San Francisco - Bayview Restaurant & Cafe (February 2017)

[Hollywood Heidi]

Bayview Restaurant & Café


Located at 548 Market Street in San Francisco, passed all the shops at the end of Market Street where there is less crowding and foot traffic, this restaurant boasts breathtaking views of the bay with seasonal seating on the rooftop mostly available during the non-rainy months from April to October.

[Hollywood Heidi]

***Over one year ago in February of 2017***

It was the night after Hope had received the mysterious e-mail asking her to meet the person here this night.  Technically, it hadn't been placed as a question.  She'd arrived early, not necessarily because she wanted to scope the place out ahead of time, but because she was anxious about this meeting and couldn't wait to see Scott again.  She was assuming it was Scott that had sent her the message and she still found herself angry at the thought that he'd come out of hiding.  Hope was at war with herself over which she'd do first: kiss him or punch him in his stupid, pretty face.

The cautious part of her knew that there was a chance it could be someone else but who?  Hope hadn't bothered bringing a weapon.  She was the weapon.  All the people who she and her father knew wished her harm were either dead or behind bars.  Of course there were probably ones they still did not know about but it would be a dumb move for them to call this meeting, seeing as it was their mission to remain unknown in order to keep themselves incorporated into the company and their lives.  Besides, she didn't get a sense of menace from the e-mail and despite the fact they'd be on a rooftop alone, they were far from in the middle of nowhere.  People were having dinner right below them.  Even a scuffle, if it came to it, had the possibility of being heard.

As far as her side job as the Wasp, nobody but she, her father, and the Avengers knew about it.  With the Sokovia Accords, the government held the reigns over the Avengers and their missions.  That being said, the government mainly kept their missions top secret.  The days of the Avengers being plastered all over the news in huge, public displays were mostly over.

With the help of the Wasp suit, Hope had done some spying of her own and knew for sure that the government wasn't wasting resources by having her or her father tailed.  They had at first but two years had passed and that was long over with, so she was confident she hadn't just lead them to Scott.  It still didn't stop her from taking her time getting here.  Though it wasn't too far from Pym Tech, she'd taken scenic routes and despite the rain, had made it a point to park at the other end of Market Street and travel over by foot, popping into a store here and there just to give the illusion she didn't have somewhere to be.

Even after all that, she'd managed to sneak her way passed the restaurant staff and onto the rooftop nearly an hour before the meeting time.  The roof seating was usually closed off throughout the entire month due to the rain.  The tables and chairs were covered in tarps and without covering, employees tended to take their breaks inside their backroom or under the patio cover of the first floor.

Hope stood in her raincoat next to the ledge and watched the city from below her umbrella.  During her walk, she'd freed her hair for more protection against the cold from the up do she usually wore to work.  She had an unfamiliar self conscious feeling over what he'd think of her new look.  Gone was the severe, short haircut she'd worn for so many years that had given a hard, no nonsense, 'don't fuck with me' edge to her look, though the anger she'd always carried had strongly radiated that message from deep inside.  She'd grown her hair out in order to more easily tie it back and out of her face when donning the Wasp suit which softened her look.  She'd actually come to like the look, finding it was more flattering with her features and it actually made her look younger.

The fact that the much of her anger had dissipated when her father had finally opened up and told her what really had happened to her mother also attributed to her softened edges.  There was still an edge of sharpness to her that would never go away.  The past could not be changed and intense emotions that grew with a person from a young age tended to become engrained, possibly even for a lifetime.

Hope thought she heard the faint sound of the door hinges over the rain and turned from the ledge to face her 'old friend.'

[DarkSideCookie]

***


The door swung open and in came...

... a restaurant staff.

The man didn't notice someone was already there, as he just quickly got something from one of the cupboards next to the door, actually more reaching out to it to hasten back downstairs soon afterwards. The door snapped shut behind until the only sound on the rooftop was the rain again.




***Andro enters the restaurant's ground floor***


He was early; Not knowing how early actually, as he never carried a watch with him. Well, he had time enough anyway. Plenty of it in fact. What was an hour compared to the life he was spending to finally clear out society? He was a realist. As much time as the world's malady had required spreading to such an extent, as much was needed to heal it from that.

Purposefully Andro walked through the crowd of people, a stern expression on his face. He had never been the outgoing type, but since he was back from his years of isolation, he seemed to have become even more blocked off from the world around him. But then, whatever for? Everyone's time here was drawing to a close like the last trickling sand of an hourglass. With his sacrifice or without. If not him, it maybe would be someone else doing what had to be done. Eventually though. Maybe after much more of suffering. No, it had to be done soon and it had to be done quickly. He didn't enjoy what he was doing. He was not a bad guy. In fact, it was sheer torment to him. To kill. Even though he looked at it like freeing the soul from an infected body. He was a savior after all. At some point in the future, when humans and other beings will have risen again, they wouldn't have to remember all that suffering from the past. They wouldn't know what their forefathers had called power. Now it was this, the vision of the world he was dreaming of, even though he wouldn't get the chance to see it himself, that actually brought the hint of a smile to his lips.

Andro made no move of looking around or feeling unsure in any way about heading for the roped-off stairs leading to the rooftop. The more daring a person was, the higher was the chance it gets away with any purpose. Simple psychology.

And that was exactly how it happened Andro ended up standing in front of the little swing door, behind an old friend he hadn't seen for a very long time. Yes, he was sure that she would be there already; Probably leaning over the ledge, an umbrella in her hand, having a look at the bay.

His facial features unchanged, Andro opened the door and stepped outside. He paused after only one step, the door snapping shut behind.

There she was. Leaning over the ledge. An umbrella in her hand. The old friend from his past.

Andro watched her wordless, while raindrops were running down his face.

[Hollywood Heidi]

Hope stood there motionless, taking in her "old friend" through the blur of rain. She hesitantly walked to him, the surprise wearing off enough to finally form words as she reached him. "Andro? My God," she said, a small nostalgic smile touching her lips as she held the umbrella higher and reached her free arm around his neck to hug him. The memories came rushing back, particularly the last time she'd seen him.

She let go, stepping back but still remained close in order to keep the umbrella over the both of them. It only added to the discomfort she was feeling over the way she'd left things with him. Abandoned him, really. Her smile faltered and now there was the addition of the sorrow for the loss of what could have been and an apology in her eyes added to it. She used the back of her fingers to push a strand of hair out of her face. "How've you been?" she asked with soft sincerity.

Hope searched his face as she waited for his answer. He appeared to be well. She wondered if he'd, too, been able to overcome some of the pains of the past and if he'd let go of some of the anger they'd bonded over. The anger that had been the driving force of their relationship; their decisions and actions. But that was why it hadn't worked. It was why they'd been wrong for each other and why she'd had to walk away when his anger at the world had escalated to heights that went beyond her moral compass, abandoning him to serve the rest of his prison sentence without a visitor and without someone waiting for him when he'd gotten out.

Anger was not a healthy base for a relationship. They'd cared about each other in their own way, she supposed. She'd found herself thinking about the good times they'd shared whenever he popped into her mind throughout the years. Those genuine moments were rare though. So much of their conversations and moments seemed to have revolved around anger, she at her father and he at the world. They'd been enablers to each other. But he looked well. Appeared calm. The anger that used to radiate at all times from his core was not there. Or at least it didn't appear on the surface as it always had.

[DarkSideCookie]

Andro's face remained motionless, kind of cold even, when his old friend from the past came closer and eventually started talking. It was not that he was without nostalgic feelings about her, he just wasn't used to it. To feelings like that. And the truth was, he actually never felt familiar with this kind of social feelings at all.

His gaze didn't avert, not even for a split second, not even for a blink of his eyes.

"Andro? My God,"

Suddenly her lips were raising a smile. However much her outward appearance might have changed, her smile had not. Andro tried to form one himself, but even though it was real, it did look somehow motionless. When Hope suddenly reached out to embrace him, his eyes closed for a short moment. Something inside of him did remember their shared past; A past with not only the best of memories though. After all, he had had to see her leave. Leave him behind in jail. And against all hope, she never had come back. But he wasn't still taking it amiss. He had forgiven her a long time ago. Obviously.

Andro's eyes opened again, as the hug was over, Hope stepping back a little. And as if his facial features were a mirror of Hope's emotions, his smile faltered together with hers, while prior drops of rain were dripping down it. Wordless he watched her pushing a strand of hair out of her face.

"How've you been?"

Now that was the part an actual conversation was going to start. Andro watched her for some more moments before he finally broke the silence.

"Surviving.", he answered veraciously. Yes, that was how he had been. Wasn't that how everyone had been? How everyone was? The ordinary kind of people. "You look beautiful.", he added, still standing stone-like. He wasn't good at complimenting someone. He never was. And like in the past he still wasn't attaching importance to it at all. But this was how a conversation had to start, wasn't it? Just an act of civility. Not a lie though.

[Hollywood Heidi]

Andro watched her silently before he'd answered as if taking her in all the way to the depths of her core. He still had the intensity to him that could be unsettling when turned against a person. Not that he'd ever turned against her in the past but she'd witnessed him doing so to others who defied him or his ways of thinking.

She was tempted to shift uncomfortable but held her ground and he finally spoke.


"Surviving."

She understood that feeling. They were on the same wavelength in that regard which brought another wave of nostalgia over their shared years of anger at the world in college.


"You look beautiful."

Now she did shift ever so slightly. Compliments on her work, she could handle and took pride in but she wasn't great at accepting compliments on her appearance, despite the fact she felt flattered.

Hope gave him a smile and in an old, reflexive gesture, mostly to distract herself, she reached out and straightened the already straight lapel of his coat, replying, "You're not so bad yourself." Her eyes returned to his face. It was true. He'd aged well and the loss of the outward anger that had always been etched on his face also served to approve his appearance.

Realizing what she was doing, she dropped her hand and looked at him sincerely, a sadness for a time long ago overcoming her smile. "I'm sorry for the way things ended." 'Is that why he's here?' she wondered. Was he looking for an explanation?

[DarkSideCookie]

The try of a smile came back to Andro's face, as his compliment seemed to make her feel flattered. At least that was the feeling he thought to read on her face. He had never been good at this as well. His eyes wordless watched her fingers straightening the lapel of his coat, while his head remained forward.

"You're not so bad yourself." When Andro looked back at her, their eyes met again. Well, she wasn't good at complimenting as well. Or this had been an act of civility too. Well, he was hardly able to adjudicating on that anyway. Then something in her smile was changing. "I'm sorry for the way things ended." Did she regret? Then why had she let things ended the way she did? Never mind nowadays. He had no intentions of rebuilding their relationship from the past. That hadn't been the reason he came to see her.

"I want you to help me.", Andro eventually said, the sadness in her smile not electrifying him. Also, the wording want you to help me told that deep inside he hadn't changed at all. It was still the I leading almost every of his sentences. Still the imperative phrasing instead of the requesting.

[Hollywood Heidi]

A touch of surprise came over her features. Suddenly she was back in college again, facing the growing problem that had been pulling them apart. She had gotten to the point of giving him a flat out 'no' without bothering to hear him out. Many years had passed since then and perhaps with the added bit of guilt, she found herself wearily asking, "What are you asking for my help with?"

Though he'd framed it as a demand, she'd purposefully reworded it in her response as a question, making it clear that it was within her power to accept or decline. She was strong willed. Always had been, so it shouldn't come as a surprise.

[DarkSideCookie]

And yet again something on her features changed. Andro didn't waste any time on studying her though, as he was too much self-concentrated right now. This was about getting her help. About getting a partner.

"What are you asking for my help with?", she finally spoke up again. Something in her voice wasn't pleasing. After all, it was not only Hope who suddenly got remembered about the divergences they have had in the past. And so Andro got the feeling it would be a wise move to make one step back, figuratively speaking. He had to be more careful with her, considering their last meetings from the past. He had learned that she was one strong and determined person; But as strong and determined she was, as fickle and stubborn was she.

He tried another smile before he served with an apology instead of an answer. "I did not mean to catch you out, Hope." Still an I-starting sentence, but much better than the last one. Adding someone's name made words sound more personal. At some point in the past she had lost her trust in him, so he would have to make an effort to regain it. Not exactly an easy task for someone like him though.

"Let us have a seat.", he said, the tried smile still remaining on his features, as he pulled off the tarp from one of the tables next to them. "If you do not mind.", he added politely, even offering her a chair before he would sit down himself. He might never have made use of this kind of conventions, actually of no conventions at all, but had he always been a good reader of human nature. This reading ability though not made him contemplate people's suspicion. Maybe it would have if he had put all his time and energy into improving on it, but that was something he wouldn't do.

[Hollywood Heidi]

Hope's dread that Andro hadn't changed was growing. It seemed rather than letting go, like she'd done, he'd learned to reign in his anger, holding it in and letting it poison him further. That made him more unpredictable. Calculating. Shrewd. With the nostalgia of their meeting over with, Hope abandoned any signs of the emotions it had brought with it and schooled her features, assuming the unreadable persona she utilized in business.

Watching his movement and witnessing the wheels starting to turn in his mind as he spoke was unnerving. Hope did not give away what she was feeling. She listened intently as she tried to discern what he was getting at. He, in turn, had read her before she'd collected herself and had seemed to pull back and approach things more cautiously. So began a game of mental chess.

Hope would have dissuaded the notion of disturbing the restaurant's roof settings but he hadn't asked, only acted. Classic Andro. Tarp already removed, Hope went ahead and sat close to Andro to continue to shield them both from the rain out of sheer etiquette. With the growing urge to distance herself in every manner possible, she mentally cursed the rain.

Hope had the sinking feeling that she wouldn't like what he expected from her which would spiral into his not liking the fact she wouldn't go along with it. Whatever the outcome, she felt it was more important to know what Andro was up to.

"Alright," she said calmly. "What's on your mind, Andro?" But the words 'What are you plotting now?' were the actual ones in her mind.

[DarkSideCookie]

His features still remained cold and rigid, somewhat had mixed up with the try of looking friendly, as Hope did as he was requested. For one moment there seemed to appear a real smile, not exactly joyful but real. They had shared at least some quality times in the past. He watched her coming closer to shield them both from the rain. One raindrop was running down his face, had broken its way through his hair, as he cocked his head a little.

"Alright,""What's on your mind, Andro?" And yet again his self-centered mind wasn't able to look through the calm expression on his counterpart's face. All he was seeing, for now, was an old friend curious to learn about what he had to say. One point to Hope.

But he still remained cautious as for his own words. And so he decided to turn their conversation to an emotional level before he would go on with his plan to get her on board his mission. As emotional as he was able to make it, that was.

His eyes didn't avert from hers, not for a moment, not even for the reflex of an eyelid movement, as he spoke up again. "Are you happy, Hope?", he suddenly asked without reacting to her former question.

Andro was sure to decoy her with that, because, if one was truly honest with itself, nobody was happy. Not in a world like this. It actually even wasn't his attention to decoy, but to convince. To make her realize that there was no other way to fix up things than to follow his path. She would understand. They both weren't the naive teenagers from the past anymore.

[Hollywood Heidi]

The question felt more matter-of-fact rather than a personal interest. It had triggered a few more memories of the past that filled in some gaps. She recognized it, though the reason it had thrown her was that he'd never used it on her in the past. They'd always been straightforward with each other, but she'd seen him use this tactic with others. With years of running Pym Tech, Hope had also witnessed it time and again when companies wanted to do business with her and on rare occasions, she'd stooped to the same tactic.

It was a sales pitch. When a salesperson wanted to be absolutely sure of a successful sale, they had to find the weaknesses. The wants and desires. Once you accessed and communicated with that part of a person, they were more susceptible to buying what you were selling.

Not particularly a fan of the salesperson approach, Hope gave a no-nonsense, straightforward answer. "I don't think anybody can be classified as happy." Her tone was resolute, giving the unspoken addition of 'I cannot be bought or sold.' It was a tone that got nearly every representative from other companies who'd scored a meeting with her to drop the charade and get straight to business. "Moments of happiness, sure. I've managed to find a few of those myself along the way."

Events of her later years had shone a light but a shadow of the jaded, angry young woman from college still remained. Moments of happiness was something she might not have bought back in their college days, but she had finally experienced those in her more recent years, around the time when Scott had burgled his way into her life. That had been the beginning of her reconciliation with her father, the bloom of hope that her mother might still be alive, and the spark of something between she and Scott that had felt like the potential of the real happiness she was skeptical existed. Reality dashed that fanciful nonsense away when Scott was forced to be removed from her life, though the reconciliation and the hope remained.

Without missing a beat, she turned the question on him, though hers had a bit of genuine concern laced with the matter-of-fact. "Have you managed to find any moments of your own, Andro?"

[DarkSideCookie]

Andro's face remained unchanged, while he was waiting for an answer, not allowing the upcoming impatience on his inside to get revealed on his outside. After all lectures he had taught himself, this impulsive side of him never got completely bound in chains, but had he learned to keep it on a short leash instead.

"I don't think anybody can be classified as happy." His features kept rigidly, but inwardly was he coming up with a triumphant smile already now, not taking cognizance of the hidden tone in her voice saying I cannot be bought or sold. "Moments of happiness, sure. I've managed to find a few of those myself along the way.""Have you managed to find any moments of your own, Andro?"

Then suddenly something else was joining in his certainty of victory, vaguely perceptible by one quick wiggle of his eyebrow. A... feeling. One he wasn't able to entitle, as he had it never felt before. Hitting him with an unexpected push against his chest, it was one little moment of grief one felt when someone revealed to have been happy while the other had spent years of imprisonment with nothing around but his own forlorn thoughts. But as Andro wasn't aware of or at least not accustomed to feelings like that, he didn't care about this little moment all too much and instead concentrated back on their conversation.

"I have not.", he lastly answered her counterquestion truthfully. There was no need for him to not tell the truth here. In fact, was he a person avoiding lies at all. Why should he vail anything he had done or was going to do? That it wouldn't be a good idea to serve his thoughts on a silver plate to everyone was a fact he was aware of though. But to lie would mean to hide behind someone who was not him.

And then, for the first time of their conversation, Andro turned his gaze away from her, let it wander over the ledge to have a look at the bay instead, watching the waves breaking against the rocks for some silent moments.

"But that is not of importance to me.", he eventually added, while his eyes slowly turned back to his friend from the past. And that was what he truly meant. No concealment, no sarcasm in his words. His own happiness never was of importance to him. Only justice was. What exactly was happiness anyway? Sure, there had been this time in the past where he might get a spark of it, but after all, had that time caused him nothing but a delay on his way to make the world a better place.

[Hollywood Heidi]

"I have not."

Hope was sorry to hear that but knowing the past him and observing him now in the present, she knew that was something he wouldn't want to hear, so she kept it to herself.


"But that is not of importance to me."

And that was what cemented her worry that Andro had not let go of the anger and hatred that had fueled him back in their college days. In fact, it seems the years had only fed that anger and hatred. Everyone was driven by desire. It was the thing that steered your thoughts, actions, and decisions in life. The normal, everyday person's desire was the pursuit of happiness. For others, it was to watch the world burn.

"Then tell me, Andro, what is important to you?" Hope gently implored, hoping her open straightforwardness would urge him to continue in kind. "Why are we standing here, after all these years, talking privately on a rooftop in the rain?"

[DarkSideCookie]

"Then tell me, Andro, what is important to you?""Why are we standing here, after all these years, talking privately on a rooftop in the rain?"

And so their conversation had returned to the subject, the real reason for this appointment. This emotional path he had decided for was displeasing him anyway.

"You know what is important to me.", he finally said, suddenly an unintended harshness in his voice. "And I know it once had been for you too." When Andro realized his temper slowly rising, he tried to inwardly calm himself, closing his eyes for a little moment. She wouldn't abandon him once again. She would see the mistakes she had made in the past and she would join in his plan to save the world. People like her and him just couldn't watch the world perishing.

Andro's eyes opened again, hadn't been closed for more than seconds anyway. Then he tried another smile. "Hope.", Andro started again calmer. "You are smart. Brave. A fighter of injustice. And just like me have you developed yourself during the last years. We are very much alike. And so is our vision. Our vision of a better world. You know I am right." He suddenly had fallen back into his talkative self, only arising whenever he was talking about what really was important to him. His mission.

[Hollywood Heidi]

"You know what is important to me.", "And I know it once had been for you too."

There it was. That anger that drove him, peeking out from where it slowly ate away at him inside. She'd sensed it was still there and now she knew for sure. The rain momentarily cleared as if echoing her clarity of who Andro had become; a worse version of himself.

With her own temper threatening to flair, Hope closed her umbrella as she stood and moved toward the ledge to let the motion of the water calm her.


"Hope."

She turned to face him once again. He'd quickly hidden his anger and covered his momentary loss of control behind a smile. Hope kept her arms crossed defensively as she watched him expectantly.


"You are smart. Brave. A fighter of injustice. And just like me have you developed yourself during the last years. We are very much alike. And so is our vision. Our vision of a better world. You know I am right."

When he mentioned fighting injustice and developing herself, she momentarily wondered if he'd somehow found out about her being the Wasp but no, that couldn't be. It was tightly under wraps and besides, if he knew she fought alongside the Avengers at times, he'd know how much different they'd grown to be and probably wouldn't be here right now, trying to recruit her.

Hope uncrossed her arms and began by appeasing his ego. "You are right. We both have a vision of a better world. However," she said, as she walked back around the table to face him properly, "I'm not so sure we envision the same circumstances or the same version."

On her way, she'd passed by the back of his chair and something had caught the corner of her eye. It was a tattoo, one that he hadn't had back in the day. She could only make out the heads of three dogs on the back of his neck, the bottom half of the tattoo concealed by his collar. It had given her a ping of familiarity, one that had been accompanied by warning, but Hope hadn't broken stride or shown any acknowledgement.

Hope didn't think it was wise to continue conversing with Andro unless she knew exactly what he'd gotten himself involved with over the years and therefore, might be getting herself entangled in just by association. She also didn't want to alienate him in case there was a reason she felt his vision was going to be a danger to others. As if perfectly queued, her phone buzzed with a call. She pulled it from her pocket to see Hank Pym as the caller and also noted the hour had gotten to be later than she'd thought.

"Dammit," she mumbled as she sent the call to voicemail and dropped her phone back into her coat pocket. She was going to get an earful. "Andro, I have to get going. I'm supposed to meet Hank for dinner and I'm going to be late." She spoke quickly as she shouldered her purse and hooked her umbrella on her arm, adding distractedly as she started for the door, "I'm sorry we couldn't work something out." Lingering nostalgia had her momentarily putting aside the feeling of dread for future events and with a sad sigh, she paused and turned halfway to the door. "It really was good to see you again."

With that, Hope hurried on her way.


***Hope exits to Hank Pym's house***

[DarkSideCookie]

"You are right. We both have a vision of a better world. However," Andro's eyes were following each of her steps. "I'm not so sure we envision the same circumstances or the same version."

He had himself a lot of different versions allowed to develop during all the years, but in the end, it had led him to one cognition. A vision couldn't have more than only one version. And after all these trains of thoughts his mind had created, he dared to call one of them the final version. The only version. He really had tried a lot, but nothing had worked out in its entirety.

As Andro's eyes were following not further than to a point where he didn't have to turn around completely, Hope got out of his view for some moments of her little walk around him. And so he didn't notice the sudden change happening inside of her, once she got a glimpse of the tattoo in his neck, showing the logo of a group he once had brought into being, or at least that was what Hydra had made him believe, but was no part of his life any longer.

Just as Andro was going to say something for his part, the buzzing sound of a phone interrupted. And so his lips closed again, remaining silent.

"Dammit,""Andro, I have to get going. I'm supposed to meet Hank for dinner and I'm going to be late." Andro wordless watched her getting prepared already, slowly rising from his seat himself. "I'm sorry we couldn't work something out.""It really was good to see you again."

He hadn't been able to say anything in return, but even if he would, he might not have used that chance, before Hope was hastily heading towards the door, almost as if on a run. Something in her former words had made him wonder. Hank. Hank Pym. Her father. So she still was in contact with him. Admittedly remarkable for someone had been betrayed to still maintain contact. But then, they were father and daughter and in addition, they were part of the same company. Andro shrugged this thought off, before he made himself ready to leave.


***Andro exits to San Francisco - Hotel Room***