Ant-Man's Best Friend (Hank Pym x Dog Reader)

Hope's... Hope

The starry reflection of the bright lamp leapt onto the windowpane, flickering against the backdrop of the evening sky, now a deep, murky blue as the hours slowly ticked on. In the midst of this tranquil night scene, a man, sat at a desk, grumbled, adjusting the light to better focus upon the papers set in front of him, covered in scrawls of quick, murky black ink pressings. He reflected upon, in the silence of his own mind, how long it seemed he had been at work today. While in the comforts of his own home, every waking hour was poured into a semblance of scientific work. But, naturally, when one finds themselves to be as important in their vast field as Hank Pym had found himself to be, it seemed inevitable that anything else would come secondary.

"Daddy!" a squeal broke his sequence of thoughts, a shrill reminder that there was more to his life, more so now than ever before, than mere laboratory work. It was his daughter, the very apple of his eye, the ever-bright and inquisitive Hope. For her age, she was very precocious and markedly intelligent.

"Yes, dear?" he swiveled in his chair to face the young child, a tired grin adorning his visage.

"I wanna tell you something." the girl smiled, the typical mischievous, yet endearing, twinkle of an eager youngster sparkling in her eyes.

"Go ahead." Hank took a moment to set down his pen, a minute plastic thud of the object meeting the wood of the table signaling that the youth had her father's full attention.

"I've decided I want a pet. My stuffed animals just won't do it anymore! They're no fun to play with or brush and you can't actually feed them or walk them." she sighed, as if exasperated, waving around her small hands.

From the moment he became a dad, Dr. Pym had known this to be an inevitability. All children, at one point or another, seem to badger their parents for a furry, feathery, or fishy companion. In his own youth, now a fond memory, he recalled pestering his parents for an ant farm. Deriving from this thought was the perfect solution to his daughter's request. Turning to his side, he held his hand out, allowing a ruddy-red ant, which had previously preoccupied itself roaming about the desk with a few fellow insect compatriots, to crawl upon it. He then held it out proudly to Hope.

"Here you go, kid! What're you going to name it?" he beamed, pleased with the ease of this situation. Being such a busy family, Hank knew that they simply didn't have time to care for an animal.

"What? An ant? Dad, really?" Hope refused to touch the ant, seeming rather repulsed.

"What's wrong? It's cute! They're easy to keep, too. And very smart, and strong. Did you know that ants are capable of-"

"Yes, I know! You've told me a thousand times! I don't want an ant! I don't want any bugs! They're everywhere! I want something I can play with, and hug!" the child wouldn't be budged.

"You can play with and hug an ant. You just have to put your mind to it." For better or for worse, her father was also unrelenting, proving quite a worthy foe.

"No, you can't! It's not the same! I want a doggie! Or a kitty! Or a pony!" she cheered.

"Dear, we've talked about this, we don't have the space for a pony." a melodic female voice appeared from the doorway. It was Janet, Hank's beloved wife, peering in. Her eyes shifted to meet those of her husband, the latter of whom was desperately hoping her addition would provide a voice of reason to this conversation.

"But you and dad are gone all the time. I get lonely." Hope pouted, puffing her bottom lip and rolling out the saucer eyes. Part of her childhood intelligence involved a knack for manipulating her folks.

"I know you do, dear. Your father and I will see what we can do." Janet moved to give her daughter a tender hug. Hank simply sighed and shook his head, knowing he was defeated, yet a smile had tugged the creases of his now worn face. At the end of the day, even if it meant losing his wit at the expense of adding a non-insect creature to their menagerie, his wish to see his daughter happy exceeded any one trouble.