And a Song Someone Sings
The winter, like the ancient shrine,
Lay before us in desolation.
Stones of walls and pillars, fine,
Crumble under winds and waters, patient.
The porch of marble is destroyed,
Like nets, the ice-floes are transparent.
And gradually melts the god,
Shaped out by the children, fervent.
—Nikolai Braun
The rocking of the ship almost felt like a teeter totter.
If Tony closed his eyes, he almost felt like a child again.
Almost.
Tony could even feel his father's disapproval.
Howard had gotten his way, yet he still wasn't happy.
But Tony supposed it was fair.
Every year since Captain America's death Howard and the Howling Commandos set forth on an expedition looking for the Valkyrie and their fallen captain.
Each year, fewer joined.
The Howlies were dying out.
This would likely be their last expedition.
Falsworth, Dum Dum, and Gabe were the last ones left.
Howard and the Howlies raised a glass for their fallen comrades. And then, they drank some more.
Tony almost thought it was pathetic, but if there was one thing he understood, it was grief.
"I keep trying to remember that song Cap used to hum," Dum Dum said softly.
"The gaelic one?" Falsworth asked.
"God, I remember that." Gabe laughed. "Sarge tried to smother him one night!"
Howard chuckled. "I remember that song. Cap would hum it when we ran tests on him."
"Sarge said that his ma used to sing it to him," Dum Dum said.
Howard downed another glass.
"Sarge loved that song," Gabe whispered. "When we were t-there, he'd hum it to himself."
Tony sipped his glass.
Grief was like a wound that never healed.
Even forty-three years later, blood poured like tears.
The beds in the Motel 6 were uncomfortable.
Their room had two beds and a cot.
Natya had the cot all to herself.
The twins were sharing a bed.
As were Yasha and Olga.
All of his girls were sleeping except for Olga.
Olga was sucking her thumb. Her eyes were wet.
Yasha sang soft and slow:
We lay my love and I beneath the weeping willow
But now alone I lie and weep beside the tree
Singing "Oh willow waly" by the tree that weeps with me
Singing "Oh willow waly" till my lover return to me
We lay my love and I beneath the weeping willow
A broken heart have I. Oh willow I die, oh willow I die
"How long are we staying here?" Olga asked.
"We're not staying in the motel much longer," Bucky promised.
"And then a new house?" She asked.
"Yeah." Bucky sighed.
"How long?" Olga asked.
"A couple of months," Bucky said, but that was only if they were lucky.
Olga sighed. "Why can't we stay?"
"It isn't safe," Bucky murmured.
"Because of the bad men," Olga whispered.
"When I found you and your sisters," Yasha whispered. "I had been with the bad men for a very long time. I was so broken that at first, I didn't notice that it was wrong. The bad men had taken you from your families, and they wanted me to train you to be like me."
"But you're good," Olga said.
Yasha shook his head. "The bad men made me do a lot of bad things."
"That doesn't make you bad," she said.
"You and your sisters made me good again," he said.
"You saved us." Olga grinned up at him.
"You saved me." Yasha booped her nose.
"But the bad men are still out there." Olga sighed.
Yasha wrapped his arms around her. "Yes, they are, and they're still looking for us."
"Why?" Olga asked.
"I don"t know why," Yasha said.
"Are we ever going to be safe?" Olga asked.
Yasha kissed her forehead. "I'm doing everything in my power to keep you and your sisters safe. That's why we move so much."
"B-But what about you?" Olga asked. "Who keeps you safe?"
He could almost hear his mother's voice... He could almost hear Bucky's voice...
We lay my love and I beneath the weeping willow
A broken heart have I. Oh willow I die, oh willow I die
If he died, would he see them again?
Wasn't he supposed to be dead?
Why wasn't he dead?
***
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