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

50

All I am going to say is spoilers for Endgame are ahead. I am still honestly trying to comprehend everything that went on. I hope I am able to do Clara honor as well as the others characters. Also, I didn't eat for two days after Endgame, I'm pretty sure I was depressed.

~53~

It had been almost three weeks since Thanos' massacre, and none of the remaining Avengers knew what to do. No one was the same. Clara kept to herself while the others tried to figure out who were gone. Each night, Clara and Pepper would go outside to watch the sky, hoping they'd see Tony pull off his last miracle, but it never happened.

One night, Pepper didn't show up, so Clara stood by herself, wrapping her arms close around her body in hopes to keep warm. "C'mon Tony." She bit her lip. Memories of her and her brother filled her mind as she waited for him to return. Tony and her as kids, playing with toys as their father worked. Tony reading her bedtime stories when she couldn't sleep. No matter how old they got, Tony was and always would be her big brother who she loved dearly. All she ever wanted to do was help Tony after all he'd been through, but down here on earth she was useless. Clara's thoughts were interrupted when she felt something fall over her shoulders. She looked up and met Steve's eyes as he placed his faded brown leather jacket over her to keep her warm. The familiar smell of cologne filled Clara's senses as it was Steve's familiar scent. He stood beside her, giving her the space she needed but also being there for her like he needed to be.

"It's getting late." Steve said, only above a whisper. Steve and Clara hadn't talked much since the snap, Clara being distant with her grief. "You should give it a rest, just for tonight."

"You know I can't do that." Clara sighed with a sad smile as she looked up at him. She tried to lighten the dark mood around the compound, but she knew even she couldn't do that.

"We're going to get through this." Steve said reassuringly. "We have to."

"And if we don't?" Clara asked. Steve tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear.

"We will." He said. Clara smiled softly before leaning in and giving him a gentle kiss. By the way they acted, it was if they had never separated. Clara had accepted Steve so quickly after she thought she lost him in Wakanda. When she couldn't feel his pulse, when she thought he died, she felt herself die with him.

When they separated, Steve rested his forehead on hers. Clara enjoyed the moment, but she had to stand on her toes to be able to reach him. "How are you always so positive?" Clara asked with a hint of a smile. Steve chuckled before kissing her forehead softly. They pulled apart and the two admired each other.

"It's a secret." He replied, making Clara let out a soft laugh. "Come inside. You've been out here long enough." Clara nodded and held his hand. She glanced up at the night sky one more time before putting her head on Steve's shoulder and walking back to the compound. He set her on the bed before opening one of her drawers and handing her a fresh pair of sweatpants and an old T-shirt. He left the room for a split second and returned with fresh towels.

"What are you doing?" She chuckled.

"Nothing makes you feel better than a hot shower." He smirked. Clara chuckled as she recalled the time after the invasion of New York. She had been all hot and sweaty and mumbled to Steve the exact quote he just said to her. It was something so small and unimportant that she never would have known he'd remember.

She did what he said and took a long hot shower, the tenseness in her body left as soon as the hot water hit her back. She washed her hair and then her body. When she started to calm down, she closed her eyes. Visions of her friends turning to dust hit her like a brick as soon as she closed her eyes. She gasped, turning the shower off immediately. Before any tears could fall, she quickly dried off and got dressed. She left the bathroom to see that Steve was still sitting on her bed. He smiled softly at her as he stood from his spot.

"What are you smiling at?" Clara asked as she stood in her baggy clothes. Even her clothes showed off the grief that Clara has felt the last few weeks as they had gone from fitting perfectly to fitting a bit lose.

"It's just..." Steve started. "you're as beautiful as the day I left you." Clara bowed her head as her cheeks grew red. Luckily the room was still dark, being that it was almost midnight. Steve shifted on his feet. "I could go if..."

"No." She quickly responded. She walked over to him before taking his hand in hers. "Will you stay with me?" She whispered softly. She looked up at him as he nodded. The two laid down in her bed before pulling the warm blankets over their bodies. Steve stroked her damp hair as she rested her head on his chest.

"We're lucky you know." She whispered. He raised his head and rested it on a pillow, looking down at her with a confused look. "I could have lost you." She choked out, placing her hand on his arm.

"I'm still here." He whispered back to her, reassuring that even though what they were going through felt like a dream, it wasn't.

She sighed deeply. "I don't know what I would do if I lost you again." If she had lost Tony and Steve within the same two days, she wouldn't have been able to move on. She would spend the rest of her life sorrow and mourning and not wanting to live another second without either of them.

"You'll never lose me Clara. Not again." Steve said, kissing her forehead gently. "I'll never let you go again." Clara rested her head back on his chest before she fell asleep. That night, the two slept better than they had in the last three weeks.