Hope van Dyne

Relationships weren't something Hope was very good at. Opening up, being vulnerable...it was rough, and oddly Scott made it easier.

Then he ran off with the suit to get roughed up alongside Captain America, and life got a hell of a lot more difficult.

In truth, it wasn't all that bad: she got to spend more time with Scott and Cassie together, she got to spend more uninterrupted time with Scott period--she even helped him find more interesting ways to keep himself amused than the ridiculous hobbies he was cultivating. Yes, most of them were for Cassie's benefit, but still...

One thing they really hadn't gotten to before the Sokovia Accords was sleeping together--and it was starting to become a problem.

Part of it was the moderate level of surveillance Scott was under--a couple times after the ankle monitor had gone on, they tried, and it never felt right. One or both of them was just...too aware of the fact that he was being watched, they were being watched. Besides that, at least for Hope, it felt like there was too much effort involved, like they were trying too hard.

Three months into his sentence, impatience got the better of her.

Letting herself into Scott's place, she made enough noise to be sure he'd hear her as she shed her jacket and set her purse on the table by the front door. They had a movie night planned--some action flick he'd found on Amazon that had just enough plot to hold her attention. He'd insisted on cooking...or at the very least, ordering in from someplace they could both enjoy.

Hope found him in the kitchen--already making a couple of plates to put out in the living room, no doubt. He'd even added candlelight on the coffee table a couple of times in the past.

Walking up to him, she ignored his affectionate greeting. Putting a hand on his shoulder, she turned him so he was leaning back against the counter, slid her hands to fist in his t-shirt, and dragged him down for a hard, hungry kiss.

It wasn't great, either: he was surprised, wasn't ready, and she dove in too hard. There was an unpleasant little clack of teeth on teeth, she got her lip pinched by the overly aggressive clash of mouths...okay, that teeth thing kinda hurt.

Drawing back a little, she took a breath and tried again.

He was still surprised, still getting his bearings, but she was more careful this time: capturing his lower lip between hers, releasing his shirt and smoothing her hands over his lean chest--she tried not to rush it, not to control it...

...and after a moment, she let out a shaky little sigh as she relaxed against him.

Much better.

She keeps waiting for it...and it never comes.

The kiss was a sort of--eruption, something bubbling over and just coming out. It was real and unexpected, and Hope will go to her grave without admitting to a soul just how good it was. It was surprisingly good, shocking and oddly sweet because that's all it was.

She keeps waiting for the rest. Cheesy come ons, bad pick up lines, more stolen moments and a dozen opportunities to shut him down hard.

It never comes.

He's smarmy, but gracious when she offers him the position in R&D. It's a front, helps legitimize him for his daughter's sake and keeps him close when he needs to be Ant Man, but he ends up actually being useful on several projects that have been stuck in development for quite some time.

He's smug, but attentive when they train, developing his combat skills further now that there's time to expand on his skill set.

He's mouthy, but genuine as he helps her father look after the ant colonies, taking a very real interest in them not just for the work, but because he's got an interest in breeding a new transport carpenter.

He's aggravating, a wiseass, and a pain in the neck...but he doesn't put a single move on her. He doesn't say a single disgusting thing, and the only time he touches her is when they train, and it's never indecent. For nearly a month and a half, she keeps waiting for him to come at her again, and he doesn't.

He's...decent about it.

It's surprising at first, then puzzling...then frustrating.

She finally reaches her breaking point seven weeks after the kiss (not that she's counting), and stalks into R&D with a USB in hand that she drops on the surface of his work station.

"Schematics for the condenser that Martin is working on: go over them, and figure out what the hell he did wrong so I can get this off my desk." she instructs briskly. "Also, are you busy Saturday?"