More Than a Soldier

Chapter 77 - I'm dropping out

Scarlett's POV:

Our little man is growing nicely and is currently about the size of a large mango. Y/n is a little over 23 weeks and is doing amazingly well. I'm in awe of her every day. How she managed at the premiere, I'll never know. She was struggling so much, and she managed to pull it together and you'd never know how uncomfortable she really was!

Today we're going to the cinema to watch Endgame with Ava. We've booked an early showing, hoping that the theatre isn't packed out. I'm actually a little worried for how Ava is going to react. Black Widow is her comfort character and she's about to watch her die. I know Y/n will be no help as her hormones will make her a blubbing mess, even if she has seen it before.

I head straight into the theatre with Ava, and we take the seats at the back in the corner. Y/n insists on getting us drinks and treats and is soon joining us with a large bucket of popcorn, a bag of candies and drinks for us all. We get comfortable and get ready to watch the movie.

Ava's doing well in the early parts of the movie and can't wait to tease her Uncle Chris about getting fat as Thor. She also says how much she loves my hair and wants to have hair just like it. Y/n's eyes widen at the thought and quickly tells her that she can't dye her hair until she's at least 14.

I'm impressed with how easily she keeps up with how they are planning on retrieving all the stones, only asking one question for clarification. But as we get closer to the scene on Vormir, my gaze keeps glancing to Ava to see her reaction. I notice that Y/n is doing the same from the other side.

She's fixated on the screen as she watches it all unfold in front of her. She realises early on that Clint or Natasha have to sacrifice themselves and she looks to me, almost like she wanted me to tell her it's not true. Her gaze returns to the screen and Y/n reaches over to take Ava's hand, who squeezes it tightly in return.

I'm not even watching the screen as I watch Ava's reaction. She has a look of fear as she watches Clint and Natasha fight on the cliff and as Natasha jumps, she calls out a quiet "no". It breaks my heart as her eyes fill with tears as she pleads for Clint to save Nat. But as Nat pushes off the wall her tears fall, and she buries her head into Y/n's shoulder.

Y/n lifts her and sits her on her lap and wraps her arms around her. I move into Ava's chair and rest my hand on her back. She recovers after a few minutes but decides that she wants to stay in her mom's lap. Which I'm grateful for because she imitates her mother when Tony dies and sobs through it all. I can see Y/n is also crying but it's more muted than it was when she first saw it.

When the movie ends, we stay in the theatre as the rest of the audience file out. Ava sniffles from her mom's lap and instantly holds her arms open to me. I pick her up easily and pull her into me. "Is she gone for good?" She asks me, her red eyes breaking my heart. "Yes bug. Though there will be one more movie set in the past where she'll be back." I try to comfort her. She smiles a little at that fact. "I can't wait to watch that one." She tells me. "I can't wait for you to see it." I respond.

"That is an incredible movie, but I don't think I can watch it again. The emotional damage is too much." Y/n shares jokingly, but I'm pretty sure she means it. It's not just the hormones this time. "Can we watch a happy movie when we're home?" Ava asks and Y/n jumps up. "Yes! Something fun like Sing!" She suggests and I roll my eyes. "Do we have to watch me twice in one day?" I question with a pout. "Technically, we're not watching you, just hearing you." Y/n defends. I know I'm on a losing battle as Ava is already talking about watching the car wash scene.

It was the right choice to watch something happy. Both Ava and Y/n seemed to need the lift of happiness and I guess I should be honour that they can find that in my work. I just don't particularly like watching myself. Though it is something I've had to get used to with these two. Otherwise, I wouldn't be spending half as much time with them!