Hope comes home one day to find their daughter covered in chocolate stains, much to her horror. "Mommy! I miss you!", Hailey runs to her as soon as she steps foot into the house, clinging to her leg, and Hope's eyes bug out in surprise to see her face, fingers and palms smudged with chocolate.
Oh dear.
"Hey baby, I've missed you too.", she tries hard to squeeze out a smile, and she bends down to her level to inspect the beautiful and sticky mess she's in. "Did daddy give you chocolate?"
Hailey nods in delight, the sides of her lips curling up forming a wide smile, revealing a row of white neat baby teeth.
"Come here, let's clean you up.", Hope silently cringes. Scott was going to get a earful from her. She takes her small hand in hers and walks into the living room, hoping to find her husband.
"Scott? I was only away for a few hours and our daughter's covered in...", her gaze falls on Scott, who's lying on his stomach with his elbows propped up on the floor supporting him, intently studying what seems like a security floorplan and their ten-month-old son, Hayden, climbing all over him. He subsequently settles himself over his father's shoulders, his chubby hands reaching out to yank Scott's hair.
"Ouch.", Scott fakes discomfort, and he turns around to face their son. He pulls a silly face and Hayden's face scrunches up into a giggle.
"...chocolate.", Hope finishes her sentence, standing in front of him, still staring at the adorable sight before her. She can't pretend it's not making her heart melt.
"Hope! You're back! Your son has been climbing all over me like I'm a playground.", Scott chuckles as he looks up at her and his gaze shifts to their daughter, immediately understanding the situation. "Oh.", a sheepish smile breaks on his face, and he awkwardly runs a hand through his hair.
"Oh yes Scott.", her absentminded smile transitions into a glare in a split second. "How many did you give her? You know she's not supposed to have too many..."
"It was a reward for finishing her vegetables today and I only gave her a small piece, I swear. She couldn't have..."
Hailey giggles, feigning innocence. Even at a tender age, they have come to realise she's as cheeky as her father.
"You took another from the kitchen table did you?", Scott squints in suspicion. She was agile at climbing and reaching for high places.
"Scott, she has climbed onto the kitchen table before.", Hope recalls. Hailey had started climbing all over the house since the age of two, always trying to scale new heights, which occasionally, had given them heart attacks.
"Ma-ma!", their son tumbles to the floor from Scott's back and crawls to Hope, his entire face lighting up, clearly excited to his mother. He was a perfect mosaic of his parents, with soft dark hair, his father's eyes in the middle, a pair of dimples and a smile that would make the hardest of hearts melt.
"Hey sweetheart. I've missed you.", Hope picks him up, easily bouncing him on her hip.
"Ma-ma.", he babbles, his small fist clutching the collar of her blouse. He starts to fuss the moment he sees her, wanting to feed.
"Someone's hungry.", Scott comments. Quickly, he scrambles up from the floor, giving Hope a chaste kiss on her lips. He turns to their daughter, kneeling down to her level. They always made sure to bend down while talking to their children, ensuring proper eye contact. His brows knit close together, "You're not supposed to take another piece of chocolate Hailey, not without my permission." He calls her by her name to let her know he's serious, even though he's speaking to her gently.
"Sorry daddy.", she hangs her head a little, feeling guilty, flashing her sad puppy dog eyes.
"It's alright cookie.", he ruffles her dark hair. The moment he saw her sad face, he just didn't have the heart to reprimand her more. He just couldn't. And he knows she's smart enough to realise her mistake.
"We'll give it to you if you ask properly.", Hope bends down a little to stroke her cheek. "Now, daddy will give you a bath. Right Scott?", she shoots him a glance.
"Right. Ok. Let's go!", Scott picks their daughter up, putting her over his shoulders, making her squeal with laughter, and head out from the living room.
"Or shall I just turn on the sprinklers in the garden so you can run around and clean yourself?"
"Yay!", Hailey giggles louder at her father's idea.
"Scott! Don't you dare!", Hope calls out sternly, and she wonders if he does that when she's not at home. Hence, she thinks it's never a good idea to leave Scott with the kids alone.
"Just joking!", he hollers back.
...
Hope finds it hard to concentrate on the paperwork she's going through as her attention is diverted by the tiny hands that's grasping the edge of her work desk, a mop of dark hair bobbing up and down, and a pair of beautiful big green eyes peeking at her. It also doesn't help that Scott's lying down on the leather couch in her office, happily bouncing their son on his abdomen, pulling silly faces, making him erupt into a fit of giggles. It's distracting and she's not going to lie, it's making her melt into a puddle.
After the war, Hope and her parents had rebuild Pym Tech, and she had naturally assumed the position of chairman, again.
She hadn't catch a glimpse of the soft toy that Hailey was holding until she comes running into her, having decided to stop hiding from her mother. Hope lets her sit on her lap. "Mommy, look at my bunny! He's cute.", she happily shows it to her mother. Hope smiles in response, but places a scrutinising gaze at the soft toy. It definitely wasn't the definition of cute. It was an ugly bunny, the exact same toy that Scott had gave Cassie years ago.
"Scott, where did she get that? Did you give it to her?", she stares at his direction.
"Maybe?", he replies half-heartedly. Scott's carrying Hayden above him, blowing imaginary bubbles at his tummy, to which he adores.
She glowers at him but he pretends not to notice. "She's going to get nightmares Scott."
"Daddy says bunny will protect Hailey."
Scott grins. Their toddler was at the age of possessing a wild imagination, often thinking that there's monsters hiding under her bed or in the closet. He had to reassure her that the ugly bunny will protect her when she's asleep during the night.
"Ok. But you're putting her to bed the whole week.", Hope says dryly.
It was a daunting task settling their daughter into bed. It was like she turned into a completely different person. She was a brilliant sleeper before this but it all went downhill when she turned three. Often times, she would wail, scream, and protest which tested the limit of patience of her parents. She often wanted them to cuddle in bed with her, especially Hope. Furthermore, her separation anxiety at this age was another added problem.
"She'll sleep with us then.", Scott retorts. He sits up on the couch and places Hayden on his thighs.
Hailey squeals and claps her hands in delight, a happy smile blossoming on her pretty little face, her eyes brightening. She's clearly pleased with her father's suggestion. Annoyance appears on Hope's face immediately. She sees the satisfying smirk he's wearing and she continues to glare at him with disbelief. "Looks like someone is getting a taste of how the couch feels like today.", she replies snarkily.
"If you can sleep without me.", he teases her cockily.
God, she hates him when he's cocky but at the same time she finds him irresistible when he does that. She couldn't yell at him, not in front of the children. "Fine, but our kids won't be there to protect you tonight."
He turns his head to look at her, his eyes gleaming mischievously, a charming smile etching on his boyish face. "Hope, you can do anything to me."
Colour rises on her face when he casts her a cheeky glance. Damn him. She just might.