Timelined directly after Those Lovely Shark People
<Hope> Finally, a class project that Hope could actually get behind. Shaw had assigned them the task of creating a robot that could make drinks. Naturally, the robot itself had to be built before she could program it. Hope sat in the robotics lab, tools all over her work station, music blaring as she worked. Skillet... Monster.
<Shaw> Deciding after his little chat with Mayday to drop in on the robotics lab, Sebastian was still toying with his laser pointer when he came through the door. Oh, Hope. He smiled. "Well, well, hard at work I see, Miss Stark."
<Hope> Hope grabbed a black sheet from her bag and threw it over her project, hitting pause on her phone for the music to stop. "Well well well. Coming to steal my ideas so soon?"
<Shaw> He tilted his head, an amused expression on his face. Now he was checking on her progress. "To steal your ideas, for the project I assigned." Lips pressed together in an effort to stop him from laughing outright, he decided to sit in her work bench.
<Hope> "I'm onto you, Shaw." Hope eyed him a bit. "I don't even think it's ethical that I take your class, really. Anything I do you could steal for your own company and personal use."
<Shaw> His head tilted the other way, his eyes still on hers and still supremely amused. Using his pointer, he poked the sheet, lifting the corner to look underneath.
<Hope> Hope was fast, smacking his hand hard with her own.
<Shaw> Though his hand jerked, he just flicked the sheet off the bench, eyebrows up.
<Hope> Tapping into Jason's power, Hope made the project disappear.
<Shaw> Sebastian grinned, shaking the pointer at her chastisingly. "You realize eventually I will see it, as I am required to grade your progress." He leaned toward her a little. "If I'm not mistaken, that's how this student-teacher relationship works."
<Hope> "Not until you sign a form stating that my work is my own and you can't use it in part or in whole."
<Shaw> That made him laugh. "Don't be absurd, little Stark."
<Hope> Hope shrugged. "Then I guess I'll just drop your class."
<Shaw> "You realize I'm the only engineer here, and I believe that's your area of study. That would provide quite a quandary for you if you continued to attend school here."
<Hope> "You're the one who won't respect my intellectual property."
<Shaw> "You're a student," he countered. "I have no interest in your intellectual property."
<Hope> "I'm also a Stark. I think you will. Maybe not this year. But at some point."
<Shaw> He sighed. "Hope, your father is one of my oldest friends. We wouldn't have remained friends for so long if we took to poaching from one another."
<Hope> "Funny... I don't see field trips to each other's business on the weekends."
<Shaw> "Ask him," he snorted, taken to turning on the laser pointer to determine where the bits on the bench went. Was it teleportation or illusion?
<Hope> Hope just crossed her arms, waiting. "I'm serious."
<Shaw> Sebastian rolled his eyes. "You're building a robot that mixes martinis, Hope. This is quite pointless."
<Hope> "Says the man who will have one in his apartment come Christmas."
<Shaw> "Who said I don't have one already?" He jumped off the bench and circled it to test the illusion theory. "Actually, the robot - should it prove functional - will stay here."
<Hope> "I've lived with you, remember? Though it could be a hilarious blonde joke," she smirked a bit. "I mean is it really so hard to just be a good guy and not take my shit?"
<Shaw> He stopped his circling to look up at her. "I could ask you to refrain from insulting my lover and I'll refrain from taking your... shit."
<Hope> "Oooo touchy! Tell you what. Sounds like a deal."
<Shaw> Her tone made his eyebrow arch, but it was a win-win situation for him. "Agreed then," he said, flipping the pointer to his left hand to offer his right to shake.
<Hope> Hope eyed the hand. What horrid things had he done with Jess with that hand... Well. Hopefully it was washed. She shook it and dropped the illusion.
<Shaw> "There," he said with a smile. "That wasn't so hard, now was it?" This was what she was concerned he'd steal?
<Hope> "That's... yeah sure." She shrugged, sitting back down to get to work.
<Shaw> "So, you do seem to be ahead of the others," he noted, sitting on the edge of her bench again. "Not that I would expect any less."
<Hope> "Well expect less on your dumbass reading assignments," Hope informed him, looking for the proper circuit board.
<Shaw> "I'm afraid they're a necessary evil, my dear. And part of your grade."
<Hope> "Not sure you got the memo about how I really don't care about grades."
<Shaw> "Though you have the security of the Stark name and a measure of his intellect, this doesn't excuse you from acquiring a formal education."
<Hope> "I get an education. I just don't do busy work."
<Shaw> "It isn't busy work as it's the foundation principles of well, of what you're just intuitively doing because you're a Stark. I assure you, Tony is subject to the laws of physics as well."
<Hope> "And yet you assign 5 chapters in a week."
<Shaw> "I assure you, if I didn't think you lot could handle it I wouldn't have done it." Sebastian picked up a circuit board to inspect her work. "It's still early in the term, and this is largely memorization of terminology."
<Shaw> He raised his eyes to her to smirk. "Really, if I had only assigned two you would accuse me of holding you back. You're complaining for the sake of complaining because you don't like authority."
<Hope> "No, two chapters is reasonable, especially with the work load you give for business too. Some of us have lives outside of this building." She didn't touch on the authority issue. That was true enough.
<Shaw> "Yes, of course, such as international television appearances." He smirked at her.
<Hope> "Well there's that too. I go to all kinds of things at night now."
<Shaw> "Perhaps then you should consider studying part time this semester then, and return to a normal schedule after the election." Sebastian returned the board to the bench and picked up another.
<Hope> "Well... I don't have to devote as much time to training now. So it evens out."
<Shaw> "Well," he mimicked her tone. "There you are then. I have confidence you can balance everything."
<Hope> "That is the great thing about this school. Enough people have the powers to make that happen for me. And I need the practice now that I'm off the team."
<Shaw> "And I didn't have to resort to reading your mind to see that ultimately you agree with me."
<Hope> "Everyone knows I have issues with authority. Comes with the whole new family every year thing." Hope tightened a screw on her project.
<Shaw> "Yes, well, now you will have one family for the rest of your life." He put that board back as well.
<Hope> "I know I do. A family of Tony."
<Shaw> "Precisely," he chuckled. "To be a Stark will be the gift that keeps on giving."
<Hope> "It brought along the creepy uncle too." She eyed him slightly.
<Shaw> He barked a surprised laugh.
<Hope> Hope tightened another screw, laughing slightly too.
<Shaw> "What other kind would you expect?" He flashed the pointer at her project. "You're a Stark, after all."
<Hope> "That's a fair point. At least you don't try to get me into bed anymore."
<Shaw> "It would be a bit too full now," he smirked.
<Hope> "Yeeeeeah I don't play well with others. Isn't that on my file somewhere?" she teased.
<Shaw> Sebastian gave her a fond grin. "It should be written on your forehead, little Stark."
<Hope> "Damn right. Along with fucking amazing."