Winter's Widow

Chapter 23: Forest Stars

Natasha and I looked each other over after the battle, silently. To be honest, we were both wrecks, and there was no way that either of us should be left alone, so the ruse of checking for post-battle injuries was an easy one. I used a wet washcloth to wipe away some of the soot that had accumulated on her shoulder, and she winced as I traced over the beginnings of a bruise. I heard her inhaling sharply and knew that one had nothing to do with a potential injury. I spun her to face me, seeing her green eyes welling with tears that weren't too far away from appearing in my own. "How could this happen?" She murmured, catching my hand and preventing me from my aimless wiping. I sighed, not trusting myself to speak. To be honest, I wasn't entirely sure that I knew what actually happened. We were all fighting the space dog things, but then our entire team had withdrawn to the woods to look after Vision, and then – well then HE showed up. Wanda was gone – I watched her turn to dust in front of me. Bucky was gone. T'Challa and Shuri were gone – a fact that had been made abundantly clear as those of us who remained were regarded suspiciously by many members of the Palace staff as we struggled back to our rooms. Wakanda was virtually leaderless. I took a deep breath, gambling on trusting my voice when a soft knock at the door changed my mind. When neither Natasha or I moved to open it or respond even, it swung open slowly, revealing the Dora Milaje general in front of us. Okoye, I think was her name. She regarded us seriously, no doubt experiencing many of the same emotions that we were.

"Come with me," she offered softly. My gut reaction was to refuse, but Natasha squeezed my hand and nodded when I glanced over at her. Both of us rose to our feet and followed the forbidding woman out of the room and outside the palace. She led us past the palace grounds, through much-quieter streets than we experienced when we first arrived. I recognized the direction we were going – we were headed towards the lab, but instead of bringing us down the elevator, the woman led us to the edge of the mountain. "Sit," she ordered. We complied. Okoye settled down beside us, hugging her knees to her chest and looking out across the forest below.

"Whatever we can do to help..." I stared. The woman watched me with eyes that appeared haunted. She had lost just as much as we had – maybe more.

"Just wait," she said softly. We sat in silence as darkness fell, Natasha and I leaning against each other for mutual support. "There," Okoye pointed. I squinted my eyes, looking down into the darkening forest beneath us, spread out like a patchwork quilt of natural green. Then I caught it. A small flash of light. I squinted harder, watching intently, waiting for another one to appear. Natasha sighed beside me. I glanced over and caught a small smile on her face. I elbowed her lightly, asking with my eyes if she was okay. To my surprise she grinned at me.

"Forest stars," she whispered reverently. I watched a few silent tears fall down her face as I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her in close. Okoye glanced over at us and smiled.

"The world is still beautiful, even with this kind of heartbreak," she muttered softly. I nodded, immediately getting the message.

"It's worth fighting for." The two women beside me murmured their agreement as we sat in silence, watching the forest light up beneath us in a show that seemed designed for only the three of us.

...

I knocked on Yelena's door after Shuri had dragged me away to explain in great and mind-numbing detail her latest technological invention. It had something to do with stealth tech but beyond that was beyond me. Shuri got the message after the third or fourth time that my eyes began to glaze over, and she finally let me escape back to my room. After throwing my bag in the closet, taking a shower and changing my clothes, it was time to check on the Russian. I found her sprawled on her back on the bed, staring at the ceiling. She didn't move a muscle when I entered the room, so I invited myself in and flopped down on the bed next to her.

"Did you finally remember I was here?" She snarked at me. I rolled over onto my side and looked at her incredulously.

"What are you talking about?" I asked softly. She looked at me, but almost immediately rolled her eyes.

"You went off with the genius and just left me here." I sighed.

"Shuri and I hadn't seen each other in a long time, Yelena." She scoffed and rolled her eyes again. I frowned, resting a hand on her hip. "What's going on?" Yelena took a deep breath, but didn't immediately answer. Taking her silence as consent, I grabbed her hand, standing suddenly and pulling her into a sitting position.

"What are you doing?" She grumbled at me, frowning.

"We're taking a walk," I announced. She sighed like she was exasperated, but I was relatively certain she was faking it. I grabbed her hand as we walked, and although she glanced at our joined hands like they were going to sprout an unexpected head, she allowed the contact as we walked quietly out of the palace and towards the lab.

"Where are we going?" Yelena complained as we left behind traces of civilization and began ascending the mountain. I shushed her, which was so funny in and of itself I almost couldn't contain my laughter, but I ignored the question completely knowing we would still made it if we kept up the pace. When we arrived, the forest beneath us was already blanketed in darkness. I sat down on the grass, pulling Yelena with me. She sat with a disgruntled grunting sound. I glanced over at her just in time to see her pouting as she looked at me expectantly. "Well?"

"Patience," I smiled. Something told me that patience was not this woman's forte. I looked down to catch her playing with my fingers with her own. She was twisting my ring around on my thumb and she seemed engrossed. She opened her mouth to speak, but just then I saw the first flash. "Look," I pointed towards the forest canopy. Yelena's mouth closed as she followed the direction I was pointing. I heard her gasp when she saw the flash of light herself.

"I used to love watching them when I was little," she murmured, her voice alive with wonder.

"Really?" I asked, fully knowing the answer. She nodded.

"Melina told me they were caused by bioluminescence when I was little, but I couldn't pronounce it." I smiled, trying to picture a young Yelena getting a science lesson.

"What did you call them?" I leaned my head on her shoulder and she scooted in closer to make me more comfortable.

"Forest stars."