scott x hope oneshots

no one saw us this evening hand in hand

This was a bad idea.

Granted, it had been a good idea at first— she wanted her parents to have some alone time together for the first time since her mother returned from the quantum realm. She also wanted some time for herself, to let her brain process everything that's happened in the past week-and-a-half.

A leisurely tour around San Francisco in the middle of the week seemed relaxing.

So, she wakes up early that day and leaves a note, making sure to mention that she brought along her suit as a precaution and that she picked the most boring, non-descript car in the rally case. She tucks the note underneath an expensive bottle of wine she was saving for this moment, placing it in the middle of the dining table so it wouldn't be missed.

(she bought the wine on whim after her father said that they might be able to rescue her mother; back then, she convinced herself that the $750 bottle was for a special occasion, not just for when her mother comes back.

Then, they had to run)

Her first stop is the Muir Woods park.

In the two years of being chased by the government, it isn't just the intricacies of quantum physics that she's learned from Hank; she picked up a thing or two in the art of surveillance and counter-surveillance as well.

(as he liked to remind her whenever she raised her brow at him when he corrected her during training, aside from being one of SHIELD's preeminent scientists, he was also a field agent)

The FBI might still be pursuing them, but they aren't going to check the place where they got caught.

She takes in the crisp, cold air and quietly trudges through the trail, keeping in mind not to overexert herself. But the twinge in her shoulders and the soreness of her ribs are all but forgotten when she ventures deeper into the woods.

The peace and quiet soothes her, like a balm to her tired, overworked mind.

Before she leaves, she buys a blue bucket hat in the souvenir store and a bagel in the café.

Her next stop is Sausalito. She remembers going here with her parents one summer, eating ice cream while they walked by the waterfront area, counting the boats and the seagulls. She remembers sitting on Hank's shoulders when she got too tired and her dad saying something that made her mom laugh so hard they had to get her a glass of water.

Hank never brought her back here after her mother disappeared.

In Sausalito, she soaks in the sun. Her sunglasses hide half of her face and her hat makes it easier to blend in the crowd.

(Hats aren't exactly the best of disguises—their almost run-in with the feds in Berkeley proves that. Tourists, however, love hats. And the best place to vanish is in a crowd of hat-wearing tourists)

The ferry to San Francisco leaves just before lunch. At the last minute, she decides to grab a ticket and safely tucks the boring, non-descript car in her pocket. She sits beside a lovely couple from Chile and pretends to be absorbed with the guidebook she picked up from an empty chair on her way to the docks.

She lingers long enough in Fisherman's Wharf to snap a picture of the seals lounging in the pier and sends it to Hank. She promptly receives two replies: a smiling face emoji and a long block of text from Hank, explaining that it was Janet who sent the first message— he's teaching her how to text and he thought it would be easier to start with emojis.

Hope laughs and replies only with emojis.

On her way to the tram turnaround, she sees a double decker tour bus dropping off passengers to the wharf and for a moment, she stares at it and considers whether it's a more anonymous alternative to the cable car.