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

67

~67~

Four days after her breakdown, Clara stood in front of a mirror wearing a simple black dress as she tucked her straight hair behind her ear in order to put on her earrings. Her choice to not wear makeup revealed how much pain she was truly in, revealing how broken she was inside. Her eyes seemed to be permanently red due to her tears and lack of a decent sleep. The dark circles under her eyes had lightened up a bit from before, but they were still noticeable. Her light pink lips that would always smile at the smallest things hadn't worn an actuall smile in what felt like forever. She looked completely different than anyone had ever seen. What Steve had told her sunk in, knowing that Tony would have done it over again for everyone, but the pain was still too much for her to bear.

Steve walked her out to the car before he opened the door for her and they left. The ride felt like an eternity before they finally pulled up to Tony's secluded home in the woods where they were immediately met by Pepper and Happy. Pepper wrapped Clara in a big hug, trying to hug away the pain that they both felt. When they were done, Pepper gave Steve a hug while Clara gave Happy a hug. Happy had always been so good to her and Tony.

Morgan came running out from the house in a little black dress. Clara let go of Happy to pick her up and she immediately wrapped her arms tightly around her neck and began to cry softly. She hoisted her niece up in her arms and began to rub her back gently to comfort her. She glanced over to Steve before he approached her placed his hand on her back, guiding her into the house where Peter Parker, Rhodey, and Thor were at. Morgan had whispered to Clara that she wanted her mommy, so Clara set her down and she ran off to find the cherry blond. She looked over to see Peter with a sad smile as he watched Morgan run to her mother.

"She's adorable," Clara started, making Peter look up at her. "She reminds me a lot of him."

"I didn't know..." Peter started, but tried to swallow his grief. "I didn't know he had a kid." Clara noticed his eyes start to water up, so Clara pulled him into a hug. In that moment, she tried to set as much of her pain aside to comfort Peter. Tony had been like a father to him all those years ago, and she knew Peter had already lost enough of his father figures. "I wish I could have helped him," he choked out.

"We can't think like that Pete." Clara said, closing her eyes tightly in hopes of stopping any tears. She thought back to what Steve said as she tried to comfort him. "He did what he did to make sure that Morgan could grow up in a safe world and that you could get the chance to grow up." They pulled apart and Clara rested a hand on his shoulder. "He'd do it all over agin if he knew that you were back and his daughter was safe." Peter nodded his head. Looking at the young boy, Clara realized just how many people Tony had put above himself to give the ultimate sacrifice.

Sooner than later everyone arrived to mourn their lost friend. Rhodey had finished setting up Tony's helmet on the coffee table in front of them to play a message that Tony left. While Clara was sitting down on the couch beside Happy, she felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up to see Steve. She lifted her hand up and placed it over his, letting out a soft sigh as she saw a hologram of her brother appearer in front of them.

"Everybody wants a happy ending, right?" The voice of her brother made her heart ache even more, knowing she will never hear it again in person. "But it doesn't always roll that way. Maybe this time. I'm hoping if you play this back, it's in celebration. I hope families are reunited," Clara looked over to see Pepper, Morgan, Rhodey, and Happy. She looked up at Steve and smiled softly to herself. Even after death, Tony was still bringing people together. "I hope we get it back, and something like a normal version of the planet has been restored. If there ever was such a thing."