Hank Pym sat at the head of his dining room table during breakfast that morning, his daughter, Hope Van Dyne, sitting beside him just to his right. It was early that morning, maybe seven or eight, but then again, both of them were early birds, anyway. It had been a couple weeks since the incident involving Pym Tech, when Darren Cross, Hank's former protégé turned to Hydra and nearly destroyed everything Hank had ever worked for, and they were just beginning to rebuild. Hank flipped through the pages of a newspaper, as Hope scanned through some business emails on her phone, mostly having to do with Pym Tech and what will happen for the company. Neither of them spoke a word for a while, as they both seemed to be preoccupied. As Hank flipped another page of the paper, his eyes scanning the words, his gaze immediately landed on the bold title at the top of the page. It read Pym Tech Planning on Rebuilding Post-Incident. There was a photo of the rubble from that day under the title. He simply shook his head. That day could have easily been prevented.

Now that Darren was gone, Hope was now CEO, meaning she was now in charge of everything. Well, everything that had to do with starting from scratch: hiring contractors, architects, and construction workers to create the new office building, finding new people for new positions, and so on, all on her own. Hank promised that he'd stay out of it… well, most of it. He had to swear to Hope that he would, and he did it begrudgingly. He did find a way to keep himself occupied, though, and that was with fixing Scott's suit, as well as working on Hope's.

It was when the doorbell rang when their attention was taken off what they'd been reading. Hank began to get up from his chair, but he stopped when Hope put her hand on his shoulder, and she told him she'd get it. She rose from her seat and walked out to go get the door, having a pretty decent idea of who was waiting at the door.

Scott Lang stood patiently outside, smiling when Hope had been the one to open the door. "Hey," he greeted her. He looked a lot better since the incident, his wounds healed. He was still a bit sore, but much better.

"Hey, Scott," Hope smiled back at him, opening the door wider and waving him inside. "You're a little late, you know?"

"Sorry," Scott said as he walked inside and Hope shut the door behind him. "I overslept a little." He walked further into the house, glancing around, as if to check to see if anyone was watching. Hope gave him a strange look, rolling her eyes as she thought he was just goofing around. But then he turned around, facing her, swooping in to capture her lips with his own. She was taken aback at first, eyes widening and her face flushing, but then she soon melted into him, relaxing, recalling the first time he did this. A few moments passed before they pulled apart. Scott bit his lip, and Hope was still blushing.

"What was that for?" she asked quietly.

"We were interrupted last time, remember?" Scott said, a little awkwardly. He planted one last kiss upon her cheek before venturing into the house, kind of in a rush, so he didn't get hit, leaving Hope a little flustered behind him. She could have sworn her lips tingled a bit. It took her a moment to compose herself before she joined the other two in the dining room.

Hank had Scott sit down when he entered the room. Scott looked a little nervous.

"Uh oh," he went slightly wide eyed. "Am I in trouble for something?"

"No," the old man shook his head, rolling his eyes. "Well, not for this. We're not gonna discuss what I discovered you doing not too long ago. This is different."

"Dad," Hope scolded, and she narrowed her eyes at him. "Don't start."

Hank looked at her for a moment then grumbled to himself. "Fine, fine. But this is about the suit. The damage you sustained is a little too much. And now it looks ratty and vintage."

Scott listened carefully. "Didn't we discuss this before?" he asked.

"Not the point," Hank told him. "Anyway, I've decided to upgrade the suit, with a new one. It'll have better technology. But it'll take time."

The younger man's face brightened at the sound of having a new suit. "Whoa, really? That's awesome!" He was like a little kid, thinking about superheroes, and being one. Hope chuckled to herself, amused by his excitement.

"Don't get too excited just yet," Hank shook his head. "I haven't even begun to build it. Think you have the patience?"

Scott nodded quickly. "Yeah, I think so."

"Good."

"So, what do I do until it's ready?"

"Oh, you'll still be training," Hope piped up. "Gotta keep you in shape, Princess."

He cringed slightly. "And that means you probably won't go easy on me."

"Oh, hell no," she smirked. "Never. You don't learn when it's easy."

"Dammit," he whispered. Defeated again by this woman. He'd never win, and he knew it. So did Hope, and it amused her. He saw the look on her face and grumbled. She was planning to kick his ass more than usual. Wonderful.

Hope chuckled at his response. "As a matter of fact, we should go down and spar some, since you're here. Besides, I need a break, and Hank needs time to focus on the suit."

Scott nodded, though he was a little hesitant. He didn't know he was going to get his ass kicked today. Nonetheless, he walked toward her and headed down to the training room with her. Hank watched them leave, and then his attention was completely on his task at hand.

Hope changed into more comfortable clothes before she met Scott in the training room, where she first taught him how to punch, as well as where she managed to beat him every time they sparred. No matter how hard Scott tried, she'd always come out on top. She smirked as she approached him.

"I'm glad we came down here. You and I both need this."

"Wait, wait, wait," Scott let out a nervous chuckle. "If this is a way to get rid of stress for you, you're not gonna go easy on me."

She raised an eyebrow. "Am I ever easy on you, Scott? Come on, we just discussed this. You don't learn if it's easy. If it was easy, anyone could do this."

"Good point," Scott sighed, really mock grumbling, even though he knew sympathy wasn't exactly Hope's forte when it came to sparring. "Okay, fine. At least try not to kill me, okay?"

"No promises, Princess," There was that smirk again.

"Ugh," he grumbled again. "Come on, you sure you can't this one time?"

"I could," Hope pointed out. "But winning is a hell of a lot more fun, so…"

"Oh, come on!" Scott complained. One corner of his mouth tugged up as he teased her. "You are so unfair."

"Have you ever noticed that most of the time, your opponents don't play fair?" she questioned. She was having trouble hiding her amusement.

"But this isn't the real thing."

"You have to always be prepared for the real thing."

"So unfair," Scott said again.

That was when Hope suddenly noticed how close he had gotten to her, now a few inches apart. She found herself lost in his gaze for several moments before she blinked and turned her head away, smiling while she blushed. "Don't," she bit her lip.

"Don't what?" Scott asked innocently.

"Don't do that."

"Do what?"

"That," she pointed. She motioned at his whole face, unable to look away from that crooked smile once she turned back to glance at him again. "The whole staring thing,"

Scott couldn't help himself. "Oh, wait, you like it when I do that."

"No," she shook her head as heat rushed to her face. "I don't."

"Yeah, you do," he chuckled, putting his hands on his hips.

"No, I don't," she giggled, her argument becoming more and more invalid to Scott. She avoided his gaze again, knowing exactly what would happen.

"I don't believe you, Hope Van Dyne," he murmured. His voice had turned into a whisper, almost. He lifted her chin so she could look at him again, which made her heart race. "I don't believe you one single bit."

They remained close for several seconds, feeling their breath on each other's lips. Hope's heart raced faster than she could keep up with, and her eyelids began to flutter as he began to lean into her. Just then, she smirked and took hold of his arms, and with one yank, she had him completely off his feet. In one swift motion, she flipped him over her head, flinging him to the ground with a thud, and she held him in a headlock until he began hitting her arm, begging to let him go. He screamed in both shock and pain, and she kept him there for a while until finally, she let him go, and he let out a frustrated breath.

"Seriously?!" he gasped, since he'd had the wind knocked out of him when he landed.

She smirked and leaned over him. "This is why you should never lose focus."

Scott sat up and rubbed his neck, which was already sore.

Hope rose to her feet, offering him her hand. He took it and hoisted himself up to his own feet, shaking his now-sore neck out. He shot her a stern glance and she stifled a laugh. "I'm sorry," she said to him.

"No, you're not," he raised his brow.

"You know what?" Hope began. "You're right." She suddenly took a swing to his face, nearly knocking him off his feet again.

Scott was quick to defend himself after recovering quickly from the shock, and they were full out sparring. He did his best to block every punch, and Hope did the same, though slightly better than he. Then, something happened. As he threw an upper cut, he mistakenly punched her in the breast, and he punched hard. It wasn't the first time it had happened, and the first time he had a short moment of gloating. This time, he was shocked that he'd done it again.

"Oh, shit!" he gasped. "Hope, I am so—"

He was immediately cut off when she threw a nasty punch to his face, just before hitting his jaw. He was taken aback, and he didn't have time to defend himself. Hope was too fast. She leaped upward, right for him, she hooked her leg around his neck and used her weight to drag him down to the floor. She used the strength of her thighs to keep him in a tight headlock while he groaned with defeat. But suddenly, Hope noticed something that made her nearly panic. His nose was bleeding, and it was bleeding badly. Immediately, Hope let him go.

"Oh, god, Scott!" she exclaimed, and she sprinted to find some tissues. But at this point, he needed a towel instead. Luckily Hank kept a few towels down there, so she brought them over to Scott and he reached for them while trying to pinch his nose and stop the bleeding. But instead of giving one to him, she pressed the towel to his nose and pinched it for him, getting him to lean forward. Guilt washed over her for the first time in a long time. She'd never been so hard that it made him bleed that badly. Sure, she gave him cuts and scrapes, but they were minor and hardly bled. Now he was sitting on the floor with his nose dripping blood nonstop, and she was careful not to be too rough on his nose when she pinched it. He looked up at her.

"It's not broken," he told her, moving his hands to take the towel from her. "I'm fine, let me do this."

"Scott, I already have it pinched and situated where the towel will catch the blood," Hope shook her head. "Don't move."

"Really," Scott tried to speak again. "Hope, I'm fine—"

"—Scott, shut up," Hope cut him off with a stern voice and expression.

With that, he fell silent, and he let her clean him up. To his surprise, she was very gentle with him. She didn't hurt him at all. After a few moments, the bleeding had stopped. Now there was blood all over him and the floor and the towels. It covered his shirt, some of his pants, his hands, and of course, his face. Hope stood after a moment and ran one of the cleaner towels under some water before bringing it to him, kneeling beside him, and she started cleaning his face tenderly, wiping the blood from his skin. He watched her face, and he saw the concern in her eyes. He'd only seen that once, and that was when Hank was shot right in front of her. It was strange seeing it again.

After a while, his face was cleaned up, most of the blood gone. It still soaked his shirt, but otherwise he was clean. "Thank you," he told her.

"I'm sorry," she told him.

"Nah, it's okay," he assured her. "You didn't break it. It happens." He was a little confused. She'd never apologized for hurting him before. Just then, he started to stand, but she stopped him.

"No, Scott," she said. "Don't get up so fast."

Again, there was confusion. "Hope, I'm fine. It's a nosebleed, it happens."

"Fine, but no more sparring, for today at least."

"I swear, I'm fine—"

"—No, Scott, shut up. No more for today."

He couldn't win. With Hope, he never could. So, he sighed, nodding with his agreement. He glanced down at his shirt and hands, blood covered like the towels she'd used to stop the bleeding and clean him. He chuckled. "Damn, you got me good."

Hope decided to play along. "You deserved it, Princess," she chided. "Sorry about your shirt."

That was the Hope he knew. Saying she was more sorry about the shirt than his face. "I'm sure the blood will come out. Where is Hank's laundry room? Might as well wash it here." To his surprise, his pants weren't as bloody as his shirt. Plus, they were dark. The stains weren't noticeable.

Hope stood and helped him to his feet. "Come on, I'll show you," she told him, leading him out of the training room so she could show him the laundry room.

By the time they got there and she turned around, she was surprised to find a shirtless Scott behind her. Her face flushed immediately, as she suddenly found her gaze dropping to look at his abs. They were torn up, covered in bruises and scars. But they were very attractive. She'd always thought that, ever since she first saw him shirtless and had been cleaning his wounds (the ones she gave him) with rubbing alcohol. She swallowed trying to find the words. Meanwhile, Scott was busy looking at the washing machine and setting it for his shirt to be cleaned. Good, he couldn't see the look on her face.

"I hope Hank won't mind me walking around shirtless for a while," Scott chuckled.

Hell, I wouldn't mind, Hope thought to herself. But would she ever admit that? Hell no. "You might get a few weird looks," she chided. "But I'm sure he'll be fine. He's too busy working on the suit to notice anyway, I'm sure."

Scott nodded, knowing that it was probably true that Hank wouldn't even notice. When he looked back at Hope, he caught her looking at his abs, and he smirked with amusement. "Like what you see?" he teased.

Oh, God. He caught her! Instantly, her eyes shot up to meet his for a second before she decided to look to the floor, her face probably bright red.

He chuckled. "Oh, yeah, I totally saw that."

"Shut up," she mumbled, avoiding his gaze.

Scott let out another chortle. "I've never seen you blush like that before."

That made her blush an even deeper shade of red. She had to force herself to look up at his face again, trying to play it off. She crossed her arms to stand her ground, but before she knew it, he grabbed her arms and swooped in for a kiss.

Hope was taken aback, much like the first time he'd done this, but within seconds, she melted into him. Her eyes fluttered shut, and she let out a long, pleased-sounding sigh against his lips. Her knees nearly buckled and gave way, had he not been holding her up like he was. Her heart felt close to bursting as it raced in her chest. No other men had made her feel that way. For what it was worth, Scott Lang was a damn good kisser. Please, Hank, don't come and interrupt. She didn't want this to end, ever.

After they ran out of oxygen, they pulled away, both fighting for air. Scott had a little smirk tugging at the corners of his lips. Hope bit her lip and looked down, her face still flushed a deep shade of red. It took a while for her heart to even think about slowing down.

"Wow," he spoke up. "I gotta say, I like the kissing better than the punching."

She simply rolled her eyes and shoved him gently. "Shut up."

"Come on, admit it, you like it, too."

"Okay, fine," she mumbled. "That was… really good."

"We can do it again if you want," he spoke teasingly, playfully raising his eyebrows. "I wouldn't mind."

Again she rolled her eyes, but she smiled at the same time. Her lips tingled as the kiss seemed to linger on her lips. "Don't get too proud, there, Princess."

"I'm glad you haven't punched me for that yet," he added.

"For what?"

"Stealing a couple of kisses."

"I'll admit, I almost did, but that was when you blamed me for the first time."

He scoffed. "Oh, that was totally your fault."

Again, she shoved him. "Shut up," she giggled. "It was you, and everyone knows it."

"Okay, okay, fine," he said, holding his hands up in surrender. "Want to change the subject?"

"Please," she nodded.

"Okay," Scott said. "So, how's the whole CEO thing going?"

"Oh, god it's stressing the hell out of me already," Hope admitted with a huff. "But it also feels pretty damn good."

"Look at you, all on top of the world. But hey, I want to ask you something."

"Sure, go ahead."

"How can I get an application?"

This caught her off guard. She didn't really expect him to ask that. But she played dumb, anyway. "For what?"

Scott cleared his throat. "Well, I don't have a job, and I need money to pay child support so I can see Cassie more often, have my own place, and so on."

She was in awe as he told her this. "Wow, really?" she whispered. The next thing she said slipped from her before she could even stop it. "Well, the head engineer job is yours, anyway."

His gaze shot up instantly. "Wait, what? Really?"

Hope nodded. "Yeah, really," she told him. "It's yours."

Out of excitement and gratitude, he suddenly hugged her. "Oh, god, thank you, Hope!" he exclaimed. "You have no idea how much this means to me."

"It's nothing, really," she chuckled slightly and hugged him in return. "No need to thank me. You deserve it, after everything."

"God I'm so happy I could kiss you right now—" then he realized what he'd said and he stopped himself. "I mean, uh…"

Hope gave him a simple roll of the eyes and a shake of her head before she pecked his lips. "There," she whispered. It was the perfect chance to do that. She couldn't pass it up.

"That'll work," he smiled. "So… how many others are there to hire?"

"Well, I've hired mostly everyone. I'm still working on finding a new chairman, and an assistant. There aren't many applicants, but it's because we're trying to get the best scientists and others to fill the positions."

"Well, I hope it works out."

"I do, too," she nodded with a bit of a sigh.

He looked into her eyes just then. "You'll be a great CEO. You already are, from what I can tell."

She smiled, flattered. "Well, thank you, Scott. That means a lot." She then glanced back to the floor. Her mind filled with thoughts of work, the stress, and in the back of her mind somewhere, she was thinking about her suit.

Scott noticed that she was thinking and he tried to get her attention. "Hey, whatcha thinking about?"

"Oh, nothing," she lied.

"Come on, something's up. You okay?"

Hope thought for a moment. After a while passed, she sighed and started walking out. "Come with me," she said, waiting for him to follow, and he did.

She took him downstairs to the working space they'd use to plan the heist. Once she typed a code in a keypad on the wall, sliding doors opened, and there was her suit in all its glory. God, she loved looking at it. Images of what she'd look like in it filled her mind and she grinned.

Scott, however, didn't know what was happening. But he was fascinated by the suit. "Wow, that looks amazing! What is it for?"

"It's a Wasp suit prototype that my parents started but never finished," she explained. "But Hank is going to finish it… for me…"

The man's jaw dropped and he turned his gaze to her. "This is yours?"

There was pride on her face as she nodded.

"Wow!" he exclaimed. "It looks incredible. Wait, this means we'll be a team, doesn't it?"

She blushed slightly as she realized that what he said was right. They would be a team, whenever the suit would be finished, that is. "Yeah, it does."

"Life is good," he grinned with his excitement.

"You're damn right it is," she agreed.

"What does it come with? I see wings."

"Yep, wings. It'll have the ability to fly, but only when small. And it comes with 'stingers' that shoot from the arms."

"Damn you get to fly and you have weapons? I'm jealous."

Hope let out a few chuckles. "Oh, come on, Princess, you've done splendidly without weapons or flight."

He crossed his arms pretending to be offended. "Still not fair."

"You're such a child, Scott," she snorted.

This time, he laughed. "I'm just teasing. But seriously, Hope, this is really cool. I'm excited to see how it turns out."

"Oh, so am I," she giggled. "Hopefully it's finished sooner than later. I can't wait."

"It'll be worth it. The best things come to those who wait."

"You're definitely not wrong," Hope agreed.

She knew that he was right because he had to wait so long for something, and the fact that he could start seeing his daughter again made the wait completely worthwhile. She knew for damn sure that it would be the same for her suit, whenever Hank got around to it. Things were really starting to turn around in life, and not just for Hope Van Dyne. Scott Lang's life was finally taking a turn for the better, instead of the worst.