"Oh, c'mon, Hope," Scott whines. "You can't keep shooting down every suggestion I have."

Hope turns her attention from the TV in front of them to send him a glare. She is sitting on his couch (with him!), shoes off and legs folded underneath herself. Scott managed to not only convince her to join him for some "Netflix and chill" - and he can already feel the impact of Hope's fist if she knew that's what he called it in his head - at his house, but he also convinced her that his house would be the best location. While Scott may be able to admit it more readily than Hope, neither of them wants Hank to interrupt another moment.

"I can if they're all stupid ideas," she says after a moment.

"Okay, then maybe you should pick."

Hope shoots him a grin before turning back to the TV, and Scott gets the feeling that is what she has wanted the whole time.

"Why is Michael Bolton's Big, Sexy Valentine's Day Special in your queue?" she asks a few moments later.

Scott takes his gaze off of Hope and turns to the television in front of them. He squints a little at the TV in concentration before shrugging. "Must be one of Luis's," he tells her, waving his hand dismissively.

Hope just hums in reply. With her no-nonsense haircut, she looks like she could a school principal or a librarian or something. But he also kind of digs it, so he doesn't know what that says about him. "And The Magic School Bus is for Cassie?" she asks.

Scott gives her a sheepish smile. "I mean, yeah, but it's also kinda entertaining? And educational! Plus, it's magical, Hope. And we all need a little magic in our lives." He gives her his goofy little smile, eyes crinkling at the corners and dimples on display.

Scott is laying on the embellishments a little thick in an attempt to get at least a smile out of Hope. He knows she was hesitant to come over to his place, but he also knows she wouldn't be here if she didn't want to be. Absolutely no one on this earth could make Hope do something she didn't want to do.

He is vindicated when she gives him a small smile and meets his eyes. Scott watches as Hope's smile slips from her face and her brows knit together. Without warning, the atmosphere in the room has shifted, and he isn't quite sure what caused it.

He frowns before clearing his throat. "Everything okay, Hope?" he asks quietly. Whatever is going on in that genius head of hers, he does not want her to feel like he is pressing for details she is not ready to give.

Enough time has passed since his question that he was about to start spouting off Netflix suggestions again in an attempt to prevent an awkward silence. "I never believed in magic, you know," she says.

Okay...? Scott thinks to himself, not really sure where is going with her. She is generally a reserved person, but Scott likes to think he has gotten good at reading her cues over the last few months of training. Right now, though, it is like he is staring at a brick wall in profile.

Unsure what to say but wanting to say something, Scott takes a deep breath. Before he can say anything, however, he sees Hope shudder.

Is she crying?

Before Scott can say anything - ask if she is okay, make a joke, diffuse the (emotional?) tension - she turns to face him.

Hope's eyes, beautiful as always, are red-rimmed and brimming with tears. She takes and shuddering breath and clasps her hand to her mouth. Scott can feel his features soften, and he wants nothing more at that moment than to wrap Hope in the tightest hug either of them can bear.

He doesn't do that, though. In fact, Scott is careful not to say or do anything that might give Hope the slightest inkling that her tears are too much for him.

"Hope," Scott begins softly, "I'm here if you want to talk. Or if you want to just binge something on TV. Maybe Friends?" he muses. "Or maybe some stupid action movie? Like Die Hard. Die Hard is an action movie right?" Scott fully realizes he is rambling right now, but the words are tumbling out of his mouth faster than his brain can process.

Hope gives a wet little laugh at his monologue. She untucks her legs from where they were wedged between her body and arm of the couch, placing them on the ground. "I think I should go," she murmurs.

Scott stands at the same time Hope does, desperate to give her a reason, any at all, to stay. Because he knows with absolute certainty that if she walks out his door now, they will never get another chance at whatever this thing between them is. And he desperately wants to give them a chance. They might have only had the one kiss, but Scott doesn't want to imagine a world where he never gets to kiss Hope again - where he never gets the chance to hold her in his arms or to run his fingers through her hair or to wake up next to her in the morning.

Scott shocks himself at the last thought, startled by the seriousness of his own subconscious.

"Look, I know I might not be the most reliable guy, but I do care about you, Hope. A lot," he adds against his will, his mouth once more running away from him. "And I really, really don't want you to leave. But if you want to go, I'm not gonna force you to stay or anything. I just..." Scott trails off, before taking another deep breath. "I just want to spend time with you. I don't care if you're happy or sad or even angry at me." He's close to begging now, but he doesn't know what else to do.

Hope stares at him blankly, eyes still red-rimmed but tears no longer threatening to fall. She sniffles before taking a careful step forward, and then another and another until she is all but pressed against him, her face buried into his shoulder.

Scott stands stock still in shock at the unexpected physical contact but manages to kick his last two brain cells into gear so that he can bring his arms around. He has one arm around her waist and the other on her hair, stroking gently as he would if Cassie was upset.

"It's okay, I've got you. You're okay," he whispers into her ear. He feels her mouth move against his shoulder and can hear the muffled sound of words as she says something.

"Can you say that again, honey?" he asks gently, completely unaware of the term that slipped out of his mouth. He strokes her hair one more time before gently placing both of his ends on either side of her face. He puts enough distance between them that he can look her in the eyes, and his heart hurts for her as he spots the tear tracks that weren't there a few minutes ago.

"Thank you," Hope repeats eyes studiously avoiding his own. He pushes and an errant lock of hair behind her eyes and gives her a soft smile. Scott mentally curses as it seems that his fingers have joined his traitorous mouth.

"Anything you need, Hope," he tells her, and it might be the most serious he's been in a long time. He tugs her closer for a moment, planting a whisper of a kiss on her temple.

"I don't just mean for not kicking me out of your house once I turned into some teary-eyed damsel," she says, self-deprecating. Before Scott can argue her words, she continues. "I meant for everything you did for my family."

"Hey, you never have to thank me for that. I know it was...strained between us at first, but I wanted to help. I wanted to prove to myself that I was capable. And maybe a small part of me wanted to live up to the superhero Cassie has always believed I was," he admitted as an afterthought.

"Scott," she says, almost exasperated, and now she sounds a little more like her usual self. Obviously, he is missing something because he is still not quite she what she is trying to insinuate.

Hope takes a deep breath, the hand on his back absentmindedly tracing patterns. She places her other hand on his shoulder - the one not covered in her tears - and stares resolutely at her own fingers. "I meant," she says, "for my mom. Scott, you went subatomic and you came back. I know you heard my dad talking about it before, but you have no idea how much that means to either of us. The fact that my mom might not only still be alive but that we might also be able to save her? You, Scott Lang, gave me that. No one else."

"Oh," Scott says, too shocked at Hope's emotional outpouring to formulate a reply. "Um, you're welcome? Happy to help? I'm not really sure what to say-"

The beginning of another rambling monologue is cut of by the press of Hope's lips on his. His heart stutters in his chest and before he can even respond, Hope is already pulling away. "Um..." he starts but stops abruptly.

Hope lets out a genuine laugh at his lack of response. "Finally found a way to make you shut up," she teases, eyeing him through her lashes.

Scott's brain feels too fuzzy to come up with words, so he just pulls Hope in for another kiss. The hands on either side of her face travel downwards, one coming to rest low on his waist and the other on the back of her head, uncaring of how mused her how might be when they part. Hope's hands - one on his shoulder and one on his back - slide up to wrap around his neck He presses her closer in the same moment that she steps into him, and Scott losses what little rational thought he had left when he feels Hope's entire body pressed against him.

When he slips his tongue into her mouth, he can feel Hope's moan reverberate through his entire body. With a groan and more willpower than he thought he possessed, Scott pulls away from Hope. He peppers a few kisses along her hairline before pulling further away.

They are both panting, gulping in oxygen by the mouthfuls. Scott is gratified to see Hope is as affected by what happened as it he because damn if that didn't make his entire body light up.

"So, uh, that happened. Like, that actually, really happened," Scott says to himself, though it is obvious Hope hears his comments. Her eyes shine at him, and he grins unabashedly at her. If he could live in this moment forever, he would die a happy man.

Hope Van Dyne laughs at him, hair mussed and lips swollen, and he is in utter bliss.

Scott clears his throat. "So, uh, do you still wanna watch Netflix?"

Scott shoots him a look he can't interpret before shaking her head. "Hey, Scott?"

"Yeah?" he manages, watching as she slowly leans into him.

"Shut up," Hope says before pressing her lips to his once again. So he does as he is told, and kisses Hope with his whole being.