What follows after rainy days: Find hope in rainbows

What glimmers in a puddle deep: Find hope in afterglow

Open your eyes, open your eyes

Then a rusted gear jittering my ear starting low to hear

Try and connect

A cold bullet pressed against the skin of her stomach, cradled by the tight fabric of her shirt. The sensation was annoying. The second bullet was still partially embedded in the skin just under her clavicle. Blue's head was still tilted forward. Just above the neat little hole she could make out the silver nugget protruding from her skin. Gingerly she prodded it with her fingers. A sharp sting pushed her mind further away from the fog of sleep. Taking a deep breath she pressed down on the skin surrounding the bullet. After several attempts to pinch it she managed a decent grip on the piece of metal. In one quick moment she jerked it out of her body.

That wasn't the painful part.

Painful was the burn of skin stitching back together. She'd been blissfully asleep when the other two wounds healed, but she would have to suffer this one. She'd say it was like being stabbed with a hot iron, but she had felt that pain before. This was far worse. Toes curled and her muscles spasmed involuntarily as the half inch hole in her chest closed. Eyes rolled back in her head. Fingers clawed at the concrete below her. The back of her head pressed against the building as her back arched. Air got caught in her throat

The whole ordeal lasted a few minutes. Long enough in her opinion. When it passed she was left gasping for air. Choking out a bitter laugh she pushed herself up right. Energy flooded her body. She felt alive. That was funny because she was dead moment ago. Literally dead. Heart stopped. No one home. Dead.

She hated dead.

"God dammit." she shouted when she looked at her watch. Bright green numbers flashed 2:07 A.M. She'd lost four hours. No, she'd lost time and her fucking cargo. She needed to get back to the next. Ma was probably pissed. The older woman was going to be even more pissed when she found out one of her Crows was either dead or a traitor.

Huffing she rocked to her feet. Bullets clinked on the ground as they fell from her lap. Only two of them. The third was stuck in the wall behind her. Clicking her tongue she looked down at her shirt. Black cotton was now stiff with her dried blood. Her skin itched. She wanted a shower. She needed food. Grabbing the ends of her hood she zipped it up to cover herself.

"Not my hood. You have to be…" she let out an aggravated groan as she poked the one hole in her blue hood. That jackass owed her a hoodie.

A rather devilish looking Hawk sat in the chair across from Ma. He was leaned forward with his elbows resting on his knees. Ma looked at him like he was a piece of meat. She didn't blame the woman. He was cute in a frat boy kind of way. Teeth were too white and straight. His jaw was square and strong. Even his sandy hair had that 'I just rolled out of bed look'. The old cougar had her prey insight, and normally Blue did good to stay the hell out of the way.

"Where the hell have you been?" Ma forgot about her eye candy for a moment. Dark eyes narrowed on her, and Blue felt the woman's fury. She didn't care. Her own anger could probably rival the old woman's. Blue didn't feel like sharing this information with present company. Crossing her arms over her chest, which was still sore, she glared at the Hawk.

"I have a huge craving for a hot dog and chili fries. Why don't you go fetch me some, brownie." he didn't like that. His shoulders squared up.

"Excuse me?"

"Did I fucking stutter?" she snapped. "Go! Stretch your wings. You can get in her pants later. Until then get me my damn food and let the grown ups talk."

God, did she enjoy pulling rank. Even with Ma sitting right there she had every right to order the Hawk around. There had to be a perk for getting shot at, right? Stepping to the side she let him brush by. Once he was clear of the room she kicked the door shut.

"We have a problem, and I'm not talking about me cockblocking." she planted her butt in one of the chairs.

"What are you talking about, sombra?" her tone was clipped. "There's no shame in failing a mission."

"I didn't fail anything. That Crow you sent to me put three in my chest. He shot to kill me." Ma knew about her little talent. Blue wasn't worried about that. What she was worried about was another Crow getting shot. "Why the hell would he shoot me? If he wanted the payday that bad he could of had it."

"Shot you? Why would… Shade would never.." the old woman's brow furrowed. "He didn't cash in,sombra. I figured the two of you would come back eventually with some crazy excuse."

"Since when have I ever failed or given you an excuse. This job wasn't hard. This job was actually insanely easy. What I want to know is why tall and bald decided to shoot me."

"What. No. Shade is tall, but he's got dark hair. There is no way he shaved it. I saw it this morning before he left the house." she trailed off. The irritated look on her face melted into worry.

"What are you not telling me Mama Bird?"

"It's not important." a lie Blue could see from the way her jaw clenched. "I want a full description of this person."

"Well, seeing as it was dark, and I was in the process of being shot…" Blue propped her chin onto the palm of her hand. Closing her eyes she tried to recall the image in her mind."Tall as fuck. Bald. Blue eyes. Dressed like a Crow. To be honest I remember more about the damn guns then him. Silver pistol. A Colt from the looks. Fancy. Nothing you would see a thug running around with. Far too shiny and clean. He takes care of it."

"That doesn't do me a lot of good, Sombra." she rubbed her eyes and picked up her phone. Instinctively she reached to her hip for her bag. Right, he had taken that. So she not only needed a new hoodie, but now she needed a phone and a bag. This day kept getting better. Someone picked up on the other end of the line.

"Call all the Crows and Hawks in. We've a cuckoo in the nest. Keep the Swallows out. No need to worry about them.. Yes.. yes.. I know how much money we'll lose. Tell the Swallows to keep their heads down. Simple missions only. I didn't ask what you thought. Just get it done." and angry tap to the smart phone's screen.

"I want half of what I was to be paid." Blue said. Ma lifted an eyebrow. "I deserve at least that much and you know it."

"Only because you are my favorite." a defeated sigh. This was not an argument the older woman would win. She slid open a draw and Blue heard the slips of paper sliding against each other. A rubber band snapped and a thick roll of cash was handed to her. "A grand for your troubles."

"Yey me." Blue plucked the roll from the woman's hands. Stuffing into her pocket she turned towards the door.

"Keep your head down, Sombra. Remember. You're supposed to be dead." Blue waved a hand dismissively. The door opened for her, and the Hawk from earlier came in with her requested food. Scooping up her food she took a bite of the hot dog. Patting him on the head she spoke through full cheeks.

"Thanks!"

Paranoia nagged at the back of her brain. Her eyes watched the shadows as she left the Nest. She hadn't felt this way in a long time. Alarms were going off in her mind. A voice in her head kept repeating the same phrases over and over again.

They know. They know.

They're coming. Have to hide.

Can't go back.

She needed to sleep. She needed to sleep bad. Going back to her apartment was out of the question so she went to the only place she remembered feeling safe. There was a courtyard that connected the orphanage to the church. In the middle of it was a rather tall willow tree. Before she knew it Blue was climbing the branches and settling in to take a nap.

"Why are you in a tree?" the voice startled her out of the dreamless sleep. Blue jerked hard and reached for something to fight with. All her hands found were leaves and twigs. After a brief moment of disorientation she remembered where she was. Wide eyed she glanced down to see Victoria staring up at her.

"Uh.. cause its the coolest place to sleep? Makes me feel like an elf. Minus the pointy ears and flowing blonde hair." Blue was met with a blank stare. "You know we really need to work on your pop culture references."

After double checking to make sure her hoodie was zipped, less she scare the girl with bullet holes, Blue dropped out of the tree. Still a bit weak from healing her legs gave out and she dropped unceremoniously on her ass.

"Are you okay?" Victoria asked looking genuinely worried. Blue laughed and rubbed her bum.

"Yeah. Not the first time I've fallen out of the tree. Probably won't be the last." she brushed her hands on her pants and then stood up.

"Are you homeless?"

"Ouch. I guess I do look the part right now." no blood on her hoodie, but it definitely looked worn. "Just had a rough night last night. This was closer than my apartment, and Sister doesn't seem to mind. Speaking of.. where is everyone?"

"Zoo. I'm not allowed to go." she sounded sad. Blue frowned.

"Well that's boring anyway. Who want to look at a bunch of caged animals. Kind of depressing when you think about it." her voice trailed off awkwardly. They stood there for a moment in silence. Then her stomach rumbled loudly. "I got a better idea anyway. Why don't we go get some pizza."

"I'm not supposed to leave…" she bit her lip, and Blue felt a wave of guilt for what she was about to do.

"I can show you how I used to sneak out all the time." she wasn't trying to get her in trouble, but the girl deserved a bit of fun. Being an orphan sucked. "Don't worry Sister Mary will blame it on me, and she can't stay mad at me. Let's go get some pizza."

Surprisingly Victoria was very agile. Getting out of the orphanage involved scaling a few stone walls. Blue imagined she'd have to boost the girl over walls or pull her up an over them. Victoria matched her step for step. She was a bit slower, but Blue attributed that to the jeans and flat shoes she was wearing. The thought struck her that the young girl would make a great Crow one day. Especially if she could mentor her.

What a selfish thought.

Victoria could do better.

"It's so tall!" Victoria's head was tilted all the way back as she looked at the top of the giant building that conquered the Chicago skyline. Her eyes were wide with wonder. Blue couldn't help but smile and ruffle her hair.

"Just the Sears Tower, V-baby." She glanced at the top of the tower. "Just a bunch of suits and tourists. Nothing too interesting. There are definitely better parts to Chicago."

"Really?" bright eyes turned to her. Blue felt startled by the naivety she saw there. "Can we see them?"

"Sure thing, I know a great place where we can grab a slice or two. Then we can go see the fountain." she checked her watch and glanced around. It was creeping up on noon. If they stuck to public places they'd be fine.

"What's going on over there? What are they doing?" A hand grabbed her wrist and pulled her towards a gathered group of music filled Blue's ears, and she rolled her eyes. Victoria was acting like a complete tourist right now. It was pretty adorable.

A guy was sitting on a bench with guitar. His friend at his feet had some crude drums that he beat on with his hands. They weren't half bad. In front of them the guitar case had been left open and dirty dollar bills and coins were scattered throughout it. Ten or so people had gathered around to listen. Most of them were tourists and had the same enthusiasm Victoria showed.

"Never seen a street show before?" the young girl was swaying back and forth to the music. Another sharp pang in her belly reminded her of her hunger. She ignored it for the sake of Victoria's enjoyment. After fifteen or so minutes Blue fished a twenty out of her pocket. Victoria looked confused.

"Go drop it in the case." she nodded and pushed between people. With a smile she dropped the twenty in the case before running back over.

"What next?"

"Now we head to Sal's for the best deep dish in Chicago!"

Forty five minutes later they were sitting on a bench. Behind them the Buckingham Fountain splashed loudly. Victoria sat on the right and Blue the left with the pizza box between them. Blue was on her fourth slice. A product of her bodies need to recoup the energy she lost while healing. Victoria was munching happily on her second slice of pepperoni pizza.

"Why did they build it?" she asked between bites? Blue twisted in her seat to look at the fountain.

"Some rich woman had it built when her brother died." Blue eyed another slice. She was starting to feel normal again. The paranoia was fading. Victoria's happiness was infectious.

"I like the horses." she said. Blue resisted the urge to pick up her fifth slice. Instead she stood and stretched her arms over her head. V's eyes stayed on the fountain. A grunt of agreement came from the back of her throat as she picked up her fifth slice. For a long time they sat there in a comfortable silence. Victoria watched the people around them with an odd sense of wonderment. Blue was as relaxed as she could be. Muted paranoia didn't mean no paranoia. She leaned against the wooden bench and watched people in a much more critical way.

"So, why didn't Sister Mary want you going out with the others? I can't imagine you did something terrible to get punished." she finished her slice and closed her eyes for a brief moment. Her hand rubbed a sore spot on her chest.

"My….guardian is very.. protective of me." she looked down at her lap. "Coming out here might be a bad idea. I could be causing him a lot of trouble."

Uh oh. There was the regret. V's eyes were wide as she stared at the half eaten slice of pizza. Blue patted her shoulder and gave her the most reassuring smile she could muster.

"Alright, let's go ahead and head back. We've had our fun, yeah?" she honestly wanted to get her back before she started to over think their little adventure. No need for her to feel guilty over something that didn't happen. "If your 'guardian' gets pissy I'll bop him on the nose."

"I don't think he'd appreciate that." she mumbled.

"That's the point, V-baby. That's the point."