The Skrulls were still working on the plane and they said it would be at least until morning, so we all decided to just go to sleep. There was nothing we could do right now. Yon-Rogg wouldn't catch up with us until at least first light, so until the sun rose again, we could get some much needed sleep.

Everyone's eyes were threatening to close, even Carol's, who ran on pure energy. And now Monica had left and Maria didn't need to worry about her daughter, she decided to get some sleep too, leaving the kitchen to go upstairs.

Carol needed no tour of the house. She had lived here for years and now that her memories were back, she knew exactly where everything was. So after we had said our goodbyes to Monica, who left a little scared she wasn't going to see us again, and made sure the Skrulls were still working on the plane, Carol softly took my hand and guided me upstairs.

I felt dirty, there was still blood in my hair from the cut on my head, even though the cut itself had healed long ago. And I was certain I had some Skrull blood somewhere on my body too from the fighting we had done. I was sweaty from the California heat and again from the fighting. My limbs were tired and my head was spinning a little, letting me know I was beyond exhausted.

Looking to where she was walking in front of me, Carol was clearly feeling the same. Her hair was a mess, even though I had run my fingers through it an hour ago. Her back hunched over from the weight of her shoulders and feet dragging on the carpet a bit, having trouble picking them up.

We needed a shower and a good sleep, even if it was going to be short, which it was.

Opening the wooden door at the end of the hallway, it was clear that this used to be her room. It wasn't big, but wasn't small either. It was.. cozy. With light walls and a soft carpet on the floor. A big window that during the day probably let in enough light that she didn't need a lamp.

Little things showed her love for fast airplanes and the Air Force. Her diploma nailed to the wall in a nice frame, some t-shirts in the drawer with the logo on it, the same one Monica had sported on her shirt. Uniforms hanging in the closet. Lots of pictures from planes, her and Maria and some from Monica.

She sat on the bed and watched me as I studied everything, walking around and picking things up. Eventually, I ran across a copy of the dog tag she had worn in the crash. Apparently, she had two of these, this one being in one piece.

When she saw me standing still a little longer than I had with all the other things, Carol became curious of what I was looking at. 'What have you got there?', she asked from where she was still sitting on the bed, leaning back on her arms.

Turning around from facing the wall, I showed her what I was holding. Her smile disappearing when she saw the silver in my hands. Pushing herself up so she was sitting straight up, I walked over to her, knowing she needed to see it up close. I didn't want to sit next to her. I had sat next to her the whole day so I settled down on her lap, my right arm positioned over her shoulders and my left hand presenting the tag to her.

Without thinking, her left arm snaked around my waist and held me tightly, her right hand turning over the necklace in my hand so she could see the name on it.

'Carol Danvers' it read. Well, if we needed any more conformation that it was indeed her real name, this was it. Sighing quietly, her eyes looked up to me. 'This feels weird. I know it is mine, but it feels like another person.'

'I can understand that', I said quietly, my eyes locking with her intense brown ones, 'You have lived as a different person for six years. It will take some time to find out who you truly are. A mix between Vers and Carol.'

She nodded faintly. 'It must be weird for you, too. For me to suddenly have a different name.'

'Hmm, actually it's less weird than I expected it to be. 'Carol' sounds right. It fits you better than 'Vers'. Besides, it doesn't matter what your name is, you are still you. A famous human writer once wrote a beautiful sentence about that in one of his plays: 'What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet'.', I quoted.

I had come across Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet when I was fifteen. My teacher on Atera saw how much I loved books and wanted to show me the works of this long passed man from Earth who had written some beautiful plays in his lifetime, Romeo and Juliet probably being his most famous one. So she had given me a copy. I had no idea where she got it from, or how this man's work even got to Atera, but I loved every word of it.

The tragic love story between two people clearly meant for each other, but unable to be together because of an ancient feud between two families. They had to hide their love but met their end in such a tragic but beautiful way, neither willing to live without the other. It had touched me deep in my heart and I could never have imagined to be in a similar situation a little more than ten years later, hiding my own love for someone I could never be with on Hala.

I hoped our story would end differently though.

My words earned me a little smile from Carol. 'Look at you, quoting Shakespeare to me. I didn't know they knew who he was on Atera.'

'You know Romeo and Juliet?' I asked, surprised. I guess I should be so surprised, she had lived on Earth after all.

'Don't act so surprised. I went to school too, you know. Besides, I love that play.'

The corners of my mouth turned up. 'Really? So do I.'

'Who would have thought we would find ourselves in that position one day, huh? Hiding from everyone.' She was still smiling, but her eyes betrayed her. She hated that we had to hide what we felt for each other and the fact that she couldn't do anything about it.

'Yeah, well, let's just hope it doesn't end the same way', I joked back, but my words held a little fear that Carol picked up.

Squeezing me even tighter to her body, as if suddenly afraid I was going to disappear, she answered with an intense look, 'Let's hope not.'

The sudden silence reminded her of the necklace I was still holding in my hand. Tilting her head down to look at it, she picked it up and untangled it, not saying anything while I just watched her hands work.

'I want you to have it', a quiet whisper sounded in the dark room.

My eyes flashed to her face, unsure if I had heard correctly. 'What?'

'I want you to have it', her voice more secure now, like she was very sure about her decision. And her eyes finally looked up, letting me see the truth in them.

'Why?' I was honored, but didn't understand why she would want me to have it. It was hers.

A little shrug came from my girlfriend. 'I just do. A promise that I will always be here, a reminder of what we both have lost before we found our way to Hala, a little piece of me to carry with you, lots of reasons.'

'Are you sure you are not just marking your territory?', I teased her.

'Hmm, maybe also that', she added innocently.

'Well, whichever one it is, I would love to have it', I told her honestly, the teasing tone gone.

Her eyes lit up by my acceptance of her gift and she gave me a big smile. Her arm let go of my waist for a moment to hold the necklace up with two hands. Understanding what she meant, I ducked my head so she could slip it over and around my neck. As soon as the cool metal touched my skin, I sat up straight again.

Carol studied me, admiring the fact that I now wore something of hers. Her hands carefully got my hair out from underneath the chain, letting it fall over it.

'You like it?', I teased her again. She just nodded absentmindedly, clearly happy with what she saw. 'Good', I said, standing up and breaking the moment. I would have loved to sit there with her for hours, but the heaviness of my body reminded me once again that it needed sleep.

She looked up at me questionably when I held out my hand for her to take. Laughing, I said, 'We are gonna take a shower. You need it.'

She ignored my jab and her flushed cheeks betrayed her thoughts. 'Together?', she asked wonderingly.

'Yes. Unless you don't want to', I provoked her. I knew she wouldn't give up this chance.

She jumped up, afraid of missing her chance if she took too long and walked up very close to me. 'I didn't say that', she breathed in my ear.

Now I was the frozen one, her breath tickling my ear and sending shivers down my spine. She pulled back to look at my face, laughed at my stunned reaction and walked off to the bathroom. 'You coming or what?'

She didn't have to say that another time.

The feeling of her skin against mine was the best one in the galaxy for me. We had never taken a shower together before, but I had a feeling this wasn't going to be the last time.

The water made her body glisten and I couldn't stop staring, something which she answered with a deep blush, even after two years. It wasn't that she was insecure or didn't feel at ease, my stare was just really intense.

'You are staring', she chuckled.

'How can I not?', I muttered, pulling her closer to me. This only caused her blush to deepen even further. Wrapping her arms around my neck, she buried her face in my hair, trying to hide it. This made me laugh, which caused her to give me a playful warning slap on my shoulder blade.

I expected her to let go then, but it looked like she was content now, feeling my whole body with hers. Both at our most vulnerable but both more at ease than anywhere else and with anyone else. The dog tag dug in my chest, reminding me of it. A little piece of her I would take with me wherever I went, even here in this shower where I had nothing but that necklace to give.

We stood there for years, just enjoying the feeling of each other, until the sudden change from warm to cold water brought us back to reality. We had used up all the hot water but I wasn't cold, Carol's body heat radiating off of her.

She groaned, reluctantly letting go of me, but not before giving me a long kiss that said more than words could.

Turning off the water, she grabbed a towel and started drying my hair. 'You do know I can do this myself right?' She gently dapped, wrung and rubbed my hair dry, careful not to hurt me. She had washed it earlier, rinsing it until the water no longer came out purple from the blood. And she had washed my body until all specks of purple or black blood was gone too. I had just let her do her thing, knowing she was too stubborn for me to change her mind.

My question didn't even stop her movements. 'Just let me do my thing please.'

'You can do your thing anytime you want to', I cheesily flirted with her.

A light red tint returned to her cheeks. 'That was really bad.'

'Yes, but it got the reaction I was looking for', I teased, which made her redder again.

She nudged me, trying to hide her face behind her hair, before wrapping the towel around my head, satisfied with the result. 'You are the worst.'

I winked at her, brushing her blonde strands behind her ears so I could see her face. 'I know.'

I wrapped a larger towel around my body and watched her do the same, her wet blonde hair dripping down her shoulders, leaving a trail of water on the floor when she walked to the bedroom again.

Rummaging through her dresser, she came up with some underwear and two large t-shirts that would have to do for pajama's. Studying the print, she threw the one with the Air Force logo to me, gesturing to put it on. Dropping the towel, I put the shirt over my head and was just in time to catch the underwear she threw me. I immediately felt that it was not a simple boxer, no need to unfold it, I could feel what it was.

'Really?' I asked her when I held up the lace thing. Why did she even have this in the first place.

She laughed at my face, having expected my reaction but loving it anyway. 'Humor me', she said.

Realizing she was just wearing some basic, simple underwear, I became suspicious. 'And this is payback for what, exactly?'

'No payback. Just thought it would look nice on you.' She didn't think that, she just wanted to taunt me. The fabric was even purple. Not an exact match with my hair, but very close.

'Fine', I growled. I had to admit, it looked nice and it felt nice once I had it on and she seemed to think so too, a smirk growing on her face. 'You happy?'

'Very', she nodded, staring at me satisfied. I watched as she walked to the bathroom again, drying her hair and standing in front of the mirror to brush it out carefully. I just sat on the bed, not wanting to get in without her. The clock on the wall told me it was almost past midnight, just thirty minutes left in this very eventful day.

Carol motioned for me to come over once her own hair was all straight again, knowing it would lightly curl once it dried. She placed me in front of the mirror so I could see myself and her working on my hair at the same time. Taking the towel off, her fingers began brushing through my hair lightly, untangling any knots. I watched her for a couple seconds and then just closed my eyes, enjoying the feeling of her careful hands on my head.

'Don't fall asleep yet', she teased me quietly.

'Hmmm.' My answer wasn't more than just a breath, but I opened my eyes anyway.

'I really like your hair. Did I ever tell you that?', she muttered, concentrated on her working fingers.

I looked at her in the mirror. 'I don't think you did'

'And your eyes. I love the color, makes you you.'

'Thanks babe', I smiled when she met my eyes in the mirror.

'You're welcome', she smiled back softly and dropped her hands, letting me know she was finished with my hair. 'Now let's get some sleep, you look like you need it.'

I nodded, giving a little sigh. 'Definitely.'

Turning off all the lights in the room, I waited till she got in bed and held the covers open for me. I climbed in gratefully, snuggling up to her, wrapping my arm around her waist and resting my head in the crook of her neck. She laughed silently when I clung to her like a child, but didn't protest, just wrapped her own arms around me and kissed my forehead.

She smelled amazing, of coconut from the shampoo and stawberries from the soap. Breathing in deeply, I reveled in her smell and the warmth of her body.

'Goodnight Yala', she muttered against my skin. I was already halfway gone but found just enough energy to answer her.

'Goodnight C.'

~~~~~~~~

I loovveedd writing this chapter. It is so sweettt, I love it.

I had put it off for a while, because I was afraid to start and mess up, but I am really happy with the result. Hope you are too!

Thanks for reading!

(2800 words)