Hank Pym, the pacifist hero

Life goes on

thewasp-janetvandyne

“It’s a possibility,” She had replied. “But you’re pretty easy on the eyes too. Plus, men with children or dogs are almost always 10 times cuter than they are when alone.” Really, Hank should give himself more credit. He was a very handsome man and she couldn’t help but feel a little smug that he was with her.

She smiled when their house came into view. She chuckled at Hank’s description of Queenie. It was hard to not talk about her like she was a person. For an animal, she really had her own personality. She unbuckled as Hank pulled the car into the driveway and finally stopped. She opened the door and got out, taking a minute to stretch. She chuckled when she heard Ollie’s excited cry.

“Well, you can’t blame him. He likes to wiggle a lot and he can’t in that seat.” She said, shutting the door. “Not that we can talk. I mean, we were pretty curious and adventurous children too.” She knew she for one hated having to be strapped down. She gave her parents a tough time every time. Though, her mom always had some kind of candy to bribe her with to get her to cooperate,

She looked up at the sky and nodded at Hank’s statement. She opened the backdoor of the car and grabbed the baby bag, her briefcase, and Hank’s as well before walking over to the front door of the house.

Hank followed Jan, taking his messenger bag from her to help her out, and they got inside.  “Here you go, Sunshine.”  He carried Ollie to the entrance to the living room and let him walk on his own to the pile of big plastic construction blocks that was in a corner of the room.  The baby ended up crawling on all fours across the living room, too happy to see his toys again.

He dropped his bag on the kitchen table and turned to Jan.  “You know, as I watch Ollie, and from what you’ve been telling me, you must have been quite a handful as a child.”  He smiled at her, imagining a little Jan running around while her mother tried to catch her, getting dirty or asking a million questions.  He was glad that Jan’s mother seemed to have understood what it meant to be a child, and let Jan be one, despite their social rank and conventions, or what other people might say or think.  

“Alright…  I’ll take this to my office for later.  I don’t really feel like starting to grade those essays right now.”  He picked up his bag and headed for the room across the hall, only to come back a few seconds later.  “What about you?  Did you bring a lot of work?”  He had that crooked smile on his face, implying he hoped she didn’t.

Life goes on

thewasp-janetvandyne

Jan chuckled and took Ollie. “Now, now. I don’t think you need any more fiber. We feed you regularly.” She said. Ollie just grinned at her and giggled. “You silly bug.” She said, giving him a kiss on the forehead which made him giggle again. She looked at Hank and smiled. “Well, maybe if I’m holding him the college girls will stop giggling and eyeing you.” She replied, smiling. She knew she had nothing to worry about, but she always did like teasing him about it.

They made it back to the car fairly quickly and after a little bit of fussing and fighting to get Ollie in the car seat, they were on the road headed back to their countryside home. “I can’t wait to be back! I wonder how Queenie is doing? You think she decided to go and start a colony or whatever a group of ants are called?” Queenie had been such a sweetheart and Jan had grown fond of her and even the two ants that liked chilling at her apartment.

Hank finished packing the things he needed to work from home and shouldered his messenger bag.  He looked at Jan, brows furrowed.  “What girls?”  For a smart man he sometimes seemed clueless about certain things.  “Aw, come on.  They were only looking at Ollie because he’s cute.”  He was aware that some girls were probably fangirling, but he always assumed it was because of his status as a founding Avenger more than anything else.  He looked over at Jan, his smile suddenly a lot less confident.  “…  don’t you think?”  

He shook his head and followed Jan to the car, patiently waiting for Ollie to settle in his car seat.  The baby liked being on the road and watching the landscape go by, but hated being strapped down in his seat.  But as soon as Hank started driving, Ollie giggled happily and started babbling to himself, probably describing for his parents everything he was seeing along the road.

Hank smiled at Jan.  “I don’t know.  Queenie has shown to be rather independent.  I’m not sure she’ll want to settle down.”  It was a bit funny how they talked about that little winged ant as though it was a person.  “But we’ll know soon enough.”  

A few minutes later they arrived home, and Ollie started fidgeting and whimpering again.  “It’s okay, Ollie, we’re home now.”  Hank got out of the car, hoping this whining phase would pass soon, and let Ollie out of his car seat.  “Dada!”  the baby blurted happily, now that he was free.  Hank turned to Jan and chuckled.  “Well… at least it’s easy to make him happy!”  He looked at the sky as the surroundings darkened.  “Let’s go inside.  Looks like a thunderstorm is coming our way.”

Life goes on

thewasp-janetvandyne

Jan smiled as she looked out the car window as they pulled into the parking lot. It had been a long while since she’d been anywhere near a college campus. The campus was nice and obviously well taken care of. She opened the car door after Hank had parked and got out, taking a minute to stretch and admire the campus. She followed Hank as he began walking.

She smiled at the greetings that Hank got as he walked by. She heard and saw a few girls ‘ooo-ing’ and ‘aww-ing’ over seeing Hank with Ollie. She chuckled a little, it seemed that was a common thing among women. She also caught a few of the college guys doing double takes as she walked by. That made her smile. ‘Still got it.’ She thought to herself. She looked around the office as they arrived and smiled. “This is so you! Everything is in it;s place and suitably professor-esque.” She said, chuckling.She caught sight of the pictures on his desk and smiled. She missed seeing their Avenger teammates every day, but life had taken a very different turn for her and Hank.

She heard commotion in the hall and stepped out of the office. She was surprised that there were still so many students around. They were probably turning in their final papers, she figured. She watched one young woman, in her early 20s walk up the hall with a four or five year old little girl. It made Jan smile. She turned back to the office. “Got everything?” She asked, “Ollie isn’t trying to take anything he shouldn’t?” She added, chuckling. Kids were curious and Ollie doubly so.

Now that he thought about it, it was a bit strange that Jan had never seen his office before, contrary to him who had been to Jan’s office on several occasions.  But he often had to out of necessity since Ollie’s day care was in the same building as Jan’s office.  He let her take her time to take a look around, a bit embarrassed at the messy desk he had left the day before.  But Jan knew him, and this would hardly surprise her.

He smiled at her question, and was about to answer that Ollie was behaving, when he realized the baby had taken a pencil and was about to chew happily on it.  Hank took the pencil and put it back while Ollie pouted at his father, the perfect picture of his mother.   He went to Jan.  “Here, you should take him while I pack a few things.”

He gave her the baby and grabbed all the papers on his desk to make a neat pile before shoving it in his messenger bag.  He looked up at Jan with a crooked smile.  “At least with Ollie in your arms, those college guys might not eye you as intensely.”  It still unnerved him a bit when other men were checking Jan out, but a lot less than it used to.  It may had something to do with the fact that he now had full confidence in Jan, and a better confidence in himself.  And besides, those boys were barely of legal age.  Not a real threat.

He unplugged his laptop and put it in the bag, before swinging it over his shoulder.  “All set!  I’ll probably be correcting term papers for the next two days…  but at least I’ll be home with you and Ollie.”  He headed for the door, motioning Jan to precede him.  

Life goes on

thewasp-janetvandyne

Jan made a face at the medicine bottle, but knew it was necessary. It was a bit of a struggle to get him to take it, but after a little negotiation and a promise f a piece of candy afterwards it went smoothly. She followed Hank out the door and into the car. When they got on the road she looked behind them to see Ollie happily sucking on the lollipop she had given him as a reward for taking the antibiotics.

She turned to Hank and smiled. “I’d love to see your office space! I bet it’s nice. Do you have a lot of students who come to ask for help?” Hank was an amazing teacher. He had a lot of patience, even with the people who had a hard time with learning. She was still impressed that he was almost always able to find ways to explain things in a way that made sense to others. Well, at least when he wasn’t too excited and talking with scientific words. She wasn’t sure how anyone could understand those words, but it was probably a scientist thing. It made her chuckle a little thinking about it.

Hank smiled at Jan’s bribe for Ollie.  Anything that could make him take his antibiotics was good enough for him.  It’s not like it was a habit for them to give Ollie sweet treats in order to make him do something.  

He chuckled a bit.  “It’s nothing fancy, but it’s enough for me.  And yes, I do get quite a few students coming in with questions, especially close to mid-terms or final exams.”  It had been a bit busier at first, since there was a bit of a hype about having an actual Avenger teaching at Grayburn, but now the students coming in were genuinely interested in the subject rather than the teacher.  It didn’t stop quite a few from fanboying or fangirling though.

They arrived at the college and Hank parked the car.  He got out and went to take Ollie, and waited for Jan before striding to the front entrance with them.  There weren’t a lot of students around, since this was mid-term, but there were a few recognizable faces passing by with a smile and a “Hey Professor Pym!” as a greeting.  Hank smiled back and headed left, to his office.  

He had taken the position after learning that Jan was pregnant, as a way to have a more normal lifestyle now that they’d become a family, but in the year or so since, he had managed to personalize his office enough that Jan would probably say right away it was his, even without the Dr. Henry Pym, biochemistry written on the door .  

There were shelves to one side, filled to full capacity with books, a filing cabinet where he kept all the exams and the essays the students had written, on top of which stood (unsurprisingly) an ant farm.  He had a few pictures, one of the original Avengers plus Steve, one of him as a kid with his father and grandfather, on a lake, during a fishing trip, and one of Jan in a close-up holding baby Ollie in her arms.  There was also two posters on the walls, one of a cell with all its organelles, and the other one of a somewhat esoteric drawing of a strange circle made up of chemical names that no one could pronounce bearing the title The Krebs Cycle.  Ollie was looking around, eyes wide open in awe.

His laptop was still on his messy desk, the screen saver on.  "Okay, I’ll just grab my things and we’ll be good to go.“

Life goes on

thewasp-janetvandyne

Jan blushed lightly, she was still getting used to Hank being so free with complimenting her. Her heart still fluttered like a school girl when he complimented her. She chuckled at Ollie’s reaction to her. She reached out and took him from Hank and looked him over. “Oh my! Don’t you look handsome! Daddy did a good job!”

Ollie made a grunting noise and pointed at himself. “Oh~ You helped daddy, huh? Well, you’ve got a good fashion sense, wiggle worm.” She said,smiling. She looked at Hank. “I guess all that’s left is to finish packing up the baby bag. I have all of my papers still in my briefcase and I have plenty of clothes in Creskill.” She stated as she moved into the living room.

She picked up her briefcase from where she had dropped it by the door and sat it by the baby bag. She sat down on the couch, setting Ollie in her lap, and pulled the baby bag to her. She began to look through it to see what what they might need to put in it, of anything. Ollie decided that he wanted to help as well and leaned forward to the bag as well, which startled Jan and she almost dropped him.

She grabbed him quickly and sat back.”Ollie! I appreciate the sentiment, but you gotta give me a warning, first!” She said, holding back a chuckle. She looked to Hank. “The bag looks good to me. We can restock it in Creskill.” She said as she stood up. She grabbed her briefcase and smiled. “Guess we’re ready.”

Hank smiled to himself at Jan’s slight blush.  It was just so easy to make her happy, all he had to do was actually pay attention to her.  That was basically all she had ever asked for and his heart bled a bit at the thought that he could have avoided so many heartaches just by being more present and not take her for granted.  He sighed inwardly, determined to never go back to these bad habits of his.  Jan deserved better.

He nodded at Jan when she mentioned the baby bag.  Good thing too, because he would have probably forgotten about it.  He looked around as she stood up to make sure they weren’t forgetting anything and his eyes fell on the bottle of antibiotics for Ollie.  “Wait!  We’ll be needing this.  Actually…”  He looked at the time.  “…  he should get another dose before leaving.”  

It took a bit more negotiation than the previous night to get Ollie to take the antibiotics, but they were finally ready to go.  Hank grabbed the baby bag and Jan’s briefcase while she kept Ollie in her arms, and they exited the apartment.  Before long they were on their way to the college.  “I’m not going to be very long.  But you can come with me, of course.”

Life goes on

thewasp-janetvandyne

Jan giggled a little as she saw Hank jump from being brought back to the present. He was always doing that and she thought it was adorable. She nodded at his suggestion. “Alrighty. I’ll hold down the fort.” Not that it would take long. Hank was much quicker to get dressed and ready than she was. She just liked making sure that she looked her best. Not that is was hard to do, but a little extra effort never hurt.

She jostled Ollie a bit and shifted him to her other hip. “You’re getting heavy little one.” She said, chuckling. It was the healthy foods Hank made sure he ate. He was growing like a weed and pretty soon would probably be too big to hold in a few weeks. She looked up as Hank came back and smiled as Ollie reached for Hank. She handed him to Hank happily. “I promise I won’t take too long.” She said. “Don’t get into trouble while I’m gone!” She said, jokingly as she started heading towards the room.

She walked over to her closet and entered it. She looked around slowly. She had things here much more organized than anywhere else. Her hero costumes, she couldn’t bear to get rid of any of them, were on one side and her work clothes were at the back. On the other side were her other clothes. Ranging from casual, to formal. She didn’t want to go too casual. After all, Hank was a teacher there and she didn’t want to look sloppy. Hank had been in a casual college teacher outfit, so maybe she should go with a sundress? The weather wasn’t too bad yet. So it wouldn’t be too cold and she would fit in on the college scene.

She grabbed a white halter top white one with a sweetheart neckline and light blue roses around the bottom. She quickly put it on and went into the bathroom and reached into her make-up box and pulled out a light pink lipstick and put it on. Then grabbed some eyeliner and mascara. She put them on expertly and then stood back and admired her work. She nodded at the image she saw. ‘I could probably pass for a college student.’ She thought, chuckling a bit. She then headed back to the kitchen to her guys.

“I’m done! I told you guys it wouldn’t take long!” She said as she entered.

Hank chuckled.  “Don’t worry, we’ll behave.”  He watched as Jan left for the bedroom, and turned his attention to Ollie.  “Your turn to get dressed now, little man, while Mommy gets ready.”  

He went to Ollie’s little bedroom and hesitated a second.  Jan was usually the one picking out Oliver’s clothes, as he sometimes lacked fashion sense.  He sat Ollie on the changing table, on which he barely fit laid down anymore, and looked at him pensively.  “Okay, Ollie.  We got this.  We have to make you look cute for Mommy.”  The baby returned the pensive look to his dad and pointed to the dresser.  Hank nodded.  “You’re right.  There’s got to be something cute in there.”  

He liked playing along with Ollie and making him an integral part of the situation rather than a spectator.  And while he found himself a bit silly at times, it was too much fun watching Ollie interacting with him, apparently understanding what was going on.  Still, he was holding back at times when Jan was around, afraid she’d find him ridiculous.  Ollie, on the other hand, seemed to enjoy this immensely.

He reached for the dresser while keeping a hand on Ollie, and retrieved a little pair of jeans and a baseball tee.  Ollie smiled and cooed happily.  “I’ll take that as a yes!”  It was much easier to dress him up now that he was older and could cooperate to some degree, but little socks were still hard to put on.  After a bit of a struggle, Hank grabbed a tiny pair of red Converse shoes and put them on Ollie.  “Alright, let’s go see Mommy now.”

He took back the baby and entered the kitchen at the same time Jan did.  He looked at her from head to toe and smiled.  “Wow, you look beautiful!”  Ollie cooed happily and reached for Jan.  “Ma-ma!”  

Life goes on

thewasp-janetvandyne

“It’s not a bad thing! Everyone needs passion in their lives! And passion for life itself is always the best!” She said, smiling. It had long been one of her most notable features and she still had that passion, though, her priorities had had to shift a bit. She didn’t mind, though. Taking care of Ollie with Hank was first, but it didn’t diminish her love for life. She enjoyed it even more now.

She started laughing with Hank and Ollie. “Oh, Ollie. You’re such a little goober!” She said, grinning at him. He just smiled back and reached for her to be picked up. She picked him up from the baby seat and sat him on her hip. “I guess we should get to packing up a few things if we’re going to be stopping by the college on the way.” She said as she started towards the living room.

“You’re right about that.”  Hank smiled.  Jan had always had a lively personality, bubbly and with a love for life that had always attracted him.  She made him smile and see the good side of things, and had a way of making him appreciate life to the fullest.  He hadn’t always been able to appreciate it, but these past few years she had felt to him like a breath of fresh air for someone that had stayed cooped up inside for too long. 

He got lost in his own thoughts for a moment as he watched the interaction between Jan and Oliver, a tender smile playing at the corner of his lips.  Then he jumped a bit when he realized he’d been daydreaming.  “Oh…!  You’re right.  We should probably get going soon.  I’ll just go put something on, then I’ll pack a few things.”   He preferred getting ready first since it usually took more time for Jan to get prepared, and during that time he could take care of Ollie.   

He got back only a few minutes later, wearing what Jan would describe as a “casual college teacher look”.  He didn’t want to dress too casual since by stopping by Grayburn College to get his things he might run into a few students, and a teacher dressed in jeans and t-shirt would be frowned upon.  

“All set.  Now if you want to get ready, I’ll take care of this little bug.”  He held out his hands to Ollie, who reached out of Jan’s arms, trying to wiggle his way out and into his father’s arms.   Hank took him and felt his forehead once more.  “At least his fever seems to have broken down.” 

Life goes on

thewasp-janetvandyne

Jan nodded as Hank talked and finished off her breakfast. She looked at Ollie when Hank ruffled his hair and then tried to smooth it down. She giggled when she noticed pancake crumbs all around Ollie’s face. She grabbed a paper towel and began wiping them off, much to Ollie’s displeasure.

“Stop struggling little bug. It would be quicker if you didn’t.” She pulled the paper away only to see Ollie pouting at her. She couldn’t help but laugh. She looked at Hank.

“At least he’s still too young to understand the fun of those particles. Otherwise, I think you’d have a harder time suppressing the ability.” She stated, finishing off her coffee.

“I probably would’ve been trying to convince you not to do it in the past. But thinking things through is way better than being impulsive when it comes to things like this.” She had matured quite a lot since her younger years. Life and circumstances would do that to you.

Ollie blew a raspberry, which startled her a little before she started laughing. “Impeccable timing, Ollie.”

Hank finished his coffee while Jan tried to clean Ollie up.  That pout he had when she finished was so like Jan that Hank couldn’t hold back a laugh.  It was still amazing to see so much of both of them in little Ollie.

He smiled back at Jan.  “You’re probably right.  If he has anything like your enthusiasm for life and for fun, he’ll be hard to stop.”  He actually loved those qualities in Jan.  She’d always been there - well, almost always - to remind him to loosen up and enjoy the simple joys in life, and that was something he hoped Oliver would get from her.  Maybe with just a bit of his own more cautious side.

He got up to pick up the plates and mugs and put them in the dishwasher.  “I think it’s just that Ollie’s safety is the most important thing to you…”  He burst out laughing when the baby blew a raspberry, before taking on a fake stern look towards his son.  “Ollie…  safety is very important.  It’s no laughing matter, especially when you’re still just a little bug.”  

Ollie blinked and looked back at Hank seriously, as though he had been caught doing a bad thing, but his father couldn’t hold back his smile any longer.  Ollie smiled back and giggled, before turning to Jan, laughing.  He’s just kidding, Mommy! he seemed to be saying.

Life goes on

thewasp-janetvandyne

“Yeah. The fresh air from the country will be a lot better.” She said, making herself a plate and joining them at the table. She smiled happily and giggled at Ollie’s gusto. “Well, I’m glad my guys like it.” She said, taking a bite of her pancakes as well. She looked over her men and couldn’t help but feel her heart fill up. This was all she had e er wanted for her and Hank. And she wouldn’t let anything tear it apart.

She looked up at Hank as she drank her coffee. She gave him a curious look, then her eyes widened when she realized what he was talking about. “Oh… Yeah. That was terrifying. Whatever you do won’t take the ability away though, right?” She asked. She trusted Hank with Ollie, but she also knew that Hank could get a little carried away sometimes.

“Do you think you could just do something to suppress it? Until he develops enough to be able to control it?”

Hank shook his head.  “No, I don’t want to take away this ability.  It’s a part of who he is after all.”  They had wondered before Oliver was born if he would inherit their shrinking and growing abilities, and whether or not he would carry and produce Pym particles naturally.  Hank had run a few tests on Ollie’s cells after he was born to confirm all this, but he never would have thought that the particles would become active at such a young age.  

He looked over at Ollie, who smiled back happily, and turned back to Jan.  “That was my idea also.  But before I do anything, I have to make sure it’s harmless to Ollie.”  He had a sheepish smile.  “I used to be more impatient back in the days…  testing stuff on myself and all…  but I really don’t want to take any chances with him.”  He ruffled Ollie’s hair, messing it a bit further before trying to straighten it back into place, without much success.

He smiled back at Jan.  “So, yes, suppressing it would be the best way to go.  I just have to be careful about how I’ll do it.”  He was glad they were both on the same page about this.  

Life goes on

thewasp-janetvandyne

Jan smiled as she felt him kiss the back of her head. She couldn’t help it. It was nice to know that he was more comfortable with showing affection. She finished the pancakes and turned to the table. She took the smaller pancakes and put them on Ollie’s plate.

The baby cheered happily and picked up one of the pancakes and began eating it happily. She chuckled and turned to Hank, taking one of the cups from him. “No. I brought everything with me in my briefcase. So we can just drop by the college and get your things and head out.” She said with a smile.

Hank smiled at Ollie’s enthusiasm.  He’d probably grow up to love breakfast, just like his mother.  He took some pancakes and served both Jan and himself, and went to sit down at the table.  He smiled back at Jan at her answer.  “Good.  I’m sure Ollie will recuperate a lot better at home.”   Not that the apartment wasn’t also “home” but the baby was less accustomed to staying there, having spent most of his time in their house in Cresskill.

He took a bite of pancake and hummed appreciatively.  “This is really delicious honey.  Thanks for making breakfast.”  At his side, Ollie was chewing happily, making “nom-nom” noises.  Hank chuckled.  “I guess it’s his way of thanking you!”

Something suddenly crossed his mind and he lost his smile for a moment.  “I also have to work on something to prevent what happened last night from happening again…”  He was referring to Ollie suddenly shrinking involuntarily.  He wasn’t too keen on injecting his son with anything that wouldn’t have been tested enough times to make sure without a doubt it was safe for him and moreover reversible.  Ollie was naturally producing Pym particles, just as both Jan and he had come to, and he thought it was too great of an ability to take it away from Oliver.  He had been a tad brash with experimenting with himself in the past, but he would never in a million years be as reckless with his son.  In the meantime he just hoped that the situation wouldn’t come up again until Ollie was a bit older and Jan and he could teach him to control the particles.