Leave Me Behind [Winter Soldier] III

Celebration [Chapter 19]

"Life is what you celebrate. All of it. Even its end."

Joanne Harris

All of Wakanda, so it seemed, gathered for the event. Everyone was dressed up, the vibrancy of the world enthralled Ophelia. The elation that pulsed through the air caressed her skin, made her feel whole again, made her realize she didn't need her powers to embrace every drop of good in the world. Nighttime was nearing, and the festival that lasted the duration of the day would come to a close, complete with fireworks.

Ophelia had seen fireworks before, but she knew these would be different that the ones in Romania. Where some kid bought fireworks and lit a few off to impress some friends on Halloween. She hadn't like those, back then every noise startled her, but now, she felt safe.

She felt like royalty, in a dress that wrapped around her body -Shuri had to do it for her because Ophelia kept screwing it up- standing alongside true royalty. T'Challa had invited Bucky and Ophelia to watch the fireworks with his family.

"Aunty O-fee-lee-a!" Two tiny voices exclaimed, and through the darkness, Ophelia could make out two little children running towards her. She knew those little ones, and crouched down to catch them as they jumped upon her. She gripped both of them, though they were too big for this, and she stood up, twirling them once before she put them back down and panted.

"Hello Thabisa, Jabulani!" Ophelia stroked their hair.

"Little Wolf!" M'Baku exclaimed, stepping up to Ophelia and embracing her in the tightest hug she'd ever endured. She felt her breath escape her chest as she was squeezed by this bear of a man, and a soft laugh escaped with it. He put her down just before she was ready to tap out, and smiled up at the man.

"Hello M'Baku," she said with a bright grin.

"We are glad to see you and your family could join us," T'Challa said, planting a hand on M'Baku's shoulder. There was a noticeable respect between the two men, the two leaders, and Ophelia noticed it immediately. She heard that M'Baku was one of those who did not vanish when Thanos came, and so he pulled a lot of weight while T'Challa was gone. Despite what Thanos did being a terrible, terrible thing, it brought out the best in some people.

"Let us watch," T'Challa then gestured to the skies.

Huge cracking noises sounded and Ophelia flinched ever so slightly. Then, she watched as the skies lit up with colours she didn't even know existed. They were so brilliant she nearly shielded her eyes; the black night sky was touched with every shade of blues and greens, purples and reds, pinks and oranges. She felt Bucky's arm wrap around her waist, and she slipped her hand into his.

Music that made Ophelia want to sway and dance played perfectly in time with the massive blasts of fireworks up above. The melody seemed to cover the entire country, the entire world, as though it was all that was needed to bring everyone together, to make them realize that peace could be found. The loudness drowned out the thoughts in Ophelia's head.

The fact she was dead for eight years, it didn't matter.

The fact that Bucky still couldn't accept she was really here, and they were truly were different people now.

The fact that her brain was slowly killing her.

It all faded away in the moment, and Ophelia leaned her head against Bucky's shoulder, feeling the smoothness of the metal. His new arm was similar to the one she watched HYDRA put on him so many years ago, a lifetime ago. His previous one had been a symbol of death, his new one something else entirely. She held onto that for a moment, that their old life had been filled with death and chaos, and this new life could be so much more, should they allow it to.

Their life would be what they would make it, and Ophelia was going to make sure that it was worth the cost. The soul stone could try and make her cave, she knew now what it was trying to do to her; it wanted her back, and so she was suffering for living. She stood a little straighter, clutching Bucky a little bit harder. She had fought her whole life, she wasn't going to stop now. 

The soul stone would not have her, it would not win this fight.

"Bucky," she whispered as the fireworks began to get smaller, and the music played softer.

"Ophelia," he replied, rarely using her full name, and it always came as a slight surprise to her. She remembered the first time she heard it, how it sounded so strange with his accent, now it brought her a swell of love through her whole body. As that love pulsed through her, she tried not to think of how her brain was caged, Wanda's power inside there, hopefully keeping her safe.

The words she planned to say to him didn't make it out. Instead, she managed to say, "I want to do something that will make you never question us."

"Yeah?" He looked at her and a smile danced onto half of his face. It was a smile she had seen a thousand times before, a smile that made her truly believe everything was going to okay. After everything they had been through, she didn't know what she would do if they didn't work out. "What's that?"

"I don't know," she admitted. "I thought we could come up with something together."

"A few things have crossed my mind," Bucky told her. "And I think tonight is as good a night as any."

"For what?" She looked up at him through big green eyes.

Overhead the fireworks came to an end, the last of the sparks falling down the night sky, like they were bleeding their last drops. Now cheers of all the thousands of people who were watching could be heard, followed by some clapping, and then a lull of harmonized voices singing a unanimous tune. Ophelia was the one to feel as though she were now in a dream, this second chance was a dream, after all. She looked up at Bucky longingly, knowing that while there were parts of her she would define herself with that stood separate from Bucky, she didn't want to live a life without him.

Once again, she knew she had to fight the soul stone. For Bucky, and for herself.

"To ask you to marry me," he said.