet looked down as she stroked the bedsheets to flatten out a few creases – "but it's not exactly like he can hide it for much longer." She looked up as Hope tilted her head in question. Janet sighed once again. "He was a match."
Hope's face went agape. "He donated his kidney to Maria?"
Janet shook her head as she said, "That man may be unmitigable, but you can never say he doesn't care."
Hope looked dumbfounded, just staring at her mother with wide eyes as Maria couldn't help but mutter, "Wow, I'm really collecting Pym organs here, aren't I?"
Janet smiled at her comment and looked at Maria. "You're just missing one from me which is making me feel left out." Then her eyes lit up as she gently smacked Maria's knee. "Oh, there's a pipe organ in our hospital chapel that you're more then welcome to have. We'll even get a plaque with your name on it and everything. That'll be my donation to complete your family collection."
But before Maria could happily accept her gift, Hope asked, "Like he independently got tested, found out he was a match and volunteered – out of his own free will – to donate a kidney?" She was obviously still hung up on her father's actions.
"Yes," Janet said.
"You didn't encourage him at all?" Hope narrowed her eyes at her mother.
"He was already in a hospital gown when I found out." Hope shook her head like she couldn't get her mother's words to penetrate her brain. "Jellybean, he was also the one who got you into the Raft to see Maria, don't forget."
"I didn't. It's just he's…" Hope shook her head again. "I don't know…"
"An enigma wrapped in a conundrum?" Janet looked at her sympathetically.
"Yeah." Hope sighed.
Hope turned her attention to their multiple organ recipient, contemplation in her eyes as she moved to grasp Maria's closest hand in her own and dropped her head to rest it on her shoulder. She then shifted it to kiss her on the collar bone before pushing her scalp into the crook of her neck. It was as if she was communicating that even though she was confused by her dad's actions, she was still grateful for them.
Maria didn't know what to say. She was in a weird position now having possession of Hope's father's donor kidney. Which was something that would impact the relationship between Hank and Hope much more than it ever would between herself and Hank.
In an attempt to lighten the mood, Maria asked, "So...I still get my pipe organ though, right?"
She heard chuckling from Hope as she lightly vibrated against her body.
Janet's face broke into a grin. "Of course you do, Pumpkin. You can have the whole wing it's in if you'd like. Hope already has the maternity ward. We named it after her when she was born. But – to be honest – the East wing is nicer." She winked at her.
"Finally, my gold-digging is paying off."
Hope jerked her head up to glare at Maria as she addressed her matriarch. "Mom, please don't offer her buildings. You're unleashing a monster here."
Maria lifted her hand to rest it at Hope's chin as she gently swept her thumb back-and-forth over her lips. "You're just jealous my wing's nicer than yours."
Something changed in Hope's eyes, they shifted from playful to sad. Maria didn't understand what it was, but she was fairly certain it wasn't Hope's newfound concern with having an inferior part of the hospital named after her.
"You're impossible," Hope spoke softly, a fresh tear running down her face as she gazed into Maria's eyes.
"Okay, I'm gonna get going." Janet leaned over to press a kiss to Maria's temple before she moved to do the same to Hope. "I was in the middle of getting your father some food when I was distracted by the sound of your voices." She stood up and began walking to the main door across from them.
Hope turned to watch her walk away. "Okay. Bye, Mom."
Maria was too concerned with Hope as she moved to wipe the tear that was now at her chin, not paying any attention to the woman leaving. The action made Hope look back to her, softly smiling at her.
"Ah," Janet called from the end of the room, "why am I only hearing one 'bye mom' when I have two daughters here?"
Hope's smile grew as she whispered to Maria, "You're in trouble."
Maria smirked at her before looking over to Janet. "Bye."
Janet raised a brow at her as she put her hand on her hip. "Bye, who?"
Maria was hesitant to answer as she spoke in almost a question. "Mom?"
Janet's face split into a grin as she nodded. "That's better." She then pushed the door open and left.
Maria bit down a smile, that was the first time she'd called someone 'mom' who she actually loved and respected. She had imagined it so many times before, especially growing up, but never thought it would become a reality. She had an honest to god mother now. One who didn't die in childbirth, or who was only there to manipulate her to get closer to her father.
"You're locked into this family, I hope you realise this," Hope said, making Maria look back to her. "You can't even escape us in death."
"I'm more than okay with that." Maria chuckled while dropping her forehead to Hope's.
Hope dragged her finger around the silver chain that hung from Maria's neck like it was a habit from when she wore it herself. "Good," Hope said with satisfaction ringing in her voice.
"Why am I wearing your necklace, by the way?"
"It was watching over you when I couldn't. And – apparently – it brought you more luck than l did" – she pulled her head back to glare at Maria – "since you woke up under its' watch and not mine."
"You're saying that like it's my fault."
"Well, it is pretty suspicious I was here next to you for days, and then I leave for all of an hour and you wake up. It's almost like you planned it that way."
Maria started playing with Hope's hair. "Or maybe I didn't know where the hell you went so I was forced to wake up so I could find you."
Hope's eyes twinkled. "Oh, I like that reasoning."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah." Hope bit her lip as she tilted her head. "Tell me more about how lost you were without me."
"It was like being in the desert without water or on the moon without oxygen. How I've managed to survive thirty-seven years without you is a marvel." Hope burst into laughter as Maria joined in. "No, stop." Maria grabbed her abdomen in pain as she dropped her head to Hope's shoulder. "My kidney slash lack-of-kidney," she groaned.
"You did this to yourself," Hope said as she lovingly wrapped her arms around Maria's body, holding her securely. "You okay?" she asked as she started gently rubbing circles over her back.
The pain quickly subsided. "Yeah, I'm fine."
"Good."
Maria didn't move as she nestled into Hope's grasp while she continued to rub her back. "I wouldn't be making it to my thirty-eighth year without you though." Maria softly said, "You're the real marvel."
Hope pushed her mouth to Maria's temple, kissing her before leaning her cheek back to her scalp.
Suddenly, the door in front of them opened. "Hey, I don't mean to interrupt I—" Maria raised her head to catch Steve's eyes. "Maria!" He smiled. "Sam just told me you woke up." Hope let go of Maria so that she could turn a bit in her seat to see the man too. "But I can come back later." He took a step back, clearly not wanting to disrupt their intimate moment.
"Steve, come here," Maria practically ordered him as she used her head to gesture at the opposite side of the bed from where Hope was sitting.
He grinned at her. Then, as he began making his way over, he said, "So, the moment Thor heard you woke up he called a party planning committee. I hope you two are ready for a wedding tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?" Hope repeated before looking at Maria. "Could you even handle that in your current condition?"
"I better." Maria smirked. "The dust has settled. A promise is a promise."
"I'm no tyrant. We can push it back a day if you need."
"Just a day?" Maria lifted a brow. "That's all you're offering me?"
"I said I wasn't a tyrant, not that I was merciful." Hope flashed her a cheeky smile.
Maria chuckled. "I don't need an extra day." The truth was, she would have married her right then and there if an officiant was present.
"So, I shouldn't try stopping Thor then?" Steve asked, now at Maria's side.
Maria smiled up at him. "No, you can leave him be." Her heart fluttered knowing that she was going to be marrying Hope the following day.
"Great." He nodded. "Now, can I get my hug?" Maria reached out to him, wordlessly giving him permission. He grinned as he gently leaned over and enveloped her into his arms. "Good to have you back." He gently squeezed her. "But I'd kindly ask that you stop putting yourself after everyone else. If I had my old garrison cap, I'd have wrung a hole into it by now from all the worry you put me through."
"Yes, tell her!" Hope demanded while aggressively pointing her finger at Maria. "She needs to stop doing that."
"It's especially bad because she's more important than the rest of us." He pulled away from Maria as he continued addressing Hope. "We can be replaced" – he put his hands on his hips, gesturing at Maria with his head – "but a high ranking leader of a global security agency – not so much."
"My life is not as important as the entire Asgardian race, guys." Maria rejected their premise.
"Are you saying if Amora had gotten past you, genocide would've been inevitable?" Hope gawked. "You do know you're not the galaxy's last line of defence, right?" She crossed her arms over her chest.
"I didn't say that I was."
"No, but your dead body did," Hope snapped back. "Reality check, you're not fighting the universe when you lay down your soul for a realm."
Hope's words cut. Fighting the universe was Maria's declaration of love for her, but she'd just weaponised it to prove her point.
"I saw a way to neutralise the threat." Seconds ago she thought that justification was ironclad but now it felt like she was just grasping at straws.
"Yeah, with your life. You didn't even consider us a viable alternative."
"What?" Maria was appalled by the insinuation. "That's not true." Maria wholeheartedly trusted her agents.
"Oh yeah." Hope raised her brow. "Why was there an arrow through your heart then?"
Maria closed her eyes and dropped her head. "Hope, please stop," she begged. She wasn't in the right mindset to deal with Hope's bullheadedness.
"No." Maria sighed as she looked back up, catching her turning to the stiff-looking man still standing next to them. "Steve, tell her she's being unreasonable."
He looked so uncomfortable. "I don't— ah." Steve rubbed the back of his neck.
"It wasn't about you guys, it was about me. Okay?" Maria blurted. She hated how Hope was making her admit her demons.
Hope was clearly not satisfied with that answer. Maybe it would have been different if she'd started with that before Hope was at this point, but when she was this riled up, it would take more than that sliver of honesty to bring her back down.
"Well, if that's really the case, and you still want me to be your wife, you're gonna have to smarten up." Hope glared at her.
"What?"
"Yeah, 'cause I'm not gonna become some widow – like – two months into our marriage just because you have this guilt fueled sacrificial mindset that you refuse to give up." She threw her hands up in the air. "Like, you do realise there's a difference between being ready for death and actively seeking it out, right?"
"I'm not seeking out death, I'm doing my job."
"You're doing your job?" Maria could tell she really stepped into it with that one. "Okay, let's assess, shall we? Starting from the top."
Maria closed her eyes, readying herself for the repercussions as she tried in a last-ditch attempt. "Can we n—"
"Flying into a missile!" Hope – unsurprisingly – cut her off. "Not exactly ideal but understandable under the circumstances. So, sure, I'll let it slide under professional obligation. Though, I'd argue that's debatable."
Maria shook her head, looking over to Steve for support, but the man was sneaking out, clearly not wanting to have any part of Hope's tirade. He gave her a sympathetic look before slipping out the door. 'Coward,' Maria thought to herself.
Hope continued, not even seeing Steve's exit, "And then you gave up on life to rot away in prison, which was definitely suspect, but at least it wasn't instant death." Maria sighed, desperately wanting to say something but knowing better. "But then, to act as a human shield as your opening gambit when other options were available? Now that's unacceptable. There's no way that's in the 'Duties of an Agent' section of my upcoming exam." She stared her in the eyes as she demanded, "You have to do better."
Maria held her gaze, hating that she had a point. Of course she did. May and Johnson were there in her last moments; the two people who experienced the loss from Maria's actions firsthand. She had to protect them. But – worse off – she had to atone to them. And in her mind, that meant die for them. She had to be dead like Agent Simmons.
Maria nodded as she looked down at Hope's left hand. She reached to take it into her own as she fidgeted with her engagement ring, studying it. She recognised the validity of Hope's words. She was falling short as an agent, a leader, and as a life partner. She couldn't be responsible to anyone if she thought protecting them was simply dying for them.
Maria raised her head to focus back onto Hope. "I'll do better," she said with conviction.
Hope's gaze was intense for a moment like she was making sure Maria meant what she'd said, but then her eyes softened. She folded her hand over the one that was playing with her ring before shifting her palm so that they could lace their fingers together. "Okay," Hope softly said with a nod, seemingly believing Maria's intentions.
Maria smirked at her, doing everything not to tear up. "I'm gonna be around for so long you'll eventually have to take me out yourself."
"Trust me, I'm already training for that day," Hope said with a smirk, earning her a chuckle from Maria. "But first I'm taking out Sharon, then you, freeing up S.H.I.E.L.D. for myself."
"What about Fury?"
"This plan is set for after he retires." Hope nodded.
"Makes sense. I suggest keeping Coulson around as your second in command. He's very reliable."
"I'll think about it," Hope said like she was considering it.
"But in the meantime" – Maria reached for Hope's temple, sliding her fingers through her hair – "before your evil coup..." She bit her lip.
Hope smiled, her eyes now half-lidded as she leaned in closer to Maria. "Yes?"
"Why is Steve cowering out in the hall?" Sharon barged into the room. "What did you say to him?"
Maria sighed at the interruption before whispering to Hope, "I'm so glad you're taking Sharon out first."
As if Sharon's entrance was heard from a distance, the door opened from the other side of the room. There, Cruella Deville M.D. walked in. "Hey." She stopped as she looked between Sharon and Hope. "Only one visitor per patient." She settled her attention onto the guest sitting on the bed. "Queen Slayer, you're no longer admitted to my care, meaning your free stay here is revoked."
Sharon narrowed her eyes at the woman, crossing her arms over her chest. "And who are you?"
The Asgardian lifted her chin, speaking strongly, "I am the Sjef Medical Officer and you're in my hospital, young Midgardian."
"Oh." Sharon tilted her head as Maria held her breath. She knew this mood, it was not a graceful one. "So that means your accomplishments are greater than saving nine whole realms from becoming living bug incubators?" Eir's eyes widened, clearly not expecting the pushback. Though – admittedly – Maria wasn't expecting Sharon to step up to bat for Hope like that either, so she was a little taken aback too. "No, I didn't think so," Sharon said after Eir's lack of response. "So, maybe you should leave the Queen Slayer be while I visit my previously dead sister."
Eir took in a long breath through her nose. "How dare you infer that my hospital rules were made out of pride. You, Midga—"
"It's okay!" Hope jumped out of her seat. "I'll go." She looked to Eir, putting up her hands in surrender. "No hospital rules will be broken." She locked her gaze with Eir. "Alright?"
That right there was the difference between Hope and Sharon, Hope knew the importance of when to dig her heels in and when to leave things be, where Sharon didn't always.
The doctor nodded at Hope, accepting her compliance.
"Alright", Hope said before looking at Maria. "I should go see my dad, anyway."
Maria couldn't help but wonder if something bad had happened in the past when one of Eir's hospital rules had been broken. Maria recognised a haunting behind her crude eyes that was probably only visible to those who were responsible for other's lives.
"You can't leave me here with her." Maria playfully grabbed Hope's arm. "She's scary."
"Don't be silly, Sharon'll be fine," Hope spoke in a hushed tone for Maria's ears only. Maria had to bite back a chuckle.
Hope then pushed her mouth to hers in a quick, chaste kiss. "I'll see you in a bit," she said before she wandered over to the side door and left the room.
As Hope passed through the threshold, she was met with a long hallway. She didn't know where she was going so she slowly walked down the place, hoping a medical employee would show up to assist her. All the doors she passed were without windows so she couldn't so much as look inside to find her father.
Luckily, a large door up ahead and on her left opened, and in walked her mother holding a plate of food.
"Mom," Hope called, making Janet turn back to look at her
"Hey." She warmly smiled. "You looking for Dad?"
"Yeah."
"Down the hall, last door on the right." She pointed. "Would you please give him this plate while you're at it?" She held the item out to her.
"Sure." Hope stepped to her, taking it.
Janet then wrapped her arm around Hope's shoulder. "How're you feeling?"
"Great." Hope beamed. The love of her life just woke up and they were about to spend the rest of their lives together.
"Yeah, I'll bet. Steve just told me about your big day tomorrow." Her mother was grinning from ear to ear as she pushed her along towards her father's room.
"Don't you mean, your big day?"
"Mine?" Janet's voice climbed an octave in confusion.
"Yeah, they always say weddings are about the mother of the bride, and you're the mother of both brides."
Janet chuckled with delight. "Why yes, you're right. I've already got my dress picked out in my mind and everything." She closed her eyes as she emphasised her statement, "And it's absolutely gorgeous." Janet then looked out in front of her as she shrugged. "Though, I'll have to go back to Earth to get it."
"Oh my god, dresses." Hope stopped in her tracks. "What are Maria and I gonna wear?" Hope had always fantasised about having the perfect wedding dress. She didn't want to miss out on that dream.
"I'm assuming the Asgardian planning committee has that covered, but – don't worry – I'll check in and approve what they've got. And if it's not up to my standards, I'll find you two dresses back home."
"What about our opinions?"
"Tomorrow isn't about you guys, remember?" Janet smiled innocently before pointing to the door a little ways ahead. "That's your room." She patted her shoulder before sliding her arm away to back up in the direction that they'd just come from.
"It's a good thing I trust your eye when it comes to fashion." Hope shook her head at her silly mother. She'd been her and Maria's biggest cheerleader from the start, it was only fitting that she'd pick their wedding dresses.
Janet chuckled as she turned, about to leave. "You two will love them. I promise."
"Hey, Mom," Hope quickly called, realising that there was something else that she wanted for her day.
Janet spun around to face her again. "Yeah?"
"Would you grab the Langs while you're on Earth too? I want Cassie to be our flower girl."
Her mother grinned with a nod. "You got it. Assuming Heimdall will let me bring them, that is."
Hope wasn't worried, Thor wouldn't order him to stop Maria's little niece from entering the city. The Asgardian king loved his commander too much.
Janet then turned and left.
Hope couldn't help but smile as she watched her exit the hallway with a bounce in her step. She seemed so proud of her daughters and excited about the wedding.
Then, moving to the door at the end, she entered into her father's holdings.
The room was a lot smaller than the one Maria and Hope were in. This one just had the one bed that in sat her dad. His nose was in the latest issue of 'Global Science and Technology', a magazine that he'd read ever since Hope was a child.
He lifted his head at the sound of her arrival.
"Hey Dad," Hope said in a small voice, suddenly feeling awkward at the sight of him in a hospital bed. His sacrifice for Maria became an unwavering reality in that moment. "I brought you some food."
She walked forward and put the platter on the small table next to his bed as he watched her over his magazine.
"Any lamb on that plate?"
"I don't know." Hope looked it over, knowing that was his favourite. "There's some sort of cut meat here that could possibly be lamb related." Hope didn't have a good grasp of Asgardian livestock to feel comfortable in her assessments.
Hank grunted as a response as Hope took a seat in the chair next to the bed.
Hank then pointed to the article that he was reading. "Hammer Industries made the 'World's Most Innovative Companies' top ten list this year. Can you believe it?"
"How in the world did you get your hands on a Science and Tech magazine from an alternative universe?"
Hank quietly chuckled.
Hope leaned back in her chair, making herself more comfortable. "We'd be on the list if the world knew about our quantum bridge."
"Damn right we would be," he grumbled into the magazine, now focused back on it.
Hope quietly studied him for a moment. He didn't do well with this sort of stuff – having her visit him in hospital would be something that'd make him feel vulnerable.
"Dad?"
"Huh?" He didn't look up.
"You gave her your kidney."
"I didn't do it for her." He turned a page. "Besides, it's not like I need both of them anyway. Not a big deal." Typical Hank Pym, he was trying to play off his sweet action as if it was nothing.
"It is a big deal."
"No" – he put down his magazine in his lap – "what's a big deal is you almost giving yourself heart failure." He found his natural gruff tone of voice. "If your mother hadn't have separated you two, you would be dead right now." He locked his steel gaze with her but to her surprise, his eyes quickly softened. "Every time you do something stupid that woman seems to always be on the other side of the equation." The way he said that brought tears to her eyes. It was almost supportive. He sighed, obviously noticing her shift in state. "You really must love her."
Hope sniffled. "I really do," she said while nodding.
"Yeah. Look." He squirmed a little bit in his seat. "I know you two are engaged and I… well I just want you to know that no one will ever be good enough for you."
"Dad!" Hope laughed. She was so happy that that was his objection. He had an inflated perception of her and it had nothing to do with the fact that she was queer.
"But if she makes you happy I— ah" – he looked down to his magazine, fiddling with its corners – " I guess that's better than a kick in the pants."
Hope tilted her head. "Are you saying you approve of her?"
Hank grunted as he looked back to her. "Let's go with – tolerate. She's still the deputy director of S.H.I.E.L.D. and an obnoxious smartass." Hope couldn't help but smirk at the small victory. He then sighed, looking out to nothing in particular in front of him. "But maybe a smartass will be a nice change from a dumbass."
Hope scrunched her face, pulling her head back. "Wait, are you talking about—"
"Hope," Hank whipped his head to the side as he interrupted her, "He recently asked me if he were to punch himself and it hurt, would that make him strong or weak?"
"It would make him an idiot."
"That's exactly what I told him," Hank said as a smirk soon found its way onto his face, making Hope giggle. Bonding over Scott's dimwittedness always had a way of bringing the two of them together.
After catching her breath, Hope then nervously asked, "Is your tolerance towards her enough for you to walk me down the aisle, along with mom, when I marry her?"
"Of course it is." He answered right away. "She might be a pain in my ass but if she's the one you want, then I'll take an Advil." Hope wanted to cry all over again. His tolerance for Maria felt like he was fully accepting Hope, as his daughter. Which was something that she'd never experienced in her life before. "Besides," Hank grunted, looking back down to his lap, "I'd rather be reliant on pain meds than have you push me out of my life again. Like your mother's currently doing."
"Dad," Hope said in emotional exhaustion. She was not in the right headspace to hash into all that in that moment.
"I didn't say anything." He threw up his hands in innocence. "Now, go on." He gestured to the door with his head. "I'm sure you've got more important things to do than sitting here with your old man."
"I really don't." She softly smiled at him. Maria was visiting with her friends, and Hope wanted to spend time with her dad; the man who gave his kidney to her soon-to-be wife.
He smiled back at her before passing her his magazine. "Want to test your sanity and see who else made that list?"
"Absolutely." She grinned, taking the subscription from him, happy to be spending time with him.
Hours had passed since Maria had woken up from her coma and within that time she'd had one visitor after another. It felt like she'd seen nearly everyone. After Sharon had left the lineup went: Steve (again), May, Jane – along with Helen (who both checked her over), Janet (again), Tony (briefly), then Scott (who brought her some sausage, knowing Maria never ate meat around Hope so that'd be her only opportunity for a while. Maria was touched by the thought but really didn't care much about her diet. She ate to live, not lived to eat.). But who Maria was most surprised by was the last person who stopped by, late into the night.
"Sir." Maria sat up taller in her seat, not expecting to see Fury there in Asgard.
Her C.O. walked up to her, arms clasped behind him. He stopped beside her bed, taking his time to look her over.
"You know, if you don't want to take command you could've just said so. You don't have to literally die to get out of it."
Maria had to hold back a smile as she said, "Trust me, I can't wait to have your job. Sitting behind a desk while sending my deputy director out to go do everything – now, that just sounds relaxing."
He raised his brow at her. "Death has made you bold, Commander," he said with the slightest hint of a smirk.
Maria smiled innocently at him as she wondered if he was there just to see her, or if he was there on other business.
"So." He took a casual step closer. "I hear you and Van Dyne are tying the knot."
"Tomorrow." Maria held her smile, now knowing that he was there for her. He would've gone straight to business after their pleasantries otherwise.
"You sure you'll be able to get down the aisle in your current condition?"
Maria looked into his eye as she said, "I will if I have someone to assist me."
This time he let a genuine smile slip. "I got you covered."
"Thank you, sir." Maria felt her ears grow hot. She was so elated to have him walk her down the aisle.
He nodded. "Well, I should leave you to it. I hear they're about to let you out of here."
"That's the scuttlebutt."
"Good." He turned and walked to the exit. "I'll see you tomorrow right before go-time."
"Yes, sir," Maria said just as Fury opened the door and left.
Shortly afterwards Maria was discharged. She felt pretty good, minus her abdomen. Jane gave her painkillers for that since the hospital had nothing appropriate for humans. Luckily, the pain was minor as long as she was careful with her movements. It was explained to her that Jane had provided Eir with some sort of Wakandan slow dissolving implant for both her and Hank that provided rapid healing of their surgery incisions. Jane was assured by Wakandan doctors that the two of them would be good as new by their third day of recovery.
When Maria left her room, she was met with Hope, Thor, Janet, and Sharon in the waiting room. To her dismay, she and Hope were pressured by Thor and Janet to be escorted to separate rooms. They insisted it was a tradition that the brides not spend the night together before their wedding.
Maria didn't love the idea but agreed to it, not wanting to be confrontational. Hope, however, aired her disapproval quite forcefully before agreeing. Maria understood her grievances; if their roles were reversed, and Maria had to watch Hope struggling in the hospital for days on end, she'd be kicking up a bigger stink too.
So now it was the middle of the night, and Maria was in a beautiful suite all by herself.
Hope paced her room. She was wide awake, anxious for her big day, and bored. She'd already written her vows. She'd done it remarkably fast too. Apparently, laying next to Maria for several days, praying that she'd come back to her, really put her thoughts and emotions into perspective.
She sighed to herself, she couldn't even so much as take a walk since – apparently – brides weren't allowed to leave their premarital chambers. There was a literal ceremonial guard outside both her and Maria's individual rooms.
Suddenly, Hope heard a knock from her balcony window.
Hope jumped and instinctually squared up as she looked in the direction of the sound.
She sighed, spotting the culprit through the glass doors. She walked over, opening the barrier.
"What're you doing here?"
Sharon scrunched her face and looked at her like she was an idiot. "You want to spend the night with Maria or not?"
Hope looked behind Sharon to find a rope ladder hanging down from the balcony above them. "You do know I have my wasp suit with me, right? I could easily sneak out on my own."
"And yet you haven't." Sharon raised a brow and crossed her arms. "Seems like you're too chicken shit to."
"Am not!"
"So you don't want to see Maria then?"
"You know where she is?" That was information Hope didn't have.
"Of course I do, stupid."
Hope ignored her empty insult as she allowed the thought of going to see Maria sink in. It didn't take long before she went and grabbed the end of the rope ladder and started to climb. Of course she wanted to spend the night with her.
Once she reached the balcony above she was greeted by Roz's smiling face.
"Hey, Waspy. Long time no see."
"So you're helping me break ou— oof!" Roz slammed into her, giving her an aggressive hug.
Confused, Hope wrapped her arms around the young woman, squeezing her back.
"I'm sorry you went through such a hard time. And thanks for having my back during the siege. And also, congrats on your engagement."
"Ah, thanks," she said just as Roz let go of her and backed away.
Hope then looked into the building. "Who's room is this?" She studied the space that was about half the size as the one she was assigned.
"Nobody's," Sharon said while she pulled up the ladder behind her then tossed it on the ground. She then walked into the room. "Follow me."
Roz and Hope complied, allowing her to take them out of the room to the end of the empty hallway, and up a flight of stairs.
Sharon poked her head from around the wall at the top landing before looking back to them. "Okay, Roz," she whispered, "you're up. Let me see your subterfuge skills."
"Yes, Ma'am." Roz nodded. "But first…" She turned to Hope while pulling a pad of yellow post-it notes from out of her pocket. Hope could see that there was writing on the top piece but didn't have the opportunity to read it before Roz ripped it off from the stack and stuck it onto Hope's pyjama shirt.
Roz then whirled back around just as Sharon had a small spray bottle in her hand, pointing at her. She spritsed Roz a few times, including inside her mouth. It didn't take long for the mist to hit Hope's noise, informing her that it was alcohol.
The young woman was then off. She exited the stairwell in giggles as her steps became heavy and inconsistent. Hope couldn't see the girls' actions from behind the wall, but it was clear that she was acting like she was intoxicated on mead.
"Hey, yous," the girl slurred her words in the distance. "Is this Gun... en... ender… Gutenberg…" She laughed. "No wait, that's the printing press guy." She then continued to laugh as Hope was very impressed by how convincing she sounded.
"Miss, do you require help?" A woman asked. Hope knew instantly that that was the ceremonial guard assigned to Maria's chamber.
"Gundersen!" Roz yelled.
"Ah, yes this is the Gundersen building."
"Good. good," Roz slurred. "This is my room." Stumbling was heard, where Hope was sure Roz had fallen into the guard by the sound that followed.
"I can assure you, this is not your room."
"Yes, room fifteen."
"That's down the hall on the other end."
"That's… what…"
"Ah, miss?"
Hope had to use all her strength not to peek around the corner. She was sure Roz had passed out on the poor guard.
"Qlfuss burlufotr," the Asgardian grunted before stable footsteps were heard moving away from them. "Do I look like Tanngrisnir and Tanngnjóstr to you, little girl?" she said, her voice disappearing as she travelled.
Sharon popped her head out from the stairwell before waving Hope to follow her as she moved into the empty hallway. She ran straight to the nearest door, reaching for the handle with Hope right behind her.
Sharon looked to her as she spoke in a low tone, "I'll be here right before dawn to break you out." But before Hope could respond, Sharon opened the door and shoved her inside, closing her in.
"Oh, so that was the source of all that commotion outside – an escape and entry operation." Maria looked over to her with a shining smile like she fully supported her breach of containment and was thrilled to see her.
Maria was sitting up in bed, leaning against the headboard and under the covers. There was a bright lantern ablaze next to her. She was in pyjamas and had her blue toque on her head (which brought Hope happiness to see her wearing), and she had a pen and notepad in hand like she was in the middle of writing something.
Hope grinned as she made her way over to her. She crawled onto the bed and sank to her knees next to her.
Maria knit her brows together as she reached out and grabbed the post-it from off Hope's shirt. She then read it aloud, "Package delivered safe and sound by Solomón. This level of care is guaranteed with every transport which absolutely includes flying cars."
The message made Hope giggle. She didn't realise that that's what the note had said.
Maria smirked at the item as she stuck it to the back of her notepad. "Well, I guess she earns a few more points with this one."
"A few?" Hope gawked. "I'm worth more than that. You should be giving her a flying limo for bringing me to you."
Smiling, Maria put her pen and paper into her lap before she reached for Hope and gently pulled her into her side. Hope instantly wrapped her arms around her as Maria lovingly kissed her on the cheek before resting her head against Hope's.
Hope found it interesting that Maria wasn't shooting back a witty comment at her, but instead remained silent. "Are you tired?"
Maria sighed. "Yeah."
"You'd think you'd be wide awake after being in a coma for nearly three days."
"Apparently fighting for your life isn't super restful despite being unconscious."
Hope rubbed her arm as she said, "Go to sleep then."
"I'm writing my vows though." Maria picked up her pad and pen again.
"There's nothing on the page." Hope looked at her paper that just had some doodles in the margins.
"Yeah..." Maria sighed as she started making random dots on the paper, absentmindedly pushing the tip in as she almost punctured through the top page. "Would you be terribly offended if I got Tasha to write them for me?"
"Yes, I would." Hope smirked to herself. "Besides, I don't think she'd do it if you asked."
Maria sighed again. "Yeah." She proceeded to make dots on her paper. "It's just, every vow I've ever heard is essentially people promising not to be a dick to their spouse." She stopped with her actions on the paper, flipping her hand over to gesture at nothing. "I just don't see why it's necessary to say I won't leave you just because we're having a rough patch, or you get sick, or – like – lose your hotness or something before death separates us."
Hope grinned at her alterations. "Ah yes, the age-old vow – 'For better, for worse, for hotness, for uglyness, in sickness and in health, until death do us part.'."
"Yeah, that one." Maria turned her head to face her, flashing her a grin.
"You don't think there's anything missing about 'for richer or for poorer'?"
"If there is, that'd be news to me."
Hope giggled at her. The joke that Maria was financially leaching off Hope was becoming increasingly funnier to her as time progressed. It was Hope's fortune that was speedily declining, and Maria who was up for a promotion to become the next director of S.H.I.E.L.D., which had a very handsome pay raise to follow. Soon Hope was going to be Maria's sugarbaby and not the other way around.
"No, but really," Maria continued in all seriousness, "I've already made promises to you. Like I promised to not actively seek out death, and that I wouldn't shut you out when I'm having a mental breakdown. So, do I put those into the vows?" Hope felt her stiffen as she said, "'Cause I don't see why I have to say that stuff in front of all those people. Like it's none of their business."
Hope had dated poets and men with silver tongs in the past. They'd declare in public monologues to her how they'd move mountains, part seas, and tame lions for her; but the truth was – they were always just words. She'd learned long ago that words were often empty. Actions, however, never were. Maria didn't need to write a soliloquy, she just had to be there for her.
Hope grabbed the pad and pen from Maria and wrote one simple promise on the page before handing it back to her. "Here. This is all you have to say."
"But it's only one thing." Maria shook her head. "I can't just say one thing."
"Yes, you can. And you will." Hope knew Maria didn't feel comfortable expressing herself in words, especially not in front of others. But that was okay. Hope didn't need a public declaration of her heart, just one simple assurance would suffice. "This promise encompasses all the other ones. As long as you do this one thing, I'm yours forever."
Maria held her gaze for a moment before nodding. Her eyes emanated both love and relief.
Hope smiled and pushed her mouth to hers in a brief kiss while she pulled off Maria's toque.
"My hat!" Maria gawked with a smile. Hope then took the pad of paper out of her hand. "My one vow!"
Hope reached over her as she put the items (including the pen) on the night side table next to her while she said, "It's time for you to go to sleep. We have a big day tomorrow." She then snuffed out the lantern before sliding under the blanket. She gently pulled Maria to lay down with her.
"You're very bossy," Maria said as she settled onto her back.
"Yes, I am."
Hope pushed her body into Maria's side. She was about to lay her head on top of her shoulder but was hindered as Maria gently grabbed her face, pulling her to her mouth as she kissed her tenderly.
"I love you," Maria said as their mouths parted.
"I love you more," Hope hummed into her lips.
"Only in your dreams." Maria lightly pulled Hope's head to her shoulder before resting her chin to her scalp.
Hope sighed contentedly as she wrapped her arm around Maria's body. She was still wide awake, but that didn't matter, she was happy to be with Maria and not pacing the floor a few storeys below her.
They remained that way for the rest of the night. Maria fast asleep, and Hope fantasising about their lives together with a smile on her face.