Hope wakes up in the middle of the night, jolting up from her bed, sweating and shaking from her nightmare. Images of her mother, her father's sullen face, dying screams and explosions starts to fade away the moment she opens her eyes but the memories seemed permanently ingrained in a part of her brain, occasionally haunting her dreams.

She draws her knees up to her chest and buries her face into her arms, shaking away the remnants of the nightmare. She hates being in a situation like this, where she feels out of control, vulnerable and exposed. She lifts her head up and falls back on her pillow with a thud, hoping to fall asleep but failing. Suddenly, everything feels wrong, the bed's too warm and the room's too quiet.

She lets out a frustrated sigh, and kicks off the covers, swinging her legs over the side of the bed. The base of her feet touches the cool hardwood floor, making her relax a little and she heads to the bathroom. She stands in front of the basin and takes off her sweat-ridden tank top, leans over and proceeds to wash her face. She looks at the mirror, her soul words capturing her attention for a while. The small cursive words were etched at the lower edge of her left ribcage, standing out starkly against her pale skin, like a tattoo.

It had appeared when she was twelve years old and she still remembers the tolerable burning pain as it engraved on her skin. Her mother had told her about it vaguely when she was a child, but she had got further explanation from her aunt Peggy. For some reason, everyone is blessed with the first words of their soul mate. The soul mark could range from a single word to a long sentence, just like hers.

'Hello? Who are you? Have you been standing there watching me sleep this whole time?'

The words fascinated her twelve year old self. What does it mean? It's hard imagining herself watching a stranger sleep. How will the scenario turn out, she questions. Also, it isn't guaranteed that you would find your special one or spend the rest of your life with your intended soul mate, like aunt Peggy. She had found hers but he had perished in the war and she had lived a long, fulfilling life with another partner, who wasn't her soul mate.

As such, she doesn't know if it's a blessing or a curse, to have your soul mate's words scribbled on a part of your body. As Hope grew older, she became less fixated on it as she was more occupied equipping herself in becoming a superhero. She's had flings and relationships, nothing long-term, but none of them had uttered those words. Truth to be told, she couldn't care less about it.

Simply because Hope doesn't believe in soul mates.

One day, she happens to come across a news flash on television about a modern day Robin Hood and she catches a glimpse of the man and her soul words start to burn slightly. It piques her curiosity but the image of the man disappears before she could see his name.

She forgets all about it until she crosses path with a criminal, an ex-criminal to be precise, who had broke into her father's house and stole the Ant-Man suit. And now, she's standing in front of him, eyes darting to and fro from her phone to him, watching and observing. She thinks her father is out of his mind to recruit this stranger for the mission. Hope already despises him the moment she sets her eyes on him.

Scott wakes up with a jerk. He takes in the unfamiliar surroundings, yesterday's event flashing through his mind. He doesn't know where he is and his eyes bug out as his gaze falls on a women in a sleek business suit with a no-nonsense hairdo standing at the foot end of the bed, typing away on her phone.

"Hello? Who are you? Have you been standing there watching me sleep this whole time?", his eyebrows knit into a frown as he looks at her cautiously and uncertainly.

It stuns her for a fleeting moment when the words escape from his mouth, but she's highly trained in keeping a poker face so she doesn't reveal her emotions. Her soul words begin to burn and she flashes back to the time when it happened three years ago. It can't be. She panics, her mind searching in a frenzy for a response and it ends up with a single word.

"Yes.", she replies austerely.

Scott Lang is her soul mate.

This is not happening.

She keeps her distance, tolerating him at first, for the sake of the greater good. She tries her best not to fall in love with him but she can't help but gets drawn to him like a magnet. Over the course of time, she gathers that he's intelligent but he tends to sway towards the idiot meter at times. She doesn't know if he does it on purpose or he is really clueless. Still, he makes her laugh most of the time, and she considers it a rare feat. He's peeling off her layers of armour, and she's not resisting it.

...

'Yes'

Scott glances at his soul word scribbled below his right collarbone as he puts on his wedding suit. He's about to get married to Maggie, the love of his life, he thinks, but she's not his soul mate. He knows because he doesn't spot her soul word on any part of her body. Another thing about the soul word is it's only visible to your soul mate. Still, he's going to marry her anyway because he trusts his feelings more than his soul word. He's the type of person who rationalises with his heart rather than his brain.

He remembers the first time when his soul word was revealed to him and he thinks it's the most dull word one could ever have. Yes? What does it even mean? Anyone could say 'yes'. Lucky me, he thinks. Still, he doesn't let it get to him and tries to be positive about it. Later on, he accepts his soul word as a response word and always gets a little tad too excited whenever a girl replies with the word 'yes' but realises that his first words weren't the other party's soul mark. It's disappointing at times, but he falls in love eventually with Maggie, even though he knows they're not intended to be.

He receives the divorce papers when he's in prison and he doesn't blame her really. The best thing that came out from his marriage? His daughter, Cassie. He can't deny he's a little heartbroken about it but he thinks it's for the best, their love had been long gone and he wonders if it's because he and Maggie aren't soul mates. Scott thinks he's never going to find love again but oh boy, was he dead wrong when he meets Hope Van Dyne, who's the complete opposite of him and it all started with the word 'yes'.

...

"Yes.", she replies austerely.

The word hits him like a wave, shocking him and his mouth falls open. He feels a stinging burn at his soul mark and he realises immediately, that she's his soul mate. He cannot believe his eyes. He doesn't blurt it out to her, surprisingly, and keeps it a secret because he can't make out where the hell he is now.

First impression she gives him, he figures she's an Ice Queen, but she warms up to him eventually after pouring her heart out to him. He learns that she's smart, kind and deadly (in martial arts). 'Float like a butterfly, sting like a wasp.' He quotes whenever they spar together and despite almost always landing on the floor or in between her thighs, he doesn't complain. She's graceful and she's strong and he thinks she's amazing. He falls in love with her, not because he knows she's his soul mate, but simply because it happened.

...

"We --need --t-to --be quiet.", Hope gasps in between moans as Scott peppers a trail of kisses down her neck, nipping a sweet spot, sending shivers down her spine.

"Why? You're afraid we'll get caught?", he gives her a cheeky lopsided grin. They're entangled together, standing in front of her childhood bedroom. She can't believe she's sneaking around and making out with him again, like teenagers, in her father's house.

"We did get caught.", she gives him an impressive eye roll. She still hasn't forgiven him for leaving her alone, embarrassed, when her father had caught them red-handed, kissing.

"Forgive me for wanting to kiss the girl of my dreams after almost not making it back.", he's gazing at her tenderly, but he sounds too cocky about it.

"I'm the girl of your dreams huh.", she reiterates his words, and despite scrunching up her nose in annoyance, the corners of her mouth curves into a smile subconsciously. God, what has gotten into her. He's blown her brain into splinters.

He grins widely, and responds with crashing his lips into hers. She kisses him back, not shying away, wrapping her arms around his neck. A familiar warmth starts to pool at his lower abdomen and she climbs onto him, her thighs straddling his hips, while he supports her with ease. They break apart, both hungry for air, and their eyes meet, and it makes her giggle because he's making her feel fireworks and she hasn't felt this way for a very long time. Her head falls on his shoulder as she continues to bubble over with laughter and she's looking so adorable it makes him laugh too.

He twists the door knob, kicks the door open, and moves toward the bed hastily. He gently places her down and just as he gets his one knee onto the mattress, she points to the door that's left ajar behind him. "You're supposed to close the door, silly.", Hope smirks at his eagerness.

"Wouldn't want Hank catching us this time.", Scott tilts his head with a knowing smile plastering on his face. He hops to the door, closes it and locks it for preventive measure. When he turns around, he sees that she's on her knees on the bed and she's already taken off her blouse. His eyes widen as he traces her beautiful and delicate outline, and he spots, unmistakably, his handwriting at the lower edge of her left ribcage.

His breath hitches because they're meant to be.

He wants to spend the rest of his life with her.

He's never been so sure of it.

"What is it?", she observes that his face had went blank.

"Hope, you're my...you're my soul mate.", he manages at last, almost afraid to say it just in case he scares her off, but he tells her anyway. He's not going to hold it back, not this time.

She looks away, shakes her head and laughs. "You're an idiot Scott."

His eyes doesn't leave hers as he walks to the bed, and then he's down on all fours on the mattress, moving towards her.

"I was wondering when will you ever tell me about it, considering you're such a dork." She lets him cup her cheeks with his large hands, while he stares at her endearingly and intensely. He doesn't say a word but catches her lips with his instead, hoping to convey all of his emotions that words could not describe in their kiss.

She can't help but smile because she's finally embracing it, embracing their destiny.