Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Chapter 37 – One Step Forward To The Grave
The sun has been red for three days.
Astrophysicists wondered relentlessly at the length of this solar storm, calling it nothing short of a cosmic miracle that they were alive to witness it. After the Battle of Sokovia and all the loss it had brought, the world celebrated the marvel of the red sun.
A distraction from all the chaos of their lives.
A hope that somehow, there was still something worth saving after all this ruin.
But anyone who knew Ophelia looked at the sky and only saw the heavy grief that clung to her like a sickness.
Unlike last time it never flickered with instability, it never bubbled like a bomb on the brink of explosion. This time, an eerie stillness clung to the star, a weight that made its presence overwhelming.
On the first day of the red sun, the quinjet rode back to the Avengers tower in deathly silence. Not a single word was uttered by the team as they went back home.
Ophelia refused to let go of Steve throughout the flight. Her grip on him being the only thing keeping her tethered to the physical world.
The only thing keeping her from spiralling in the depths of her pain again.
"I can take it from here, Captain." Thor sombrely intoned as the jet landed on the tower's runway. "You should get cleaned up."
Despite the protest about to tumble from his lips, Steve was tired, filthy and in sore need of a shower. But as he looked down at the nearly dead look in Ophelia's eyes, he tightened his arms around her more.
"You won't help anyone if you can't even stand on your own two feet." Thor gently pressed on; his eyes glued to the tear-filled but empty ones of his best friend.
After releasing a heavy sigh, Steve thickly swallowed before nodding his affirmation. As he loosened his hold around Ophelia, the super-soldier cupped the brawler's cheeks with tenderness.
"You are still a hero, Lia. Nothing has happened today to change that. I know Clint can't be here to say it, so I'll do it for him. None of this was your fault." He spoke with a wavering strength, the day's events catching up to him as his bottom lip quivered slightly.
Ophelia's eyes gained a tinge of awareness as they shifted from their aimless stare to instead settle on Steve. Her dark green eyes caught in a torrent of grief and guilt as they battled for dominance within her.
"It wasn't your fault," Steve whispered again, his thumb caressing the young girl's cheekbone one last time before letting go. "I'll check up on you tonight."
"Does Laura know?" Ophelia's voice was rough from disuse after hours of staying silent, thick with emotion as she became more aware of her surroundings.
