Of all the things Hope might expect to see when she got home, Ava and Luis sharing a pizza in the living room was probably one of the least likely possibilities.

"And I told him nah man, I wouldn't deface public property like that, I respect the police! I know how hard you work, man! And I got a very honest face, you know, and he believed me, like I swore on the Bible and everything."

"Wouldn't your mother be angry with you about that?"

Hope stood in the doorway, watching the pair from behind as Ava took a huge bite of pizza and grinned through chewing, clearly invested in the story.

"She wouldn't be happy about disrespecting Jesus, but she hates cops worse than anyone I know, and that guy in particular is always driving around giving us the eye, y'know, we don't like him. Maybe she was the one who tagged his car," Luis said thoughtfully.

Ava laughed out loud. The sound brought a smile to Hope's face. It wasn't something she heard very often.

Luis continued his story, talking as fast as he usually did. Hope followed along as best as she could; Ava didn't seem to have any trouble.

"Anyway, he started asking around for witnesses and the only person who said they saw anything was Enrique, who's my neighbor's cousin's go-to guy for the odds on all the big-money fights, he used to be a cagefighter himself, all Rahhh with the tattoos and the 'roids and everything. So Enrique says he saw who did it, and he starts describing the look of the guy, and everybody around is all smilin' and laughin' and trying to cover it up, cause he's straight-faced describing this guy Esteban from the next 'hood over who's this chill guy, he gives out the best Halloween candy for all the little kids, and we all know he's in prison right now, so we're dying. And the cop's eating it up, taking notes in his little notebook and everything, and he goes to Enrique, "The city of San Fransisco thanks you," and he drove off and everybody that was watching went crazy on 'bout how Enrique punked that cop, like I'm talking they went out and got fireworks. They're throwing a block party tonight. Not much to celebrate lately, I guess," he finished thoughtfully.

"And yet you're here," Ava observed.

"Hey, I got a dinner date with my homie, I gave you my word I'd be here. I would never break my word to my friend."

Ava held up a glass of Sprite (Hope could see the two-liter bottle on the table) and Luis clinked his glass with it.

Hope slipped away toward the kitchen. She found Scott standing at the counter with his laptop, a plate of pizza abandoned beside him. She stepped up behind him to kiss his cheek; he smiled distractedly and muttered a hello.

"I didn't know Luis and Ava got along," Hope commented, keeping her voice low so that it wouldn't filter over to the living room.

"Do they?" Scott murmured, eyes still tracking the coding he was looking over, and then he shook his head and turned around. "Wait, what? Luis is here?"

"They're talking in the living room. How long have you been in here?"

"Uhh," Scott checked the time, "two hours?"

Hope rolled her eyes. "Let's go be good hosts. Although they don't seem to need us."

"Then, how about we just let them entertain themselves?" Scott took Hope into his arms and leaned in to press a slow kiss to her lips. "You know, if they're busy in the living room, they won't come upstairs..."

"I need dinner," Hope said, but she kissed him back, lingering even longer. "But afterwards... I like your plan."