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The sunlight feels crisp and warm against her skin as she runs up the grassy hill near the Space Center. Her heart beats out of her chest in a way that only a child’s can— blissfully ignorant to the horrors of the world, full of the pure, unadulterated joy of youth that comes with skipping rocks and climbing trees. Athena’s only nine, but she’s growing up quickly; she can now use a microwave to make macaroni and spell the word “psychology.”
Her lungs push the air in and out of her body with fervor and force as her legs carry her over the peak before she allows herself to roll down the hill, giggling as her body tumbles into the soft meadow of wildflowers that cushions her fall. Between the laughter that bubbles up from her chest, she clutches her sides and yells out, “Come on!”
Juniper wanders down carefully into the thick of it to find Athena crumpling the stems and petals of dead nettle and verbena. She’s laying down on her back, looking up at the sky and admiring the clouds. They’re pretty from all the way down here, framed in her vision by flora that has no business growing in this field but does so anyway with a defiant, beautiful grace.
“Thena,” Juniper says timidly, her dress flapping gently in the breeze, “you’re hurting the flowers.”
Athena’s eyes widen at the knowledge and she immediately gets up, swatting the dirt off her tights as she follows Juniper out from the tall grass. It’s then that she feels the sting on her wrist. She lifts it to see a thin line of red across the back, pooling at the seams with blood. She yelps, causing Juniper to turn back.
“Thena?”
“Junie, I’m bleeding,” Athena points out, holding up her arm, a bit panicked. “The grass cut me, I think.”
Juniper looks about ready to faint, but in an odd moment, her pout pulls into a thin line of determination as she looks through the small wicker basket that she’s been holding and produces a band-aid. “Thena, c’mere,” she says, quiet as a mouse with a determination that could move mountains.
Athena pads over the grass to meet Juniper, who puts on the band-aid with utmost care. “My grandmother says that plants are good for a lot of things, but not cuts. She says the only thing that can help is a band-aid and a little bit of love,” she says, pressing her lips to Athena’s arm where the bandage sits.
It isn’t until years later until Athena realizes why she smiles so wide at the gesture.
Athena can’t imagine a better day than this one.
Time flies; she’s eighteen, and she’s grown up quickly; she can cook more than just microwave mac and cheese, and she now knows that she’s head over heels for Juniper Woods.
Athena’s heart beats in her chest in the way that it only does in the presence of a first love rekindled after years of separation— full of contentment, joy, and so much tenderness, directed solely at the girl who holds a semi-gloved hand to her mouth as her laugh chimes through a cracker topped with strawberry cream cheese.
“Athena?” Juniper asks with a small pout. “Are you alright?”
Athena’s eyes snap back to the beautiful girl in front of her, brown eyes batting in the beginnings of worry from underneath a straw hat. Juniper’s grown into her face, her jawline now sharp underneath the softness of her cheeks, her eyebrows a little more knitted than they used to be, drawn in by the harsh realities of the world that children are shielded from at all costs.
For as good as things are now, when did life get so complicated?
“Yeah. Yeah, I’m alright,” Athena says, the words spilling from her lips a touch more absently than she’d hoped. Juniper, as smart as she is, picks up on the tonal shift immediately.
“I… is it something I did?”
“No! No, of course not.”
“Well, whenever you want to talk about it, I’ll be here,” Juniper assures with the fortitude she’s cultivated over the years, resting her head on Athena’s shoulder.
She’s incredibly thankful that Juniper doesn’t have her hearing, lest she notice Athena’s heart beating with a strange melancholy.
A while later, they’re walking hand in hand down an old hiking trail nearby lined with sprawling grass and speedwell, the large trees only a little taller after seven whole years, causing Athena to consider the relative passage of time as she steals glances at Juniper, who looks up through the forest canopy as she says, “You know, things feel the same, but they feel different, too.” It’s a bit awkward, the way she’s speaking, her words slightly softer and hesitant as they pass her lips. It’s what Athena can positively identify as probing, even without her enhanced hearing. That’s just how well she knows her Junie.
“Yeah, being accused of murder really does a number on a person, I guess,” she chuckles, trying to lighten the mood and cut through this odd tension, only to be met with a horrified gasp from Juniper.
Foot, mouth.
“Thena!” Juniper scolds, though there’s more bark than bite in her voice. “You can’t just joke about things like that.”
“W-why not?”
Grab a damn shovel and dig the hole deeper, why don’t you?
Juniper sighs so heavily, Athena expects her to reach for the sunflower tucked in her hair, so she’s surprised when Juniper pulls out her knitting needles instead and gets to work on what looks like a cerulean scarf as they walk. “I worry about you sometimes,” she confesses, and that’s when Athena hears it. Juniper’s voice is quiet, even when she’s stern, but it’s never wavered the way it does now— nervously, tentatively. Juniper’s stitches get faster. “I… I understand that everyone has their way of coping, but…”
She doesn’t finish the sentence, instead relying on Athena to fill in the blanks. “You think I haven’t properly processed everything.”
Perhaps it’s true with the nightmares she still gets about a knife through the hand that killed her mother. Perhaps it’s true when she fumbles in court and all she can see is a gavel locking in the fate of an innocent man. Perhaps it’s true with the way she works herself to the bone to help others and distract herself from the damage that can’t be repaired like a bombed courtroom— the cracks in those pristine and hallowed granite floors may be gone, but the scars on her psyche are most certainly not.
Perhaps it’s all true, but that’s not Juniper’s burden to bear. Athena says nothing.
Juniper nods, looking back down at the scarf, still working deftly with slim fingers. “I know I haven’t,” she offers as they come to a clearing. A grassy hill sits in front of them, one that would be perfect for watching launches from the Space Center. At the bottom sits an all-too-familiar meadow of wildflowers. “You’ve always been the stronger of the two of us, but at what cost, Thena?”
Athena walks up the hill, Juniper following close behind, and they sit. Her knitting has slowed, but only slightly.
After a moment of consideration, Athena answers the question, quieter than usual. “I dunno. All I know is that I wouldn’t change a thing. I mean, everything turned out alright.” She watches Juniper for a moment, then adds with a smile, “More than alright, if you ask me. I mean hey, I saved Simon, I figured out what really happened to my mom… I found you again.”
Juniper’s concern twists into surprise. “W-what?” Before she can continue, though, she yelps in pain. She’s pricked herself on her knitting needle, if the finger flying to her mouth is any indication. She mutters something about “clumsy” and “embarrassing.”
When Juniper collects herself, her eyes widen, though the reason why is beyond Athena. “Um, do you have a band-aid by any chance? There’s a little blood.”
Athena has actually started carrying around band-aids with her keys and the like. Mr. Wright happens to be an awfully clumsy boss who doesn’t keep a first aid kit in the office, Trucy and Apollo are sometimes victims of first time attempts at magic tricks gone wrong, and Athena herself has tripped on the courthouse steps more times than she can count. It’s never anything too serious, but it’s enough that she’s taken the precaution of being ready for anything.
She digs around in her pockets before her hand lands on a paper wrapper. She pulls it out, peels the backings, and gently wraps the band-aid around the exposed part of Juniper’s offered index finger; her hands, unlike Athena’s, are softer— there’s no sign of splinters from slamming a defense bench with a little too much gusto, but there are signs of weathering from years of gardening and knitting. How nice it would be to hold those hands every day for the rest of their lives, Athena muses wistfully.
In a moment of instinct, she presses Juniper’s bandaged finger to her lips.
Time stops around them as Juniper’s hand tenses, the sinew of her hand tightening slightly under Athena’s touch. Ah, young love; Juniper sighs softly, with levity. Athena’s eyes shoot up to see her girlfriend smiling softly, small wrinkles framing the outer corners of her eyes. “It’s just like when we were kids, huh?”
Athena can hear the unspoken question as Juniper’s trepidation from earlier begins to add up. “You miss the old days, huh?”
“I miss when things were easy,” Juniper confesses, her face falling into guilt. “I miss when we didn’t catch each other frowning before we plaster on smiles. I miss when I didn’t feel like I was holding you back.”
“What do you mean, holding me back?” Athena tilts her head.
Juniper huffs, a bit tired. “I’m a tie to your past, Athena. To… before everything happened. I’m a reminder of how happy things used to be, and now I can’t help but feel like it’s salt in the wound, you know?”
“Oh,” is all Athena can fumble out, but thankfully Widget objects with, “That’s not true!”
“But…” Sadness— a deep, deep sorrow colors Juniper’s tone as she drops her gaze. “The way you just ignore the hurt… I know you think it’s good to just grin and bear it, but… oh, I don’t know what I’m rambling about,” she sighs, a bit defeated. “I care about you. I worry about you.”
Athena shakes her head. “That’s not your job.”
“You’re right,” Juniper shoots back. “But I choose to do it anyway because I love you.”
Athena doesn’t even need to gather her thoughts. She speaks freely, “Juniper Woods, I need you to listen to me, and listen to me good.” Juniper looks up, in a confused sort of dulled pain. “You’re right. I do grin and bear it a lot. I probably do have a lot to work on in terms of unpacking what I’ve been through. But I never, ever want you feeling like you’re some… burden.”
It’s Juniper’s turn to gape a bit. “But you—”
“Objection,” Athena teases. “Look at us right now. You’re worried that you’re holding me back from healing, but you’re really the one who’s pushing it forward by encouraging me every step of the way. I feel like I’m at my best when I’m with you, Junie. You may be a tie to my past, but you’re also my present and my future, and if I have to tell you that every day to make you believe it, I will. I love you, too. Okay?”
Juniper nods, hesitantly. “As long as you know I feel the same way. I’m here for you, Thena. Always.”
Athena smiles seeing Juniper’s face relax back into its gentle neutrality, stoic but kind. “Well, in that case, are you free this Saturday? I was going to go visit mom, but it might be a good time to introduce her to my girlfriend properly, y’know? She’ll be happy to see you, I’m sure. Plus, you’re a lot better at picking out flowers than I am.” It’s a joke to lighten the mood, sure, but there’s a thin trace of hope within it, cutting through the barbed darkness.
“I’d be happy to join you,” Juniper says, taking Athena’s hand in her own with renewed contentment and a bit of a giggle. With the shock that travels up her arm through every nerve, Athena wonders if this is what Ponco would feel like if she were thrown in a lake, left to short circuit completely. Widget relays the thought, and Juniper’s laughing harder now. Athena feels liberated, knowing that all the fondness in that bell-chime sound is all for her.
She smiles wide and joins the sweet girl who’s clutching her own sides with gloved hands and a bandaged finger in the kind of laughter that heals the world.