Chapter Text
Ava was worried when Yelena had to go on a long solo mission. She tried to tag along, insisting that she could help but Yelena had calmly explained that this was something she just had to do alone. At least there was others around who could look after Ava if she dropped while mommy was away, but it wasn’t the same. She had dropped the night before Yelena went, she felt bad and just soothed herself so that mommy didn’t get mad at her. However, when came before bed to say goodbye since she was leaving very early the next morning, Yelena just gave a sad look at her baby.
“Honey, if you feel little then you should text the codeword, huh?” Yelena crossed the threshold to see Ava, who was curled up in bed with her little blanket wearing her shirt back to front and only one sock on.
“Didn’t wanna be a bother. Mommy busy” Ava replied, lifting her arms to let Mommy change her shirt. She put her other sock on then cradled Ava in her arms, gently rubbing her back as she rocked them back and forth. Ava let out a small noise and Yelena gently soothed her, kissing the top of her head before starting to rock them once more. It took a moment for Ava to calm, but then the reminder that Yelena was going to be gone for a while made her cry.
“Oh baby girl” Yelena whispered, holding Ava slightly tighter as she cried since tight hugs were one of Ava’s favourite things when she was stressed or upset, big or little.
“Mommy don’t go” Ava said after a moment and Yelena could feel her heart break, considering calling off the mission there and then Val be dammed. But it was too important for her to bail, and she really didn’t want to have to explain this to Val (mostly she didn’t trust the woman not to use it against Ava somehow)
“I’m sorry baby, mommy has to go and fight the bad guys, huh? But I’ll be back before you know it. Uncle Bucky is gonna be here with you, so will the rest of the team but he has insisted on no missions until I get back. Told Val it was so we’d have a ‘leader’ here at all times, but really it was to make sure he’ll always be here to look after you”
Ava sniffled quietly, it was so nice of Bucky to make sure she would be taken care of. She trusted him a lot, nearly as much as mommy. He certainly felt like a parental figure, but she’d never brought it up with him yet. She didn’t want mommy to get jealous either but her big self had talked with Yelena about if she thought Bucky might like it. It also made sense why he’d been left ‘in charge’ of her in mommy’s absence cos she knew mommy trusted him.
“I’ll miss you” she sighed, pressing her face to Yelena’s chest to hear the sound of mommy’s heartbeat.
“I’ll miss you too baby, but I’ll be back as soon as I can. I’ve left you some presents in a bag by my door and you can sleep in there while I’m gone if you need” she stroked Ava’s hair gently, pressing a final kiss to her forehead and gently shifting to a more comfortable position for the two of them “I’ll stay here with you till you’re asleep, okay?”