~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.
"It's not polite to stare Rogers," Clara smirked. Steve's trance was broken as he smiled. "Shall we?" Clara nodded and they held hands as they made their way down the halls of the Avengers Building. Tony just happened to be sitting on the couch in the living room as the lovely couple passed by, noticing how nice Clara looked. He remembered how hard it used to be for Pepper to get her wear a dress. She hated them, yet she wore one for Steve. Tony smirked to himself, happy to see his sister so happy. He had yet to tell her about his breakup with Miss Potts.
Steve drove Clara's classic red mustang to a fancy restaurant in the middle of the city. After they were escorted to their table and ordered drinks, Steve and her broke out into conversation. "Okay, so I couldn't have been the only one to notice that you almost lifted Thor's hammer," Clara smirked.
"Oh did I?" Steve teased.
"Yes! You were this close!" She pinched her fingers together. "Thor looked like he was going to faint," she laughed.
"I was not..." Steve imitated Clara by pinching his fingers together. "this close."
"Okay, keep telling yourself that." Clara sipped her champagne before the two looked at their menus. They ordered before continuing their conversation.
"You really do look beautiful tonight." Steve said, a small smile playing on his lips.
"You don't look so bad yourself." Clara replied. "Who knew you wore anything other than red and blue." She smirked, making Steve chuckle.
The two were silent for a few moments before Steve broke the silence.
"I'm sorry, I haven't really been on a date like this since the '40s." He said shyly. "You know, dressing up and all."
"Steve, I can't even remember the last time I went on a formal date like this." Clara laughed.
"Really?" Steve asked. She nodded before taking a quick sip of her drink.
"I was seeing someone a few years back..." Clara stopped as she was reminded of the one past relationship she had had. She didn't think about him much anymore, hadn't even thought of his name, but for some reason his face popped into her head as she sat across from Steve. "It didn't end well. Turns out he was only with me for my last name."
Steve could see the small hint of sadness in her eyes. "When I was a teenager, a girl wouldn't even look at me." Steve chuckled. He wasn't pained by the reminder of his old life, not anymore at least. "It may be hard to believe, but women didn't line up to go on dates with a guy they might step on." Clara chuckled as the thought. He was handsome now and any girl he would pass would almost drool as the sight of him.
"Tony was the one who always went to party's and dated anyone he'd meet." She explained. "I was the more...reserved of the two of us. My dad always got on Tony's case because of that." She chuckled. Her smile slowly faded due to the mention of her father. He'd been gone for so long, but since Wanda's little spell when they first met, she had been revisiting old memories of him.
"Howard was great man." Steve commented.
"Sometimes I forget you even knew him. It's just weird to think about, right?" Clara asked. "I mean one day he's reading stories to me about you and now I'm..." she looked down at herself and where she was. "In a dress of all things, on a date with the man my father always talked about." Before they could add anything else to the conversation, their meals were served and the two quickly changed the topic. The stayed at dinner for a few hours before driving back to the compound. Clara was walking to her room with Steve close behind. "Are you following me?" She chuckled.
"I wouldn't be a gentleman if I didn't walk my date up to her door now would I?" Steve asked.
"I had a lot of fun tonight." She smiled.
"I did too." Steve said. Clara chuckled as she opened her bedroom door. "I hate that it had to end." He added. She looked around, spotting something before having an idea.
"Why don't you go change into something more comfortable and we watch a movie or two?" She asked.
"Can't get enough of me, can you Stark?" He asked.
"Don't push it Rogers." Clara smirked. He chuckled before going across the hall to his room and changing. Clara changed from her dress to a pair of shorts and a tank top, nothing too fancy but also not sloppy. Steve showed up a few minutes later and they started their movie. By the end of it, Clara and Steve had fallen asleep, his arm around her shoulders and her arm on his chest. Though they were asleep, the two had never felt so right in their entire life.
I thought it would be cute to have a fancy date between Clara and Steve, but I also thought it would be cute to have a lazy and relaxed date with them, so I kind of just mashed together to two ideas. Ohhh and they slept together!!! (Accidentally and in a non-perverted way lol)
Also, don't worry, Civil War is coming soon. Which side will she be on lol.
Love to all ❤️