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

40

~40~

     Not a single sound could be heard through the compound. Natasha was already gone by the time the Starks arrived. Clara assumed she had changed her opinion on everything and fled before the government could stop her. Vision chose to travel thorough walls over walking because he too had grown sad at the emptiness of the once so alive home. Tony stayed down in the lab where he worked on braces to help Rhodey walk. He had asked his if she wanted to help, but she just shook her head 'no.'

Clara stayed in her bed, her soft blue comforter shielding her from reality. She hadn't gotten out of bed other than to use the restroom. Tony was forced to start bringing her meals in bed as he watched grief consume her. She didn't sleep. She didn't eat. All she could do was relive the moments of Steve's betrayal in her mind. When she closed her eyes, she saw the video of the Winter Solider taking the lives of her parents. Her head hurt from everything happening at once, but out of all the pain she was feeling, from her injuries of the fight to the loss of her parents, her heart hurt the most.

Day by day, she got a little better. A week after she shut herself off from the world, she reentered it as she stood in the kitchen in newly worn sweatpants, tank top, and jacket. Her wet hair was put into a messy bun and she hummed softly as she poured a cup of coffee.

"Is that...vanilla I smell? Do you smell like vanilla?" Clara turned and leaned on the counter as she sipped her coffee. Her brother walked in with his look of all-knowingness. Clara mumbled a 'yes' as she sipped the warm beverage. "And a new set of clothes?"

"Yes Tony," she rolled her eyes.

"I was starting to think you were never going to change." Tony scrunched his nose, "or shower. God, your room smelled like..."

"I get it Tony." Clara sighed with a faint smile.

"There's that smile. Thought I wouldn't see that either." Tony couldn't help but smile softly at his sister. He praised her after all she had been though. All that he had put her through.

"How're the legs coming along?" Clara asked, setting her cup down and pouring Tony one. She handed it to him as he shook his head.

"They're coming. Could use some help though." Tony tilted his head at his sister as he tried to get her back to her usual self.

"I'd love to help," Clara sighed. "I just don't think my minds really up for...math and robotics at the moment."

Tony nodded in understanding as he took a sip of his drink. "Do me a favor will you?"

"What?" Clara asked.

"Febreze your room," he said in all seriousness. "It smells awful."

"Haha," Clara sarcastically laughed as she turned to her room. Her smile at her brother's joke faded as she came across a room. She looked in to see the perfectly made bed with the navy comforter on top of it. In the corner was an art table with various papers sprawled around it and crumpled up. Clara hesitated at first. She wanted to go in and see what he had been working on. She wanted to see the books he had set aside to read after his last mission. But with one final look into the room, she placed her hand on the doorknob and shut it, closing her off from what was left of his world.

A few more steps led her to her room. Upon entering, she caught a whiff of something. She bowed her head in embarrassment as she realized how bad she had let herself go the past four days. "Damn it Tony," she mumbled to herself. "How're you always right?"

***

It had been a week or two since Clara moved on from her grief and began to do what interests her. She had been so caught up in saving the world, but know that they were under the Accords, there was nothing they could do but entertain themselves. Clara sat in her room with a copy of Fellowship of the Ring in one hand and a pen in the other. She had began annotating the piece of literature, along with a few others. A soft knock on the door drew her out of her daze as she turned her head to see Tony with a bag from Burger King and a white box.

"I grabbed a bite to eat," he said as he handed her the bag. "I though you'd want something."

"Thank you." Clara smiled slightly at her brother before fishing out a cheeseburger from the bag. "What's the box?" She asked, her mouth still full form the bite she had just taken.

"Don't know, it's for you." Tony handed her a box addressed to her. There was no sender, no evidence of who would have shipped it to her. She glanced at Tony with a confused look, but he only shrugged his shoulders and left.

On top of the box was an opened letter with the names of her and her brother written neatly on the white envelope. She knew the perfect writing like the back of her hand. She had received little post it notes around the compound from a certain someone when they first began their fling.

"Tony and Clara," it started. "I'm glad you two are back at the compound. I don't like the idea of you two being alone right now. We all need family. You had each other and the Avengers, maybe more so than me. I've been on my own since I was 18. I never really fit in anywhere, even in the army. My faith's in people, I guess. Individuals. And I'm happy to say that, for the most part, they haven't let me down. Which is why I can't let them down either. Locks can be replaced, but maybe they shouldn't. I know I hurt you both. I guess I thought by not telling you about your parents I was sparing you, but I can see now that I was really sparing myself, and I'm sorry. Hopefully one day you can understand. If you ever need me, I'll be there." Clara opened the box and dumped it's contents on her bed to see a flip phone. She flipped the letter over to see if there was anything left.

"You need to know Clarissa Louise Stark that I have loved you from the moment I met you. I never thought I would be so lucky to live a life where you were beside me. I love you, and I know you may never be able to love me again after what I did, and I understand that. I just couldn't say goodbye without you knowing how much I care about you. I hope we can see each other again, I really do. But I know what I want is probably not what you want anymore. So this is goodbye for now. Goodbye Clara."

Clara wiped the stray tears from her face as she smiled down at the letter. She knew she would see Steve again, but she also knew that when the time came, they wouldn't be the same. They wouldn't have the same look in their eyes when they saw each other. Clara would still feel betrayed by the man she loved, but hell, she knew she would see him again. She may move on by that time. Her heart may have healed and she wouldn't need him anymore, but damn it, she vowed she would see him again. She would see the man her father always talked about whether it killed her or not.

Thank you again to all of my readers who have continued to read my story even when it may have been boring at times. Love to all 🧡