sunset. [wanda maximoff] ✔

3.4

"See you downstairs in a minute?" Tony asked Scottie, noticing that the girl was standing at the door to Morgan's room with a familiar plush clutched in her hands. The once Avenger was smiling at her father as he put her sister to bed and she knew right there that as much as she hated Tony for not doing everything in his power to bring Wanda back, she would never want to risk Morgan.

Scottie nodded, allowing Tony to rest a comforting hand on her shoulder for a second before moving out of the room to allow Scottie to say goodnight to Morgan. Her younger sister grinned widely at her with tired eyes, a toothless smile across her small face as her older sister gently sat on the edge of her bed. Scottie was extra careful to make sure she didn't untuck the sheets from where Tony had just wrapped the girl up in.

"Hi otter," Morgan chirped, waiting for her bedtime story that the girl told every time she stayed the night. Scottie always read from her favourite book: whether it be about mystical creatures or strong princesses and their princes, Morgan was always hooked on every word that the girl said to her.

"Hi Morgs, what story shall we read tonight?" Scottie asked as she reached across the bed to get the familiar brown book that they would always pick a story from. Just as her hand went to latch around the book, Morgan's soft and small hand hooked on to her wrist as she stopped her sister from opening the story time book.

"Who is Wander?"

Scottie froze as she turned to look at Morgan in surprise. It wasn't something that she had ever talked to the young Stark about, and it wasn't something she was planning on talking to her about until she was a lot older. Morgan didn't need to be burdened with the hardships that they had all gone through before she was born.

"Morgan, who told you about Wanda?"

"No-one. I just heard you and daddy say their name a lot and again with your friends today," Morgan mused, pouting as she tried to convince Scottie to tell her the truth about this mysterious person. 

Scottie sighed, rubbing her forehead before looking down at the puppy dog eyes that the girl was giving her. She stopped for a moment, her heart breaking as she thought about how she had been put in the position of picking between Wanda and Morgan - something she never expected to be this hard. Before Morgan was born Scottie would have given up anything to bring Wanda back, but the second that she held the newborn baby in her arms she knew that she would never be able to go back to a life without Morgan.

"You know how mommy and daddy are in love?" Morgan nodded frantically as she clutched on to her bedsheet in excitement for getting to hear about the name she only ever had heard in whispers. "I'm in love with someone too."

"Who? Can I meet them? Is it Wanda?"

Scottie swallowed a lump in her throat, her eyes watering slightly as she looked back at her younger sister who was so free and full of life. She knew this was a conversation that she would have to have with the girl one day but today wasn't the day she had been expecting it.

"Yeah, it is Wanda. Or was Wanda. You can't meet her Morgan. There was an accident, and I made some mistakes before you were born and... and... look, Wanda... she isn't coming back."

Morgan pouted and crossed her arms, obviously not liking this part of her story. She was waiting for Scottie to tell her about the rainbows and sunshine that her father had always told her about his love for her mother. She was waiting for the fun stories, the laughs, the joys that came from her parents love. She was waiting for something Scottie couldn't give her.

"Daddy can bring her back, I heard your friend say that," Morgan said, causing Scottie's chest to tighten as she realised that her younger sister had heard much more of their conversation that morning than she had let on. Scottie wasn't sure what was hurting more: her sister's optimism that the dead would come back, or the fact she knew her dad could bring her back but it would risk Morgan.