"STELLA?"

Stella had seen the birth of stars, the death by black holes, the brightest of supernovae, and light-years' worth of wonder, but she was sure that the look of recognition that slowly dawned on Axel's face, was among the best sights of the universe.

Because it wasn't just the disbelief in his gaze and the astonishment in his parted lips that had her thinking it was remarkable.

It was the awe. Complete and utter awe.

Yes, an angel's presence always had mortal heads turning- but it never invoked complete awe.

There was always a shred of doubt or disbelief- maybe a hint of envy that accompanied some of the awe, so this- the look in his eyes, as if he was looking at a sky full of stars- had her heart melting.

Hardly anyone had looked at the stars like that.

And absolutely no one had looked at her like that.

But there was always him.

If anything, it only made her smile widen.

"It's lovely to see you again," she says gently, with a  soft smile, "I'm glad to see that you seem to be doing better."

He blinks. Once. Twice. Almost as if he's expecting her to disappear the next time he opens his eyes, but she simply stands there, watching the realization sink in.

It takes a few more seconds- but then, he stands, nearly knocking his chair over backward, as some heads turn because of the sudden movement.

"You're an angel," he says, taking a step towards her, as a hand of its own accord reaches forward, almost grasping hers, before he pulls it back, clenching it into a fist by his side, "You- You're an angel."

"Thank you," Stella gives him a smile that's as angelic as it is innocent, "That is very kind of you to say."

"No- you- you're an angel," he breathes, his eyes raking up and down her form as if he can't believe that she's in front of him, "A literal angel."

"As I said," Stella presses her lips together to prevent her smile from widening, "that is very kind of you to say."

"No-you-" Axel reaches for his pocket, but his fingers only grab at the air.

Confusion furrows his brow, as he looks down at the feather that was gleaming and twitching in his pocket, mere seconds ago-

-only, it isn't there anymore.

"What the-" Axel's jaw drops for the second time, as he looks down frantically patting his pockets- his gaze searching the ground for a trace of the gleaming snow-white, tinted with gold.

"It was here- just here, what on earth-"

Someone in the background clears his throat.

For the first time since Axel noticed her presence, Stella turns back to the other two seated at the table and her eyes meet two pairs of inquisitive, yet baffled ones.

"Corban, I assume," she says with a smile, looking at the dark-skinned man first, "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

The way the man tenses in response is barely noticeable, but he takes one hand off the table as he straightens- fixing her with a hard look. Stella would've been offended if it were not for the fact that she knew that his name and identity was classified information- and it was only natural for him to be defensive about it.

"Miss," his voice is as hard as his expression, "I don't believe we are acquainted."

"We are not," Stella reaffirms with a small nod, "I have only briefly heard of you from Axel."

"Is that so?" Corban turns his hard gaze to Axel, as his eyes narrow.

"I, yes- listen," Axel leans forward, his voice dropping to a low rumble as his gaze switches between the two seated opposite to him, with a fierce look. "This-This woman- she saved my life that day. She was the reason I was able to call you even when my phone died, and she kept me alive till you came- you have to believe me when I say-"

"You never mentioned a woman before," Bea looks between Stella and Axel with a confused frown, "how come you never told us someone was there too?"

"I-" Axel's cheeks heat up in slight embarrassment, as he avoids Stella's gaze.

He opens his mouth before he shuts it again.

What do I say?

In her presence now, he couldn't believe it.

How had I forgotten her?

Even when she had saved his life, he had thought of her as more beautiful than anything he had ever seen- and even when he had seen her first, under a sky full of stars, he had felt like he had known her and spoken to her his entire life.

How was it so easy for her existence in his memory to vanish like she was never there in the first place?

"I didn't remember," he admits after a few moments of awkward silence.

"You didn't remember," Corban deadpans, raising an eyebrow at Axel.

"Yes." Axel's cheeks darken, but he doesn't let it deter him.

"It is true," Stella interjects gently, "I did help keep him alive. I did not, however, expect him to remember me- he did lose a lot of blood."

"There was no one there when we arrived," Corban turns his scrutinizing glare to Stella, "If you helped keep him alive, why weren't you there when we came with help?"

Stella meets his eyes without the slightest sign of submission.

"For reasons that I cannot elaborate on," she says, her tone unwaveringly polite and courteous, "I had to leave, just before you arrived."

Bea's face is guarded as she continues to watch Stella.

"Well?" she says, her expression wary, "Why are you here now?"

"To help, of course," Stella says with another smile, before she glances briefly at Axel, gesturing to the empty seat beside him. "May I?"

"Of course," Axel nearly stutters out, still half-dazed by her presence, as he pulls the chair out for her.

Corban shoots Axel an unimpressed look - to which Axel promptly looks away sheepishly.

"You want to help?" Corban repeats, finally turning back to her- his tone nearly condescending but mostly incredulous.

"I do," she reaffirms, her chin held high, "To me, it won't feel like I have helped Axel until I help you find who is responsible."

"Miss, I'm afraid I cannot allow you to do that," Corban states firmly, stiffening further, "We cannot get a civilian involved in such matters."

"I'm fairly certain that I can be considered as a witness," the emerald in Stella's eyes take on a challenging gleam, "besides, I can help with your investigation."

"Uh no," this time, Bea speaks, narrowing her eyes at Stella, "We don't need your help- it is not a part of the protocol to involve civilians in investigations. As a witness, we can ask you some questions at the most- but unless you're some kind of Sherlock Holmes, you won't be able to help. No offense."

Stella stays quiet, looking down at the table.

Bea leans back in her seat, evidently satisfied, even as Axel glares at her.

"Well," Corban clears his throat after a few beats of awkward silence, throwing Stella a cautious glance before looking at Axel- who had opened his mouth to retort, "now that that's settled-"

"You have three fingers on your gun right now."

Corban stills.

Slowly, he returns his dark-eyed gaze to the woman sitting next to Axel.

"Pardon?" his voice is dangerously low.

"You have three fingers on your gun right now," Stella lifts her head, looking pointedly at the Corban's arm, "the woman sitting next to you has a knife tucked into a belt wrapped around her thigh, and two other daggers concealed in her footwear. Axel has a gun hidden underneath his jacket, but he hasn't thought to touch it yet."

Bea's expression drops and a hand involuntarily drops below the table to check for the weapon. Axel's eyes widen too, as he inconspicuously feels for the gun through his thick jacket.

Corban himself glances down at the hand that had automatically moved towards his gun as soon as the woman arrived.

Three fingers.

He looks back up at her, eyes narrowed- tenser than before.

"And more importantly- since I'm here to help regarding the matter," Stella leans forward, fixing the two humans in front of her with a steely look,

"You think a traitor is responsible for the near assassination of The Falcon."

Silence.

Cold, strained silence.

"The Falcon?" Axel repeats lowly though he knows that he had probably given away his identity to her.

Yes, he had admitted that he was The Falcon while he was barely conscious- a terrible mistake on his part- but it was not likely that she knew what that meant, right?

"Yes, The Falcon," Stella says, turning to Axel. Once more, Axel is taken aback by the intense green of her eyes, but he does a better job at concealing it. "One of the best hitmen in the world, known for sharpness and perfect execution."

She looks down at the bird tattooed on Axel's wrist, before raising her eyes to his to give him a sharp look.

Axel blanches. 

That was classified information. He was sure, on his life, that he never revealed that much.

"And what," Corban's voice turns threatening- neither confirming nor denying her words, "lead you to these conclusions?"

Stella doesn't blink, lifting a daring eyebrow.

"Keen observation," she says, offering no elaboration, before she glances at his arm once more. "And there is no need to point the gun at me under the table. You cannot kill me, even if you want to. Especially in front of- what was it that you said?" She pauses, feigning thought, "Ah yes, civilians."

There's a pause, a taut bone-chilling pause, as Corban's arm moves discreetly, tucking the gun away.

"Fair enough," he grits.

"Care to elaborate on keen observation?" as amazed as Axel is by the woman sitting next to him, there's a part of him that is also instantly watchful of her knowledge.

She's an angel, a voice in his head reminds him. Of course, she'd know it all.

But there's also another voice in his reminding him of the blood loss and the supposed red eyes that he saw. What explanation could he possibly offer for those?

It could be that he imagined that part of her too, couldn't it? He was barely conscious, and maybe he imagined something else as a pair of gleaming wings?

It didn't make sense to him.

None of it did.

He didn't understand how his imagination could conjure something as vividly surreal as her wings or the vision of the night sky. 

Neither did he understand how he had suddenly forgotten her, and only remembered her when he saw her.

Besides, he found himself thinking as he glanced at her, if she had wings, where were they now?

He looked up at her face, not allowing his traitorous stare to linger on her features for longer than necessary- but instead, focused on her eyes.

They were green. 

In his recollection of the vision, he remembered that her eyes were gold.

What was going on?

"For one, you've brought men with you," Stella says, making him snap out of his reverie- and remember that he had asked her a question. "This doesn't seem like a spot where you'd engage in a showdown, so I'm assuming that you're being extra-cautious for a reason. Besides, you're way too tensed from the way you constantly glance around, especially since this is supposed to be your 'spot'."

"Our spot?" Bea narrows her eyes at Stella, "What the fuck? Have you been spying on us?"

"Spying on you?" Stella's eyebrows shoot up, as she held back a laugh. Oh, the conceitedness of some humans. "Why on earth would I spy on you?"

"How else would you know?" Bea says defensively, and though she tries to conceal it, Stella can see thinly-veiled stupefaction.

"You just confirmed it for one," she smiles, looking at the tiny plant in the center of the table, "Moreover, you don't have a single menu on this table, which means you know what to order without reference, and the staff is aware of this too."

"Wh-" Bea sputters, blinking at Stella.

"And before you deny it," Stella looks pointedly at Corban. "There are four men who work for you here, apart from the people already sitting at this table. I can point each one out for you if you'd like me to."

She makes it a point to purposely glance at each of his people, knowing well enough that his gaze was trained on her.

One, the man sitting in the corner- pretending to read his newspaper. His gaze had been fixed on a single point for much too long, and he'd continually glance in their direction.

Two, the man browsing through the bookshelf right next to him. Stella would have missed him if it weren't for the metallic glint of his gun that she had briefly caught sight of.

Three, the woman smoking outside. To most, she seemed to care about nothing surrounding her, but there was a certain concealed alertness in her gaze and posture that confirmed that she wasn't simply stationed there without reason.

Four, the man who was supposedly talking on the phone, also standing outside. He would speak with intervals far too short, making it obvious that there was no one on the other line.

Yes, her senses had dulled because of the descent- but they were still sharper than any creature that walked the earth. 

A fair advantage.

"Is that good enough to convince you that I can be of help?" Stella leans back with a self-satisfied, slightly smug smile.

The table sits in stunned silence.

"Axel," Corban says finally, "A word?"

"Uh alright," Axel glances at Stella, who only smiles in response even as he rises.

Beatrix peers at her intently, even as the men step aside.

"How did you figure all that out?" she says after a few seconds of staring, leaning forward with an interested gleam in her eyes.

"Keen observation," Stella repeats, an easy-going smile on her face, "My only intention was to prove a point, and not make it seem like I breached boundaries. My apologies for that."

Beatrix raises an impressed eyebrow. "It's cool."

Meanwhile, Corban glares pointedly at Axel in the corner that they had retreated to.

"You can't possibly be considering it."

"I am," Axel says stubbornly.

"Look Axe," Corban glances back at Stella, almost as if he's worried that she'd hear him, "There's something off about her."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Axel frowns, crossing his arms across his chest defensively.

"It means exactly what I'm implying," Corban gives Axel a look, "She's smart- very dangerously observant and smart- I'll give her that. But there's- there's something weird about it."

"Explain," Axel demands with narrowed eyes. He was aware that he was being oddly defensive about her, but he couldn't bring himself to care.

"She-" Corban hesitates, before he drops his voice to a low hushed whisper, "I know damn well I'm not the only one who thinks she's glowing."

Axel's glare falters.

"You can't deny the way something changed in the air as soon as she walked in," Corban glances at her figure once more with narrowed eyes, "and she knows way too much classified information. There's no way an ordinary person knows all that- and there's no way someone can deduce all that."

"I didn't reveal any of it," Axel affirms slowly, "Maybe I mentioned that The Falcon bit, but nothing more."

"What matters to me, right now," Corban mutters with a shake of his head, "is that if the criminal world catches the drift of your identity, things will go further downhill. Now that someone who isn't a part of the agency knows-"

He doesn't have to finish the sentence. The implications ring out loud and clear.

Axel knows it too. It was his life on the line after all-but she saved him.

Even barely conscious, he had thought of her as a blessing from the stars- and she had said it herself. 

And she was here again. Why would they refuse?

"I say," Axel murmurs when a few moments pass, "that we let her help."

"Of course you'd say that," Corban rolls his eyes, "you've been gawking at her ever since she arrived-"

"No, listen," Axel glares at him despite the undeniable heat that rises to his cheeks, "If we let her help, we'll have another great mind on the team- and you can keep an eye on her if you think she's suspicious."

"If I think she's suspicious?" Corban snorts lowly, "A woman appears outta nowhere, and she knows classified information based on deduction- it is suspicious Axe."

He was right. Axel knows it- but God he wanted her to stay. He wanted her to help- and he didn't want her to leave.

What if he forgot everything all over again? What if he never remembered the universe she showed him?

What if he never remembered her?

"You're the boss, Corban," Axe says, despite the defiant sparkle in his eyes, "So you call the shots. But that woman right there- saved my life, and while I agree that she's dangerously smart, my gratitude for her is far more. If she's offering help, I'd take it without hesitance."

Corban meets Axel's stare with narrowed eyes. It takes him a few more moments, before he exhales, rubbing his forehead.

"We have to be wary of the help," he mutters with a tired sigh, "but sure. We could use a mind like hers, and she'd be of great help."

"Be wary of the help?" Axel raises an eyebrow, "That's an odd thing to say."

Corban only shrugs, as his gaze travels back to the two women sitting at their table.

At some point, Gale had also returned, and while he was awkwardly smiling- there was a look in his eyes that most likely indicated that he was confused about the whole situation too.

"Alright," Axel turns to look at them too. Rather, look at her. "Shall we?"

Corban hums in agreement, walking past Axel- who follows.

"So?" Stella's eyebrows raise inquisitively when they return to the table, her conversation with Bea pausing.

"You can help," Corban gruffs out, without meeting her eyes.

"What he means," Axel says, throwing Corban a pointed glance through the corner of his eyes, before he turns back to her with a smile that was hopefully welcoming, "is that we'd be grateful if you are still willing to help us."

Stella smiles at him.

Once again, Axel is surprised by how easily something as simple as a smile can completely dazzle him, but he shakes it off, trying to focus on her instead of allowing his brain to turn into incoherent mush.

"Well then," she says, glancing between them intently, before turning back to Axel.

"Where do we begin?"