When the weather was clear, the shadows of the tall arbors looked even richer, falling over the steps of the flagstone path like a pair of hands in black silk gloves playing on ancient piano keys. When the sky reached the deepest blue, the shadows of the leaves were always an intensely vivid blue-purple, and even an inadvertent glance at them made one marvel that such brilliant colors could truly appear in real life.
Krakoa's buildings were very fond of wooden structures paired with crystal glass windows and domes. When the weather was good, there was abundant natural light indoors. Scattered through the crystal windows, it cast a hazy, soft glow over everything.
Under that light, the cool undertone of Natasha's red hair faded, turning instead into a passionate orange-red, while Bucky's black hair was lit into brown. The faintly stirring strands shone, making him look as if he had just stepped out of a medieval religious mural.
Steve stepped forward and gave Bucky a hug.
"You finally made it. And, Lady, has work been going smoothly lately?"
"Let's talk about me first," Bucky said. "I've got good news for you. Stingy Nick has finally decided to give me the treatment of a Level Eight agent. From now on, I'll be Coulson's colleague at the same rank. Oh, right, he ate a Golden Apple a couple days ago. Did you know?"
"I just found out," Steve said. "Don't forget, he's a die-hard fan of mine. Whenever something happens, I'm the first one he thinks of telling. He even came to me to discuss whether he should eat the Golden Apple."
"I forgot about that," Bucky said with a smile. "You know, sometimes I always forget you're Captain America—or rather, I can't connect the you from back then with the you