Forever and Always

Chapter 12

     The ride back to New York was a silent one. Whoever was left, which was basically everyone in the clearing, was gathered and brought onto the Quinjet. Okoye, in just as much disbelief as everyone else, stayed back to manage Wakanda since T'Challa...since he had also disappeared. She wasn't sure how many others and who else in the royal family had been snapped away, and Clara wasn't sure if she even wanted to know.

All seven of them were able to fit in the Quinjet. Clara, feeling the need to, had carried Vision's corpse onto the Quinjet as well.

"Why do you want to bring Vision's body back? What can we do with it?" Nat had asked her as she helped carry his body. Clara shrugged and looked at Vision's blank stare.

"I didn't know Wanda well, but she was probably the only other person I could talk back at that prison...I know it's what she would've wanted. Not for him to left in the forest and get buried and forgotten. I thought, we should at least bring him back." It was silent the rest of the way. When they got onto the jet, Steve silently made his way to the pilot's chair, and Nat followed and sat next to him. Bruce and Rhodey sat in the next two chairs behind Steve and Nat, but that was it. The raccoon sat in a dark corner of the jet, and Thor stood in the very back. His axe leaned up against the side of the jet, and he had his back facing everyone. His head hung. Clara sat on the ground diagonal from the raccoon, next to where they put Vision's body. She stared at the lifeless, colorless body ever since the jet took off, and not once did she take her eyes off him. As she stared at the body, she was still stunned back what had just happened. It still didn't add up in her mind. A person can't just disappear into ash, and yet it happened. She hadn't seen it happen, but she saw the aftermath of it.

Clara stared at her legs. The puncture holes in her jumpsuit was covered in dried blood, and she knew there were going to be several holes in her legs once she took off the clothes. Her back hadn't aches as much anymore either. She found that lying against the uneven surface of the Quinjet soothed the aching in her back. Her arm however, still hurt like a bitch. Any tiny turbulence, any small jolt that caused her to move the tiniest bit, sent a huge wave of pain shooting down her arm. Each time, she clenched her jaw, which was already sore from all her crying, and waited for the pain to go away.

     When the sun set, and the jet was dark except for the lights from all the buttons and switches, Clara finally realized that she was also exhausted. Careful not to annoy her arm, she pushed herself closer to a box that was on the ground to the left her side that her side was against it. She leaned herself up against it, struggling to get comfortable. When she finally found that "perfect" spot, she rested her head back and closed her eyes. For a second, everything seemed normal. That alien-dogs hadn't attacked them; a giant purple Titan hadn't collected magical stones; that fifty-percent of the universe hadn't been put to ash. It all seemed distant. It seemed fake. Like some crazy dream she had. The thought of it almost made her chuckle a bit it all seemed so unbelievable. But when she woke up, and she realized that Bucky wasn't next to her, she remembered it was all true, and she felt her heart ache a little harder. She found herself staring at the four seats in the Quinjet as she felt herself drift off.

         The loud rumbling of the Quinjet woke Clara up, and she looked out the windshield of the jet to see that they were landing. She sat up a bit, preparing to stand up. She groaned a bit when her arm aches once again, but her back felt much better. The jet slowly lowered to the ground, then with a gentle thud, we hit the ground. The jet turned off and the trap door lowered.

         "Here." Steve spoke a single word and got out of his seat. The sun had already risen, and the light made its way into the jet, causing Clara to squint her eyes. She blinked a few times to get used to the rays of the sun, and when her eyes adjusted, she saw everyone standing in the jet. Nat came up to her, and held out a hand, and she helped pull Clara up.