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

41

~41~

Clara looked down at her champagne class, spinning the contents around gently as music played in the background. She didn't look like she did before. Her hair was shorter now, a little above her shoulders and not as straight as it had been before. She stood in a green dress, not an ugly puke green dress like some of the other guests, but a dark emerald green that made her brown eyes pop out. She tapped her black heel on the floor as she watched couples and friends joke around at their tables. Most of the people she didn't even know.

"You know, when you're at a party, you're supposed to act like you're having fun." Clara looked up from her glass to see Rhodey making a plate at the snack bar.

"I am having fun," Clara announced, though it was obvious she wasn't.

"Oh, is this jealousy I sense?" He asked, finishing his plate and standing beside her. Clara looked at the main table where Tony and Pepper sat, all dressed up for their fancy engagement party.

"How could I be jealous when he's finally happy?" Clara asked, taking the last sip of her champagne.

"Are you happy?" Rhodey asked.

"Why wouldn't I be?" Clara asked. Rhodey raised his eyebrow as if the answer was obvious and Cara let out a huff. "That was two years ago. I've moved on."

"Moved on?" He persisted as he took a bite of a small pastry.

"As hard as it may be to believe, my life did not revolve around Avenging," Clara tilted her head softly. "And now with the extra free time I'm able to focus on myself."

"How's that going?"

"Well, I've read just about every book I've heard of cover to cover three times over, I've helped Tony in the lab with making adjustments to your braces, and I've gotten a lot better at cooking," Clara started proudly. She has been busy since the Avengers broke up.

"Do you ever miss it?" Rhodey asked.

"Do you miss it?" Clara repeated back to him.

"I miss being able to walk without these things," he motioned to his leg braces, "and shooting down robots and aliens."

"That was pretty cool," Clara admitted.

"I miss everyone too." Clara looked down at the floor. Even though he didn't mention their names, her memories of the others flooded through her brain. She missed them, she really did, but there was nothing she could do to change the past.

"Me too," she agreed quietly. The party continued for hours before it was finally time for everyone to say goodbye. Tony and Pepper offered Clara to stay with them for the night, since the compound was too far away that late. She protested, but ultimately ended up under a fleece blanket on Pepper's couch.

At first she was comfortable, but she began to toss and turn as she was hit with a nightmare.

"Hello?" She didn't know where she was. All she could see was dark and as she tried to move closer, she was stopped by an invisible wall. She saw someone in the distance holding their side in pain as they pumped forward before they ultimately fell. Clara squinted her eyes before screaming out her brother's name. "Tony!"