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"If you'd had me there, your team would've never lost." Hope teased with a smirk as she settled into the passenger seat.
Scott's happy grin faltered, then disappeared completely as his brain processed what Hope had just said.
It was difficult to wade through everything that had happened since Hope had shown up on his doorstep. The tiny vehicle they were in, with Hope smiling at him and being out of his house after so many months of being confined there. It was a lot.
It was also a lot of time to think about everything that had happened and everything he'd been through. All the choices he'd made and all the things he'd done that had ended up with him nearly losing his daughter forever. He'd spent a lot of time grovelling to both Maggie and Cassie while listening to Paxton read him the riot act about responsibilities and priorities. He hadn't enjoyed that, but he'd sworn that when he'd been given the plea deal, he would do whatever was necessary to pay his debt.
Neither Hope nor Hank had said much of anything to him after the fiasco in Leipzig and then his return to the States. In fact, he's pretty sure that aside from the tirade Hope had subjected him to for taking the Ant-Man suit in the first place, they hadn't spoken more than ten words to each other.
Now here he was again, jumping at the chance to make a difference, to matter and yet he'd still spent no time thinking about it first. Had he learned nothing? What the hell was he thinking? Oh, that's right. He wasn't thinking. He was risking everything, again, on the word of a woman who, along with her father, had encouraged and supported him in breaking the law. Yet they had both turned their backs on him when he'd fucked up. Granted, it was a pretty royal fuck-up, but had he already forgotten how things had gone last time? Was he really going to do this again? Abandon Cassie for a third time? Really?
"Scott?" Hope called, frowning at him once he drew his attention back to her. "What are you doing? Drive already."
Scott frowned and turned the car off. "Are you serious right now?"
"What?" Hope exclaimed, clearly confused. "What are you talking about? We need to go! Hank needs us."
"Hank needs us?" Scott parrotted. "Why the hell should I care about that? The two of you made it pretty damn clear what you thought of me after what happened in Germany and now, what? You need me? Why? Why would I help you when neither of you could be bothered to even give me the time of day for the entire past year?"
"I... I don't... what brought this on? I thought you wanted to be a hero."
"If you'd been there, my team would've won?!" Scott exclaimed. "What kind of certifiable bullshit is that?! Did it completely escape your mind that Captain America and all his sycophantic friends are all criminals and are still hiding from the law? Or how much damage they did? How many civilians and people just doing their jobs were injured and killed?"
"I... no, I... that's not what I meant." Hope stammered.
"I can't believe you even thought something like that, never mind said it aloud. I've spent the last 364 days paying for what I did and you're making jokes about it, like it means nothing. You sound just as arrogant and conceited as Rogers. Let me guess, you're against the Accords because Hank is against them." Scott scoffed, starting to see Hope with fresh eyes.
"Scott. You don't understand, Hank thinks that with the Pym particles..."
"I don't give a damn about the fucking Pym particles! I can't believe I was stupid enough to even get in this damned car with you! I am not going to risk losing Cassie permanently on some stupid quest you and Hank have cooked up, without even once considering the consequences to me if something goes wrong. Get out of the car and put me back to my proper size, right now." Scott finished, getting out of the car and slamming the door behind him.
He stomped up the steps to his house and picked up the ankle bracelet where it had fallen when Hope shrank him. He sat on the step, behind the alarm line waiting. It was several minutes before Hope climbed out of the car and made her way up the stairs to him.
"I didn't mean to make light of what you went through, Scott."
"Honestly, I don't care what you meant. I bet you haven't even read the Accords, have you?"
"Not all the way through, no." Hope replied, deflating a little.
"So, just like Rogers you rejected oversight because either you or Hank or both of you are so arrogant that you think you're above the law and above everyone else who has to live by it."
"It's... it's not like that. I... it was a stupid thing to say. I'm... sorry."
"Great. Swell. I'm still not gonna help you. Now change me back."
"Cant you please reconsider? It's... it's about my mom."
"Did you not hear me earlier? I am not risking losing Cassie again. Not for you, not for Hank, not for the Avengers. Cassie's the most important thing in my life, and the fact that you don't understand that... well, we really don't have anything else to say to each other."
Hope's face fell, clearly upset, but she squared her shoulders and nodded once. "Alright. Just... keep your leg as straight and as still as possible so the bracelet is in the same place when you're big again."
"Okay." Scott nodded, doing as she said. "Let's do this then."
A moment later, they were both back to normal size, watching Hope with an unreadable expression on his face.
"I..." Hope stammered, before cutting herself off, a flush rising in her cheeks. "I'm sorry, Scott. I almost asked if you might change your mind, but then I realized that you were right. I hate that you were right, because that means I've been just as selfish and self-serving as Hank was with me and I swore I would never do that. But I've clearly failed and if you hadn't said anything, I might never have noticed. I should never have come here and you really don't owe me anything after how I've treated you. Again, I'm sorry. Maybe, when everything I'm involved in is over, maybe we could go for coffee sometime?"
"Yeah, sure." Scott nodded. "That would be nice. Doing something normal would be a nice change."
"Okay, um that's great. Well, I should get going. Take care of yourself, Scott andsay hi to Cassie for me."
"You too." Scott replied. "And good luck with, well, whatever it is you're doing. I hope you find what you're looking for."
"Me too. I'll see you around."
"Yep. I'll be here."
A moment later, Hope had vanished along with the car she'd come in. Scott turned and went back inside, hurrying when the sound of a ringing phone reached his ears.
"Daddy?"
"Hey, pumpkin, what's up? I wasn't expecting to hear from you today. Did something happen?"
"Well, kinda, but not really." Cassie said, hesitating.
"Come on sweetheart, I know you're upset. You can tell me anything, I'll always listen."
"But it's true! Nothing happened, not really, I just had a bad dream."
"Tell me about it."
"It's silly though. You were all tiny again and you were in a really tiny car and then you were doing something really dangerous and then you were just gone! Gone like you died or something even worse! I couldn't find you, no one could find you! You were gone forever and it was horrible!"
"Hey, hey sweetpea, it's okay. I'm here, I'm right here and I'm not going anywhere."
"I told you it was stupid!" Cassie cried. "You can't be small anymore, that mean old man took that bug suit back, right? You don't have it anymore, so you can't be tiny again."
"That's right. I don't have it anymore, and like I said, I'm not going anywhere."
"Do you promise?"
"I promise sweetie. I'm never leaving you again, not for anything."
"Not even to go be a superhero?" Cassie asked, her voice small.
"You know what? Being a good dad is the only kind of superhero I want to be. That's all I want now, is to be here for you."
"Oh! Okay, well that's good. Hey dad, can we go for ice cream tomorrow? You can go out after today, right? You don't have to stay home anymore?"
"We can do anything you want, sweetie. We can anywhere you want after today."
"Good. I can't wait! By daddy, see you tomorrow!"
*fin