Forever and Always

Chapter 13

3 days later

      Clara splashed her face with cold water and stared down at the sink drain. She watched as the water swirled in the sink before disappearing completely, then she turned the faucet back on and rinsed her face once again. She repeated washing her face and staring at the sink several times until her face felt tight and irritated from all the rubbing. She grabbed the towel off the rack and dabbed her face dry. She crumpled the wet towel and threw it into the corner of the counter and looked up into the mirror.

She could hardly recognize herself. Her long, brown hair was matted down with oil. Her eyes sagged and she had heavy bags underneath her eyes from each night she stayed awake tossing and turning and crying. She looked thin, her cheekbones starting to pop out from underneath her skin. Her lips were pale and dry, and she lost the redness in her cheeks. She hadn't been taking care of herself; she hasn't had the will to do anything.

The only thing that got her to get out of bed was one of two things: she would like to hang out in the back and "Avenger-watch". See how they dealt with a universal crisis such as this one.

The other reason, was to visit the room that they kept Vision's body in. They still had no idea what to do with his body, but fortunately, since he isn't an actual human body, they don't have to worry about decay. The only thing they have to worry about was dust collecting on him. Clara would visit him because she felt it was the only purpose she really had, taking care of his body for Wanda. She knew how much he meant to her, so with her gone and nothing to do with Vision, the least Clara could do for her was make sure that Vision's body was comfortable. She swore she probably seemed crazy to the others, but in this moment, it felt like it was the only thing keeping her sane.

Today, however, was going to be an observation day. Clara overheard a yesterday that Bruce picked up some kind of signal somewhere in New York. She heard Bruce leave with Rhodey earlier this morning, and she had a feeling they would be back soon. While they were doing that, Steve and Nat were overseeing the global increase in missing persons. The raccoon, who she overheard was named Rocket to her amusement, was kept in charge in looking out for Thanos. He preferred to work alone, or rather, be alone.

Clara made her way to the second floor with all the conference rooms, and as soon as she got out of the hallway, she saw Rocket was using the holograms to scan the the literal universe for any signs of Thanos. He had holograms of different planets, hundreds of them, looking for anything that could give Thanos away. He had his back turned to her, so all she saw was his bushy tail, and once in a while, his triangle head of he needed to look up. Getting bored of watching Rocket, she moved on to the next room. In the second conference room were multiple holograms showing different countries as well as a "global count" for all of those who are going missing. The number had continued to increase for every country displayed in the room. Steve and Nat watched with horrified looks on their faces as the numbers kept going up. Clara decided that she had enough and turned around to go to the kitchen and get something to drink. That was when she saw Thor.

The only one who was really out of it, more than her, was Thor. Since they've gotten back, he hasn't spoken once. He's kept to himself, and he's always carrying his giant axe with him. Clara heard from another's conversation that Thor blamed himself for the unfortunate turn of events. But sometimes, Clara forgot Thor was even there. The only time she remembered he was there was when she would randomly see him around the building. Clara observed Thor as he hung out in the small quad, his eyes closed and his head resting on the wall. His hands were folded in his lap, and his axe leaned against the bench he was sitting on. Unlike her, however, he still managed to look all godly, even in sweatpants and a baggy jacket. Clara could see under all that pain and regret, hatred was building up as well. Hatred and vengeance. He was suppressing it all inside him, so when he got the chance to...meaning if we ever found Thanos, he would give that guy what he deserves.