scott x hope oneshots

i couldn't hide from the thunder, in a sky full of song

Existing without pain is something Ava never knew she would ever experience.

Existing without pain is freeing, it's Ava waking up in the morning and laying there for a moment. Breathing deep and feeling her arms and legs and chest settle; they don't move, she doesn't move and existing without pain is so new and different, but so beautiful.

Existing without pain...existing without pain is finding a family she never knew she needed. Bill stays with her, promises he won't leave her side and he is the father she lost so long ago; he is now the figure and pillar of strength she once confided in. And there's Scott, and Janet, and Hank; and then there's-

Hope.

It happened the very day she was healed by Janet. Hope's mother held to her cheeks and let her tears meet her skin, she felt her body come to an all-consuming halt and she let herself sob; because she could feel again, and her body stopped tearing itself apart, all thanks to the woman she almost killed.

There is a shame that runs through Ava in that moment, in that moment of Janet warmly pressing their foreheads together, that she ever thought of ripping this woman's life away from her. Make her go through the same pain Ava did.

When she gasps, tears tracing down her cheeks, she looks into Janet's eyes and then to just over her shoulder; to Hope who is looking on in quiet awe. Ava squeezes her eyes shut, falling into the older woman's arms.

Her cells settle, she does not scream. Ava feels alive again.

-

"Would you have really killed her?"

Ava blinks once, twice, tucks a stray piece of her hair behind her ear when Hope asks the question. She is sitting next to Hope in the back of the truck, the other woman tinkering with the miniaturized Quantum Tunnel. She's not even looking at Ava when she asks it, biceps flexing as she tightens one particular stubborn compartment.

Hank, off to the side, decides to busy himself somewhere else; clearing his throat awkwardly as he overhears his daughter. Scott widens his eyes with a "Yikes" and lets himself be yanked away by a disapproving Hank.

Ava swallows once, frowns to her fidgeting hands. Even though she is healed, she's so used to moving it's like a nervous tick now. So she plays with her fingers, closing her eyes and gathering her thoughts.

"Do you want my honest answer? Or one that will make you not hate me."

Hope listens to Ava's accented words, sighing as she puts down her tools, leaning her palms on the floor of the truck. "I don't hate you."

Ava tilts her head, eyes narrowing as she watches Hope's movements. "I think you do," Hope finally looks to the other woman, eyebrow raised as Ava elaborates. "And I don't blame you. The pain was so excruciating that it took over my thoughts, my entire mind. Anything to stop it, I would have done."

Hope's expression softens, listening to the other woman's words. She opts to lean against the truck, folding her arms and giving Ava her undivided attention. This throws Ava slightly, but she continues, swallowing once at Hope's nod for her to keep talking.

"That included taking your mother's life to save mine. But I'm..."

Ava closes her eyes softly, eyes glassy as regret fills her senses. She thinks of Janet's healing touch, her voice, how she was a light to Ava in that moment and how she took her pain; melted it in her very hands.

"I'm sorry, for what it's worth. I can honestly say that I...wouldn't be alive if it weren't for your mother, Hope. She saved my life."

Hope smiles softly, she looks to her mother, who is near by working on other compartments, and Ava follows her gaze. "Yeah, she's good at that huh?"