Chapter Text
Greer fiddled with the ends of her hair, winding a raven lock over her index finger, unwinding it, starting again. She was nervous.
Calm down .
She told herself she had nothing to worry about. Joanne had written her a wonderful letter of recommendation, and even though she was barely a year post-grad she already had two years of lab experience thanks to the good doctor.
Not to mention a completely altered brain and body, which helped her achieve its complete potential: rigorous training notwithstanding. Again, thanks to the good doctor.
But she wouldn’t be telling Doctor Pym that.
“Miss Nelson?” A young blonde woman, probably close to Greer’s own age, greeted her in the lobby.
“It’s Ms, actually.”
“Oh, my apologies — Doctor Pym is ready for you now. If you’ll follow me.”
Greer stood quickly; slinging her handbag over her shoulder and following the other woman down a long, fluorescent lit corridor. She swore she could almost hear them buzzing, like a hundred flies above her.
It’s fine, you’re going to do great. You’re just like him, you don’t need to be intimidated.
Okay maybe she wasn’t an ex-Avenger, but she was a superhero back home in Chicago. As short of a stint as that was, The Cat had carved her name into the hearts of the people back home. She’d thought about going public, but after what happened to Donalbain she figured she’d be better off keeping her true identity a secret. Unlike a lot of these New York superheroes…
What am I even doing here?
“Doctor Pym? Ms Nelson —”
“Thank you, Alice.”
The blonde — Alice — nodded to her and showed her in. Greer stepped inside the office gingerly, keen eyes moving to take in the room before they finally landed on the former Avenger.
Wow, those eyes… His eyes were the most vibrant and vivid blue she’d ever seen. Hers were darker, like sapphires she supposed. Greer flashed him a small smile as she tucked her long, thick hair behind her ear. He sat up a little straighter, his expression quite stoic in comparison to hers but he seemed a little uncomfortable. Maybe he was expecting somebody older, closer to his age, perhaps.
Well, how many women were widowed at the ripe old age of twenty-two?
“Ms Nelson, please take a seat.” He motioned for her to take the chair in front of him, which she did: hauling her bag into her lap to pull out the thin Manila folder hiding in it.
“Thanks for seeing me, Doctor Pym. I can’t imagine how many people you’ve interviewed for this position.”
Hank breathed a laugh out through his nose, glancing sideways at her compliment. Or what she thought was supposed to be a compliment, he supposed. “You’d be surprised.” he replied a bit dryly, his lame attempt at sarcasm. He moved his eyes back to her, trying not to be affronted by how utterly beautiful she was.
This won’t end well, Henry.
“Doctor Tumolo regards you very highly, Ms Nelson. Her letter of commendation almost boardered on complete flattery.”
Greer pursed her lips at his comment, toes curling inward against the soles of her shoes. She was afraid of this: she couldn’t get a lab job back home because all the men never took her seriously, and all the women hated that she was pretty.
“I told her not to send it. I like to get by on my own merits.” Here, Greer slapped her thin Manila folder on the desk between them, eyes locked with his until he moved his gaze to it.
Hank reached forward, placing his fingertips on top of the folder but he didn’t make to grab it. He realised then that he’d said the wrong thing. Typical Pym. “My apologies, what I meant to say was that your resume was very impressive, and Joanne sending this letter was just the icing on the cake.” He moved his gaze back up to the young lady, glad to see her expression softening a tiny bit. “I’ve known Joanne for many years, and as I’m sure you can attest, she does not give out compliments lightly.”
Now it was her turn to breathe a laugh, nodding as her gaze shifted over to the right side of the small office. “Not on paper, at any rate.”
Hank smiled softly, leaning back in his desk chair again as he dragged the folder into his lap, flicking through it quickly. “I couldn’t help but notice the large gap in your studies…” he mused, eyes flickering from the folder to her.
Greer flashed him an awkward smile, reaching up to fiddle with the gold chain that now housed her wedding ring. “My husband wanted me to be a homemaker, not a biologist.”
He frowned at her, surprised by her answer as much as he was confused by it. “Yet here you are…”
“Does that mean I got the job?” Greer joked, smirking a little at him. She was pleased to see his mouth twitch at the corner in amusement. At least she hoped it was that.
“It’s yours if you want it, absolutely.”
She couldn’t keep the grin off her face. Moving from the Windy City to the Big Apple was nerve wracking enough, and add jobless to the mix, well — she was relieved, to say the least. “Ohmigod, yes . Yes I want it. Thank you!”
Hank chuckled, smiling softly as he closed up the Manila folder and put it back on his desk. “Do you have any questions for me? About the job?”
Greer hummed in thought, letting her necklace go and running her finger against her lips as she pondered what to ask him. “I guess I’d like to know what you’re currently working on, and what role I’ll be playing here.”
“Well the majority of my research is centred around Pym Particles, and how I can use and manipulate them into aiding the world. I have also been expanding my work into robotics and artificial intelligence, though your work will primarily focus around the biological use of those particles.”
Greer nodded slowly, suddenly curious about what his lab looked like. So many projects and just one man… pretty admirable. “Can I ask you something personal?”
Hank’s turn to purse his lips. But they’d be working very closely very soon… he supposed it was only a matter of time. “Only if you’ll allow me the same courtesy.”
“‘Course. …Why’d you quit the Avengers?”
He took in a deep breath through his nose, and held onto it for a little while as he considered how honestly he should answer. Tony kept a pretty tight lid on the affairs of the team, so civilians didn’t know the dirty ins and outs. But everybody in the superhero community knew exactly what had gone down six months ago.
“I broke the rules. I disobeyed a direct order to try and prove myself worthy in the eyes of my peers, and my marriage suffered because of it. I’m on permanent sabbatical from the team and I’m currently going through an extremely difficult divorce. So actually, I didn’t quit: rather this is the only work I’m currently able to do.”
Greer blinked at him, staying silent for a moment as she let what he’d just said sink in. Wow. Disgraced Avenger? Was that even a thing? “I’m uh — geez, I’m sorry. I had no idea, I didn’t mean to pry.”
Hank waved a dismissive hand at her. “The whole world will know in a few months, once the divorce is finalised.” He was pretending he wasn’t a complete train wreck at the moment — maybe he was coming off a bit cold, but it was better than breaking down in front of this poor girl who just agreed to a front row seat of what he was sure was going to be a spectacular meltdown. As hard as he was trying to avoid it. “My turn?”
With a soft sigh and nod, Greer leant back in her seat, bracing her hands on either side of the arms of the chair, shrugging her shoulders up. “Shoot.”
“Why New York?”
A soft frown creased her brow as she thought about how to answer that question. She could have gone anywhere. She could have stayed in Chicago, but — “Fresh start? Cliche I know, but… after my husband was killed two years ago, I went back to what I knew, got my degree, helped Jo with her formula… I guess I just wanted my own adventure, y’know?”
Hank blinked at her for a moment before his expression softened into a small smile. He was surprised, even just having this short interaction, to discover just how much they had in common. “I think I do, yes. I’m very glad Joanne reached out and recommended you, Ms Nelson. I do hope you’ll enjoy the work.”
“I like to stay busy. Keeps me out of trouble.” She seemed to have a knack for it back home: between Donalbain and The Owl she’d managed to make quite a mess donning that skin-tight costume of hers.
“Well I suppose all that’s left to say is, congratulations, and I’ll see you Monday.” Hank stood, flashing her what he hoped was a warm smile as he stuck his hand out over the desk for her to shake.
Greer mimicked him, standing to her feet as she slugged her bag over her shoulder, sticking out her hand to shake his firmly. It was calloused, she couldn’t help noticing. Hers were rougher when she was working, but they’d gotten a bit softer in the last few months of being idle. “Thanks again, Doctor Pym. I look forward to working with you.”
With a final nod Greer took her hand back and made her way back down the hall, back toward the lobby to find Alice waiting for her with a small stack of papers.
“Your contract is on the top of the pile, and some notes underneath about what you’ll be working on.” The other woman handed her the papers sheepishly, her eyes moving quickly from Greer’s face and down to the floor behind her glasses.
“Thank you, Alice, was it? I’m looking forward to working with you.” Greer took the papers with a smile, which fell quickly as soon as Alice stared at her with wide eyes and shook her head.
“Oh, no – it’ll just be you and Doctor Pym. Today’s my last day.”
Greer frowned, tucking the papers into her bag. She realised she hadn’t taken her manila folder back, though she supposed Doctor Pym would have more use for it than she would now. “Really? In this entire lab?”
Alice took a step closer to her, looking quite serious and Greer couldn’t help but lean her head back a little. “Take good care of him, Ms Nelson. That’s what he really needs.”
Well, that’s not concerning at all.. . Her eyes widened in disbelief as Alice drew away and moved back to the reception desk, and Greer just stood there, blinking at her for a long moment. When it became clear their conversation was done, she shook her head and left.
“What have you gotten yourself into, Greer?”