❪ ʟᴏᴠᴇ ᴀɴᴅ ʟᴏꜱᴛ ❫

𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘍𝘰𝘶𝘳: 𝘔𝘪𝘭𝘬𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘛𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘴
━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Hope Tony and Peter stood in the elevator Hope trying to process what just happened as Peter looks back and forth between Hope and the elevator doors.

Tony waits for the elevator door to open and once it does he lets Hope and Peter walk out the elevator.

"Peter," Tony calls making Peter look towards him.
"Tell Bruce we'll be there in a minute," Tony tells Peter who looks towards Hope who nods at him before letting Peter walk towards the lab.

"Want to ditch the tower and go get milkshakes?" Tony asks Hope who snaps her head at him wide-eyed.

"Yes," Hope tells him immediately making Tony laugh as he leads her back to the elevator telling FRIDAY to head towards the garage and have Happy meet them there.

Hope stared at the floor the entire time as everything in her blood especially her heart begged for her to go back up there and just hug her soulmates.

She wanted to more than anything. She just couldn't get her mind off their faces. The begging and heartbreaking look on their faces had Hope just want to run into them and apologize explaining everything.

But her head told her no.

Her head told her, but her heart couldn't take it.

And every time Hope listened to her heart all she got was tears and grief. Listening to her head was what she needed now. If she would have listened to her her head when she was fifteen maybe her parents would still be alive.

A clear of a throat makes Hope look to see Tony standing outside the elevator making her shake her before walking towards him.

"Mr.Stark. Miss Marshall," Happy greets opening the door for the two.

"Hope please," Hope tells Happy as she gets into the car, and then Tony follows her making Happy shut the door.

"Where too?" Happy questions looking at Tony who looks towards Hope.

"Stand in the park?" Tony questions Hope who nods at him smiling softly.

"Thank you," Hope tells Tony who nods at her as they fall into a comfortable silence both of them staring out the window as Happy watches shaking his head.

He had the need to take a picture and send it to Pepper and Rhodey.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Tony grabs his hat and puts on a pair of glasses as Happy opens the door. Hope chuckles at him wondering how that would conceal his identity as she slides out the backseat.

The two walk towards the stand and wait in line. Hope thought it would be awkward just not speaking or anything but for some reason, it wasn't.

Not even a little bit.

Once they get to the front of the line Hope smiles at the familiar worker.

"Peanut Butter Blast with whipped cream on the bottom," the work states making Hope nod her head before looking at Tony.

"I'll have the Tony Stark," Tony state making Hope try to muffle her laughter as she grabs her wallet to pay but before she could a hand sticks out giving the worker a hundred-dollar bill.

"Keep the change," Tony says making Hope glare at him slightly as she grabs her milkshake and Tony's.

"I could she paid," Hope says making Tony roll his eyes at her.

"I'm a multi-billionaire. I have plenty of money," Tony tells Hope as the two begin walking around the park drinking their milkshakes.

"Whipped cream on the bottom?" Tony asks Hope who shrugs at him.

"Didn't judge it until you try it," Hope tells Tony before looking at his milkshake.

"It's blueberry," Tony says smirking as Hope shakes her head at him.

"Want to talk about it?" Tony asks Hope who sighs at that.

"Not really," Hope tells him making Tony nod his head.

"Understandable. You know I did the same thing when I meet my soulmate, Pepper. But I slept around with other women while she was my assistant and had her escort them out in the morning," Tony says making Hope look at him wide-eyed.

"Yep. And somehow she forgave me and we are now engaged," Tony says thinking about Pepper with a smile on his face.

"My dad lost his soulmate when I was young. I saw how it destroyed him even if he tried to hide it. And then when my parents and uncle died I made a vow to never get attached to someone. Getting attached just meets losing someone once again. And I didn't couldn't go through that again," Hope says with a sigh as she takes a sip of her milkshake.

"My parents died when I was nineteen," Tony says making Hope look towards him slightly but Tony looks forward.

"They weren't soulmates or anything. My dad loved his job more than he loved his family. He sent me away the first chance he got. And I just never wanted that. I didn't want to let someone in and lose them like I lost my parents. To someday turn into my father," Tony says making Hope nod understanding exactly what he was saying.

"And then some people just stick to you like a moth to a flame," Hope says chuckling making Tony laugh looking at her.

"Peter," Tony states instead of questions making Hope nod her head.

"Yes! Have you met the kid? He gives you that golden retriever look and you can't just abandon him! And then I meet May and they immediately began to treat me like I was part of the family," Hope says smiling sadly at that as Tony nods his head.

"Tony...what if I get attached and something happens?Or what if...I can't," Hope says making Tony stop and Hope turn to him.

"You remind me so much of me," Tony says chuckling as Hope stares at him tilting her head slightly confused.

"Scared of commitment. Abandonment issues. PTSD," Tony lists as Hope sighs at that.

"You know we are having dinner tonight. We all do it as a team once a week. Why don't you join?" Tony suggests as Hope shakes her head.

"You won't have to accept them or anything. Give yourself time to adjust. But talk with them. Explain how you feel. For they might be two idiots but they are understanding. It will lift some worry and stress off of you and give you peace of mind," Tony says as Hope went to protest.

"They won't reject you, Hope. They have been waiting for you for over a hungered years. There fossils," Tony says making Hope laugh at him shaking her head. They aren't the only fossils she knew.

"And who knows maybe you can begin to live Hope. Because living and surviving are two very different things," Tony states making Hope pause as she nods slightly.

"You know for an ex-playboy you are wise," Hope tells him as she looks at him surprised.

"You have Pepper to thank for that. She told me the exact same thing," Tony tells Hope taking a sip of his milkshake.

"Of course she did," Hope tells him as they continue walking. Tony sighs seeing the hesitant look on Hope's face.

"Alright how about this: if you say...blueberries! I know it's code to get you out of there as fast as I can. I'll have Happy on standby," Tony tells Hope who looks at him.

"I'm not the type of person I run away. I wasn't raised to run away from my problems. Literally," Hope tells Tony who plays a hand on her shoulders stopping her.

"From what you have told me so far you have lost a lot, Hope. It's alright to be scared to let someone in. But don't let fear hold you back. Sometimes the greatest risks will have the most amazing rewards," Tony tells Hope who nods at him.

"Come here kiddo," Tony says slightly as he pulls Hope to him hugging her.

"Oh I'm okay," Hope tells Tony who hums making Hope smile as she wraps her arms around him.

"Thank you, Tony," Hope whispers softly into Tony's chest.

"Alright, enough smushy stuff. Let's get back to the tower," Tony says pulling away as he begins walking back towards Happy.

Hope stares at him before throwing her head back laughing before following after Tony.

Neither of the two noticed Happy watching and taking a picture of the two hugging sending to Pepper and Rhodey who were both just staring at the picture with confusion on their faces.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Tony and Hope laugh as they walk out of the elevator towards the lab where Bruce was working on something and Peter was spinning around in Tony's chair. 

"But you have to try it! The whipped cream on the bottom makes it so much better! It mixes better," Hope tells Tony who gags shaking his head.

"A few minutes! It's been an hour," Peter exclaims as he goes to get up but begins falling down making Hope catch him before he fell to the ground.

"I brought you a chocolate chip milkshake," Hope tells Peter who looks at her and then the milkshake.

"Forgiven. But only for the milkshake," Peter says making Hope laugh as she hands him the milkshake. Hope then looks to see Bruce who was still working.

"Oh, Dr.Banner! Tony said your favorite was Hunka Hulka Burning Fudge milkshake," Hope says taking the milkshake from Tony to head it to man.

Bruce looks at her surprised but smiles softly as he takes the milkshake.

"Thank you...," Bruce trails off as Hope looks at him.
"Hope Marshall," Hope tells him as she looks at his work looking it over.

"Sorry-I've been trying to figure this out for an hour," Bruce tells Tony who was slurping down the last bit of his milkshake.

"You but the exponent in the wrong spot. It's with the eight. It's supposed to be the with six," Hope tells Bruce who looks at her and then the paper wide-eyed.

"We better get back to the tour. That I forgot about," Hope tells Peter who looks at her drinking his milkshake.

"They already left," Peter says with a mouth full as Hope looks at him disgusted before wide-eyed.

"I had Pepper write a letter to the teacher excusing you two," Tony tells Hope waving off her concerns as he throws away the milkshake.

"Now Jolly Green Giant. Hopes joining us for dinner. Let's go," Tony says making Bruce look down at his watch.

"It's two o'clock," Bruce tells Tony who looks at him confused. 

"So?"  Tony asks him shrugging as Peter looks at Hope.

"Ooh! I can show you the theater room! We can finish watching Star Wars!" Peter exclaims grabbing Hope's hand and pulling her towards the making her look at Tony and Bruce pleadingly while Tony waves her off and Bruce looks amused.

"Didn't you have an important meeting this afternoon? That Pepper told you if you missed you were sleeping on the couch for a month?" Bruce asks Tony who shrugs at him heading towards his workplace and grabbing some blueberries.

Bruce shakes his head as he looks down at the paper fixing his mistake so that way he can finish his problem.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━

"This is stupid!" Hope tells Peter annoyed as he looks at her offended.

"This is perfection!" Peter tells Hope who stares at the screen seeing Lord of the Rings.

"I don't get it!" Hope says shrugging as Peter groans and went to talk when suddenly a blur goes in front of Hope who only caught a bit of silver hair before Peter was picked up and placed on someone's lap.

"Pietro!" Peter exclaims making Hope look towards the two seeing a silver head of hair tucked into Peter's shoulder with his arms around him.

"I thought you would be gone," Pietro tells Peter who smiles at him blush on his cheeks.

"Mr.Stark invited Hope to stay for dinner," Peter tells Pietro who looks up and spots Hope finally. The auburn-haired girl waves to him with an amused expression.

"Hope," Hope introduces herself trying not to laugh at Peter's red cheeks as Pietro smiles at her.

"I've heard all about you!" Pietro tells Hope before bringing her into the hug.

Hope just freezes wide-eyed before awkwardly patting his back as Peter tries not to laugh.

"You...too?" Hope questions as she pulls back from the hug. Pietro smiles at her as Peter looks between the two.

"I'll let you two...whatever. I have to use the bathroom," Hope says nodding as she gets up. Peter blushes bright red as Hope winks at him leaving the room.

"I like her," Pietro tells Peter who smiles at him nodding his head.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Hope walks out of the bathroom looking at her phone heading before turning a corner only to bump into someone almost falling down as an arm wraps around her waist.

Feeling the sparks Hope looks up immediately looking into a pair of bright blue eyes who stares at her.

"Hi," Bucky says staring at Hope whose phone begins to slip out of her hand when a hand grabs it.

"You seem to drop things easily," Steve says amazed making Hope look towards him as she nods.

"Yeah...," Hope whispers nodding her head as she gulps stepping back a little bit.

"Thanks," Hope whispers slightly taking her phone from Steve. The two look at her and nod before parting letting Hope pass between them.

She smiles slightly at the two super soldiers before she goes to continue walking, but as she steps between the two Hope before she remembers Tony's words.

"It's alright to be scared to let someone in. But don't let fear hold you back. Sometimes the greatest risks will have the most amazing rewards."

"I'm sorry," Hope tells the two softly who look towards her.

"For running away. Twice. And then avoiding you both. I...just need time. Things happened that just...," Hope says gulping slightly when a hand grabs her elbow making her turn to see Steve staring at her with a soft smile.

"It's okay," Steve tells her making Hope smile at him.
"He's right. Take your time," Bucky tells Hope who turns and smiles at him.

"How about we start with introductions? I'm Hope Marshall," Hope introduces herself making the two smile at her.

"Steve Rogers."
"James but you can call me Bucky."

The two tell her as they smile down at the auburn-haired girl who nods at them.

"Nice to meet you both," Hope says as she looks down with a smile.

"We were about to head towards the kitchen for dinner. May we escort you?" Steve asks Hope who looks up at him.

"Sure," Hope tells him nodding her head as she turns around and begins walking with the two super soldiers who look at each other with small smiles on their faces.

❀ ༄ ❀ AUTHOR NOTE ❀ ༄ ❀
I love Tony and Hope so much!!! And I've decided who Hope will tell her story to first!"

I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! I love you all! <333