Forever and Always

Chapter 27

Clara was in Wanda's room, mentally preparing for her mission, when there was a knock on the door.

"Come in." The door opened, and she saw Tony in the doorway. He was holding something.

"Hey Clara." He closed the door behind him and sat right down on the bed.

"No funny nickname?" She turned around and folded her arms. Tony shrugged and put whatever he was holding down on the bed.

"Ran out of nicknames. I think I've used the big ones, at least." Clara smiled and sat down in a chair at Wanda's desk.

"So, why are you here? Shouldn't you be prepping the time machine thing?"

"Yes, I should be, but I let the Raccoon and Bruce handle that instead."

"But...you are the one who knows how it works though. Right?" Tony shrugged.

"Ehhh...it's fine. They know what they are doing. I thought I would be a good teammate and make my rounds and see if everyone is ready."

"Well is everyone getting gifts?" She acknowledged the box next to Tony, and Tony shook his head.

"Yeah...well that was a bit of a lie. I thought I could make it less weird saying that, but it didn't work as well as I thought. I really just came here to give you this." He grabbed the box and faced the lock towards his stomach. He gave a slight "you're gonna like this" smirk before opening the box. Clara heard a little beep, and opened the lid. He rotated the box to face Clara, and inside, neatly folded up, was a suit. Clara felt herself sit up in her chair, and she leaned over to get a better look.

"Is...is that?" Clara felt a smile grow on her face, and Tony took the suit out of the case to showcase it to her.

"I heard that Wakanda was generous enough to give you a suit that didn't turn to shreds when you changed, but I hears it kinda got a little marked up, and well, it's been five years, I don't know what you've done with that suit. But I thought that I should give you a minor upgrade. This suit, just like your last one, is made of very flexible fabric that stretches and molds to fit your body shape. It is kind of like a wet suit, but much more comfortable and much cooler looking. There are also gloves here, made of the same fabric, so when you change, it'll feel like it isn't even there. Unfortunately, I can't add much of anything else since I heard you don't really use weapons, but I thought that every Avenger should have at least some decent suit." Clara, who was examining her new suit, stopped and looked up at him. She wasn't sure if she just heard him correctly.

"Avenger?" She repeated what she heard. "Are you saying that..." Tony smiled and nodded his head.

"We need everyone we can get, and you've proven yourself. You've got guts, and you've got heart. And dare I say it, you keep everyone here sane. The avengers need someone like you." Clara looked down at her suit. She rubbed her fingers against the material.

"I didn't think I was good enough to ever be an Avenger, and now, you are telling me personally that you are welcoming me to the team."

"You need me to punch you or something to believe this is happening or..."

"No, no. I'm just trying to process this." Tony slapped his hands together and stood up.

"Well...you've got ten minutes to process that you are an Avenger. We will be meeting in the testing room soon." Tony was about to leave, but Clara had something that came on her mind.

"Uhhh....Tony. Do...do you mind if I ask you a question...on a pretty sensitive topic?" Tony stopped halfway through the door, then slowly, stepped out of the doorway. He closed the door and sat back down on the bed.