Justice is served!… like ice cream (part 5)
Previously *
Natasha distantly heard the judge call for a five minute recess for deliberation before everyone was to reconvene for the verdict. She swallowed back her emotions and asked Jen how much longer until they were done here.
When the green omega replied with “ no more than ten minutes”, Natasha nodded.
As they made their way out of the court room and onto the benches outside, the pack alpha gave her orders. “ Sam you know the rules pursue and observe, no contact unless the children are going to be hurt, this could be a part of a bigger trafficking operation and can lead us to more children in need”
“Yes alpha!”
“Hope, I need you to follow and protect while remaining undiscovered, get inside the van and protect those kids, I know Scott is with his daughter but ask him to do the same”
“I'm on it!”
“Y/n baby, I want you and Kate to stick together. Stay inside the ice cream shop where Naomi can see you okay, Wanda , Yelena ,and I will be there in ten minutes. Okay?”
Y/n whined, “is everything okay natty?”
“Yes, detka, everything is okay. We are almost done here at court but I needed Sam and Hope for a mission, that's all. Stay with Kate inside where it's safe okay?”
“Okay… I love you natty, tell Max I love her too”
“We love you more”
Earlier that sameday with y/n*
Y/n was excited as she entered the ice cream shop with Hope, and Kate by her side. Sam had picked a spot outside under an umbrella and asked for a double scoop of vanilla. She was nervous about that van outside but her alpha had that covered and everyone had their orders so she was back to thinking about what ice cream she was going to choose and what fun her and her alphas were going to have once they got there.
It seemed like there were more children and families at the shop than normal so the line was very long but y/n didn't mind. Honestly there was so much to choose from that the line gave her the opportunity to really ponder her decision. It was a big decision after all.
Ruth was like the Willy Wonka of ice cream and there were just so many options to choose from. They had everything! They had the classic Vanilla, they had roasted s’mores, they had milk chocolate, dark chocolate, and Swiss chocolate. They had espresso, vanilla chocolate twist, cookies and cream, peanut butter, and mint . Then they had fruit flavors like strawberry, mango, lemon, and key lime. They even had other flavors like butter pecan, salted caramel, rainbow sherbet, and dairy free sorbets.
And to top it all off they even had toppers/ mix-ins to choose from. They had Chocolate chips, thinner chocolate shards, regular cookies, rainbow sprinkles, cookie dough, brownies, Oreos, nuts and even fruits. They even had chile powders, liquid chiles, hot Carmel, hot chocolate, waffle cone pieces, and candies.
And if that wasn't enough, they had the option of turning any ice cream into a smoothie and they had freshly baked cookies so you could create your own ice cream sandwich. That had been Naomi’s idea which proved to be a fan favorite.
Y/n honestly didn't know how she’d decide before it was her turn in line and the thought of holding up the line forming behind them was giving her anxiety. The omega nervously turned her arm and turned towards Kate for some ideas. “What are you getting?”
Kate smiled deviously “ well I don't know yet, but I know what I'm getting my alpha” Kate and Yelena always had this game where they tried new things by picking random foods for each other, but always picking something they truly believed the other would enjoy. It kept their relationship and their pallets fun and growing and open to new things, and if they didn't like it they just ordered something they did like. However with Yelena in court it was a bit of a harder decision to make so she focused on her alpha first. “ I'm thinking about getting her the mango ice cream and to ping it off with both liquid and powder chile but I haven't decided if I'll make it just the ice cream with the toppings or turn it into a smoothie yet. But if I do turn it into a smoothie i'll also add some fresh mango pieces and ask them to also put layers of the chile inside not just mixed in”
“That actually sounds delicious, infact Natty would probably love that too” y/n tilted her head and lifted her eyebrow at her sister-in- mating “why does it look like you’re plotting something though. That seems like something Yel would really enjoy.”
Kate chuckled as she bounced on the balls of her feet. “ because no matter what I get her I'm going to give it to her with a fork, not a spoon or a straw”
Y/n laughed lightly slapping her arm “ I can't wait to see the look on her face when you hand her that fork” she gasped “ oh oh better yet if you get her the ice cream in a cup you can stick it in the ice cream so she puts it in her mouth with realizing it's a fork first” she giggled. “We would have a prank day, we haven't had one of those in a good long while”
“Ha! that is better! I'll do the ice cream for my alpha and you do the smoothie for Nat. And Yeah that was hilarious, those stickers we set up still fool them sometimes” Kate laughed.
With her anxiety gone it was easier to make her decision. Ultimately it came down to thinking about what she wanted to do for the day and she knew she wanted a nice tasty meal, so she decided on mint ice cream with the thin chocolate shards not the chips because there is a difference and oreos mixed in. That way it's still fun and tasty but it also won't change the flavor of whatever they decided to eat next later on.
Hope, to y/n, looked like she was on a mission,which she figured she technically was since she was there for their protection. The alpha stood rigid, eyes infinitely scanning the crowd for possible threats under her hat, she seemed to think all the children in the shop had motive to do them harm, which y/n wouldn't immediately disregard considering how Her alpha and Yel were raised, but still. She was even wearing her shrinking suit under her clothing.
Hope was always very nice and super smart, but the omega had always wondered something. “Hope, can I ask you a question?… one that isn't that one.”
“Of course y/n.”
Y/n linked the alpha, always careful about this stuff.“ Why are you ‘the wasp’, instead of like, ‘ant woman’, or ‘ant queen’?”
Hope opened her mouth like she was going to reply but then tilted her head. “ you know… I'm not sure” she paused again, “ I guess it was in honor of my mother because that was what she was called and I didn't really question it. Why'd you ask?”
Y/n tilted her head as they all collectively took a few steps closer towards the service counter. “Well for starters all ants in a colony are female. The queen only births males right before mating season and when the time is right they leave the colony to mate with an available female queen only once before they die having never contributed to their birth colony. The whole colony is basically a collection of sisters and their mother, so I guess I always thought “ ant man” was weird since ant men are basically born to die after having relations just once. I mean I know he shrinks to the size of one but so do you, and the queen ant has wings for the mating flight before she removes them to start her colony, and I know he can control the ants to an extent but you can do it better and ant colonies literally live I'm to serve their queen ” y/n shrugged. “It confuses me”
Hope looked at y/n with wide eyes “wow, even Scott doesn't know all of that. What got you interested in the subject?” she asked with a smile, her body relaxing.
Y/n shrugged and looked down “you and Scott did, you are part of my pack… my family. Why wouldn't I be interested?”
Before Hope could reply, they finally made it to the service counter and were welcomed with a big warm smile.
Naomi was tall and strong and had the body of a pro soccer player barely hidden behind the tiny apron she had on. Honestly it was a bit of a comical sight but the alpha was kind and protective wrapped in a big intimidating body so she did it for the kids who stopped by the store. “Y/n! You made it” she smiled “and you brought Kate and Hope! Ruth and I have missed you all so much! I'm so glad you're doing better. When we heard the news it sure did give us a fright. Ruth will be out in just a few minutes, she's putting on the finishing touches of a new batch of ice cream in the back. I'd hug you but we're down a server for the day. So what can I get you”
Naomi took their orders like a food service veteran, fast, accurately, and with a smile. The two omega's had even asked if they could have new special flavors sent back home for their alphas as a surprise for later. Y/n got Nat that mango chile smoothie she had discussed with Kate earlier, Kate got the mango ice cream with the chile and mangos on top with a fork inside for yel, and y/n decided to get wanda a strawberry with fresh strawberries and drizzled with a balsamic reduction.
When Hope went to pay for everyone, because no way was she letting the I'm as pay for everything, Naomi waved her away with a smile. “Don't worry about it, your pack alphas called ahead and paid for a whole week's worth of our inventory. they said to let you all get anything you wanted and to keep the rest.”
Y/n rolled her eyes with a smile. Her alphas were always so generous.
Together Kate, Hope, and Y/n found a small table close to the service counter so that they could visit with Ruth when she was done. Once they found their spot y/n made to go give Sam his vanilla ice cream, but Hope offered instead, knowing Naomi would keep an eye on the omegas while she was gone.
After hope came back Naomi escorted Ruth to their table before heading back to the service counter. Yes Ruth had the layout memorized and yes the tables and chairs didn't move out that much, but the store was very busy and very crowded with customers and their children and the alpha didn't want her baby Ruth to get bumped into.
Kate was enthusiastic as ever “Ruth! It's so good to see you again!”
“How have you been?” y/n asked.
The omega turned her headland y/n for a second gazed towards her own reflection in the glass of Ruth’s shaded visor. Ruth was a wonderful omega and a dear friend but even though Ruth was going blind y/n couldn't look her in the eyes. She'd always seen her own reflection looking back at her and it left her feeling exposed. Y/n always wondered if Ruth, like her visor, could see who she was or because she was going blind she could see deeper into a person.
“Me? What about you? Naomi and I heard what happened. We were worried sick, and now with the press and the court case happening right now. How are you doing?” Ruth asked.
“I asked you first” y/n countered.
It was nice to have everyone conversing for a little while before Hope tilted her head, stood up, apologized and excuses herself, leaving the store in a haste.
Y/n was going to ask Kate what that was all about but then she got a link from her mate.
“Y/n baby, I want you and Kate to stick together. Stay inside the ice cream shop where Naomi can see you okay, Wanda , Yelena ,and I will be there in ten minutes. Okay?”
Y/n whined, “is everything okay natty?”
“Yes, detka, everything is okay. We are almost done here at court but I needed Sam and Hope for a mission, that's all. Stay with Kate inside where it's safe okay?”
“Okay… I love you natty, tell Max I love her too”
“We love you more”
Now*
“What was that all about?” Kate asked.
“Natty wants us to stay here, Sam and Hope got sent on a mission but they should be here themselves in a few minutes.”
“Oh… well are they sending anyone else to stay with us?” the omega asked. She remembered the safety rules they were stuck under and didn't want any trouble.
Y/n hesitated, thinking about it for a minute “Well vision is out visiting wakanda, Bucky and Steve are on a mission. Clint, Kamala and Scott are with their families I think. Thor is still off worldpeper is already at the compound with Peter, Morgan, and MJ. Bruce is probably working at the compound. And our alphas went to court with Tony, Carol ,and Jen…. So I'm guessing no unless I'm missing someone.” she shrugged.
“Well… what's the worst that can happen in a few minutes”