The Man My Father Always Talked About • A CAPTAIN AMERICA STORY

28

~28~

     While Clara was still recovering, Steve and Tony never left her side. It had taken her a few days to wake up, making Steve and Tony wonder if she ever would. About two days after after the accident, Wanda stopped by her room. When she opened the door, Tony almost blew a fuse. "Get out!" He said, anger present in his eyes.

"Tony," Steve started calmly.

"No! She's done enough." Wanda took the hint and left, making Steve give a disappointed look to Tony before he followed her.

"Wanda, wait!" Steve called.

"No, I've already done too much." She said. Steve grabbed her arm and turned her around, noticing that her eyes were red and puffy. She had been crying.

"He didn't mean it," he said, his eyes gentle and his voice calm. Unlike Tony, he had forgiven Wanda for what she did. In time he learned that she was just in pain and she needed to let it out. Sadly, Clara was in the way.

"I didn't mean to hurt her," she mumbled. "I mean, I did, but not this bad. I never meant to kill her."

"She'll be okay."

"And do you know that for sure?" Wanda asked, raising her eyebrow. "I have enough blood on my hands, I don't need anymore." She walked away.

While Steve was gone, Clara jolted awake, scaring the shit out of Tony. "Jesus Christ!" Tony almost yelled out of shock as Clara tried her best to calm her breathing. "Rogers!" Tony called down the hallway. Tony rested his hand on Clara's back as she leaned forward, taking deep breaths as she realized she was in a recovery room. She looked at the needles poking her arms and the machines she had been plugged into, which made her worry harder. "Breath Clar, just breath."

"What the hell happened?" She asked in between breaths. Her eyes darted towards the door when she heard footsteps and a concerned Steve. His eyes softened at the sight of her being awake.

"You uh, you hit your head pretty bad." Tony explained, meeting Clara's eyes.

"Training?" She asked.

Tony nodded and shrugged. "Training."

***

Later that day, Clara was already up and walking. Steve was by her side if anything happened, which it didn't. They came across Wanda's door and Clara urged Steve to let her go in alone. He protested at first, but gave in to her pleading brown eyes. She turned the doorknob slowly before entering the witch's room. "Hey," she started, startling Wanda as she practiced her magic.

"You should go," She said, purposely not making eye contact with Clara. "I don't want to hurt you again."

"You're not going to hurt me." She said, entering her room fully. She gripped her sweater closer to her thin frame as she approached Wanda before she sat on the edge of her bed. "I couldn't imagine what you were going through. If I ever lost Tony..." she stopped, trying to choose the best words to comfort her. "I blame myself too. If I could go back and fix it, I would."

"I don't blame you," Wanda said, her voice low and quiet. "Not anymore. Pietro finally got to be the hero he wanted to be." Clara gave her a sad smile before pulling her into a hug.

"If you ever need anything," Clara started.

"I know," Wanda finished with the tiniest of smiles. Though she had hated Clara and the Stark family for the longest time, she felt that she had finally made a true friend, even though she almost killed her a few days ago.

***

A few nights had passed and Clara and Steve had a date night. She had dressed up in a navy blue dress, black heels, and a silver necklace. She curled her hair and put just one of her two Iron Man bracelets on. Steve knocked on her door at exactly 7:00, being the gentleman he is and not wanting to be late. When Clara opened her door, Steve's clenched his jaw to prevent it from falling. She was stunning. Clara looked him up and down, he wore a white collared shirt with black dress pants and a black tie. When she looked back up, she saw that his eyes never left her.