Note- Thank you guys so much for 500k+ reads. I'm sorry I haven't been updating as much as I should, but thank you for your love and support.
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Steve carried out a set of pajamas, blankets, and food for the woman who was currently staying in the Barton's barn. Tony thought it was a bad idea to have him take those things out since Clara had tried to kill him. However, they both knew that it might help Clara if she saw that Steve wasn't mad at her and that she didn't really hurt him. So Tony gave up and let the golden boy take Clara the things that she needed. Steve carefully nudged the barn door open and stepped inside.
"Go away, Rogers." Clara told him softly. Her back was to him, only wearing a neon pink sports bra. Clara's suit was around her hips and Steve saw every single little scar that covered her back. He shut his eyes for a moment and sighed, continuing to walk over to her until he was only a few feet away.
"Clint's wife made dinner and I though you'd might enjoy some food. I also have some spare clothes from the Quinn Jet for you and some blankets if you're actually going to stay in here." Steve says, setting the blankets and clothes down on the old couch. The food gets set on Clint's work table.
"Thank you." She responds, getting off of the stool she was sitting on. Clara pulls off of her suit, not caring about changing in front of Steve, because he's seen all of her. She pulls on the oversized t-shirt and leggings, happily taking the plate of food and sitting down. Steve sits down next to her, the woman he still loves no matter how she feels about him.
"How are you feeling?" He asks, his voice much softer. Clara recognizes it as the voice he only used around her because it's so much sweeter and kinder. It's the voice that used to make her feel weak in the knees and make butterflies fly around her stomach. Now it just makes her feel confused. She looked down at the plate of food.
"Physically, I'm sore. Emotionally, not great." Clara says lightly before she starts to eat. Her eyes look at the man beside her as she tells him, "You don't have to stay you know. You can go. I'm sure there's a real party going on."
"No I want to make sure you're okay. Maximoff messed with all of our minds-" Steve starts, but Clara chuckles darkly. She sets the plate of food aside, running a hand through her hair. Steve noticed that her hair had grown a lot more and it was getting lighter again. She almost looked like she did when they first met.
"You, Tasha, and Thor got bad dreams. I got a bad dream and She took over. If Clint wouldn't have stopped me, you'd be dead." Clara's tone is extremely serious and she won't look at him. It makes Steve's heart break, but he still feels like he needs to make her feel better.
"Clara, I'm okay. I know you're feeling guilty, but I know that wasn't you. It's okay." He tells her softly and she turns her head to look at him. Those blue eyes were filled with so much hurt and Steve knew he was blamed for most of it.
"It doesn't matter that it might not be me-me, it's still me. She's still a part of me and I can't change it. I hate what I did, do you understand that? It doesn't matter what you do to me, I'm still going to feel like shit for hurting you. If I would've killed you-I wouldn't be able to live with myself." Clara tells him, quickly blinking away tears that wanted to fall. She didn't know how to feel about him. Part of her wanted to kiss him and have him hold her, the other part of Clara wanted to scream and beat the shit out of him for hurting her.
"I'm sorry. I know...I know that I can't say that enough but I am." Steve tells her softly and Clara looks away. Tears roll freely down her cheeks and she doesn't bother wiping them away. His hand carefully reaches out and wipes them away. Clara stills, but lets him do it anyway. He moves and wraps his arms around her, holding her tightly. She suddenly starts crying harder, sobbing into his shirt.
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Early the next morning, Clara finds herself sitting on a hay bale beside a trough of water. Her hands play with the water, letting the water float upwards. It was calming and relaxing.
"Are you Clara?" A small female voice asks and Clara drops the water, turning her head. There's a small child-a girl-standing there. Her hair is in two pigtails. She's a cute kid and Clara guesses that it must be one of Clint's.
"I am. What's your name?" Clara asks as the little girl sits beside her on the hay bale. The hero wants to tell the child that she should really be running off and shouldn't be having around with Clara, but she couldn't find it in herself.
"Lila. My mommy says you can control water." Lila responds as she looks up at Clara. The blonde doesn't know exactly how to act around a child because she's never been around a child. No one that she knows has children-well other than Clint-but she this is the first time she's meeting one of his children.
"Uh yeah. I can do something like that." The blonde responds and Lila nods, kicking her legs in a sign of boredom. Clara quickly realizes that Lila wants to see it, her powers. The youngest Stark reaches her hand out and the water in the trough lifts into the air. Her other hand moves outward as she shapes and forms the water into a horse. Lila grins and giggles.
"Can you make a ballerina?" Lila asks excitedly and Clara obliges, a small smile growing on her face. The horse turns into a ballerina, tutu and all. The ballerina leaps and pirouettes in the air, amusing the small child.
Steve watched Clara and Lila from the porch of the farmhouse. Seeing the two laugh and smile made him think of what could have happened if Clara hadn't gone to Malibu more than two years ago. They would've have had a baby, a little version of him and her. It makes his heart hurt, but he can't stop thinking about it.
"She's good with kids." Clint says as he walks up to stand next to Steve. The archer hands Steve a mug full of coffee while still holding his own. The Captain happily takes it before taking a sip of coffee.
"Yeah she is." Steve responds, the corner of his mouth tilts upward. Clint turned his head to look at the leader of the team, the man who broke one of his best friend's heart.
"So is there a reason why you slept outside in the barn last night?" He asks, eyes shifting to watch Clara play with Lila. Steve straightens ever so slightly. He looks over at Clint, who looks completely serious. Steve honestly finding think that anyone would realize that he had stayed the night in the barn with Peyton. Nothing scandalous had happened between him and Clara. They had just fallen asleep against each other. Neither of them would say it, but they could actually sleep soundly next to each other. No nightmares, no screaming. A good night's sleep.
"Clint, it's not what you think-" Steve starts, but he's cut off when Clint chuckles, shaking his head. The archer turns to look at the much taller man beside him. Steve looks at him and the way Clint is glaring at him sends chills down the Star Spangled Man with a Plan's spine.
"Listen, Steve, I don't care what happened in the barn, okay? But you better think long and hard if you are thinking about trying to get back together with Clara. What you did to her was absolutely shitty and none of us like you for that. Clara's been through so much and you were an absolute asshole to her. She's one of my best friends and if you hurt her again, you're a dead man. I never miss Cap, remember that." Clint threatens him before walking back into the house. Steve turns his head to look back at his ex-girlfriend and the small child, but they're gone.
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"Clint said you were playing with his kid?" Tony asks as he walks up beside his sister, holding a mug of coffee. She looks up at him from her spot under a tree. He moves to sit beside her, handing Clara the coffee. Her eyebrows furrow together and she presses her lips together.
"I should've told her to go away. It's probably not safe to have her around me right now." She tells him, holding the mug of coffee tightly in her hands. Tony shakes his head.
"Clara, it's okay. It's good. Clint and his wife were okay with it. Apparently, she really really likes you." He says with a slightly smile, bumping her shoulder with his. Clara took a drink of the much needed coffee as her brother continued, "How are you feeling?"
"Well I'm no longer being controlled by a homicidal maniac, so that's definitely better." She responds, turning her head to look at her brother. He wraps an arm around her, pulling her close.
"You don't have to stay, kid. You can go and take a trip. Do whatever you want. We'll be okay." Tony tells her, rubbing her shoulder. Clara gave him a slight smile, the corner of her mouth tipping upward.
"As much as I'd love to do that, I just can't. I need to see this thing to the end, Tones." She tells him softly and Tony shakes his head. He stays quiet for a moment before bringing something up that's been eating at his mind.
"What did you and Steve talk about last night?" Tony asks, pulling his arm from around her shoulders. Clara looks down at her mug of coffee, swirling it slightly with her powers.
"Nothing important. He brought food and clothes out for me. We must've fallen asleep." Clara explains, looking up to the farmland around her. It was all so nice and green, peaceful. Part of her could see herself on a plot of land like this. Running after some children, a big dumb smile on her face. Clara wanted to be a mother, she could feel it deep, deep inside of her. The younger Stark blinked and shook her head, shaking those dreams out of her mind. Tony could tell she didn't want to get pushed anymore on the topic, but he couldn't help himself.
"Are you sure about that?" Tony pushes, just wanting to make sure she was okay and that he didn't have to beat Steve Rogers to a pulp.
"If you're implying Steve and I played naked Twister, you're sadly mistaken. We just talked and then fell asleep." She tells him, taking another sip of coffee before adding, "No sex, just some cuddling if anything. Non-romantic cuddling."
"Alright. Oh! Your phone has been ringing all damn night. Some guy named 'James' has been calling you." Tony says as he pulls out her phone, putting it in her hand. Clara hides her shock effortlessly as she takes the phone. The blonde downs the rest of the coffee before handing the mug back to Tony.
"Thanks, Tones. Now if you don't mind, I need to call someone back." Clara smiles at him before walking away, waiting until she is out of earshot of her brother and anyone who might be around. She hit the contact's call button, holding the phone to her ear as she looked at the rolling fields.
"I've been calling you for days, Clara." James stumbles over his words, his voice sounding characteristically rough. Her eyes shut for a moment. Steve would hate Clara if he found out who she was talking to. Clara, of course didn't care. Why should she? She didn't owe a damn thing to that man.
"I'm sorry, I really am James. I've been busy." She responds, voice soft as she continues, "You got the money right?"
"I did. Thank you. You really don't need to do that." He murmurs and she smiles ever so slightly, opening her eyes.
"Well, seeing that no one is going to hire you and I have more money than I know what to do with. It's all good, James." Clara retorts and she can practically hear him try not to smile.
"You're fine, right?" He asks, his tone growing a little more serious. Clara's smile fades, looking down at her boot covered feet.
"I mean the nightmares are back, that's not great. I think after I'm finished with what I'm doing now, I'm going to take a little break. Heard Bucharest is awfully nice this time of year." She tries to change the subject, kicking up a patch of grass. James sighs, but chuckles slightly anyway.
"Do you think that's a good idea?" He questions and Clara wonders if he's walking around his shitty little apartment, talking to her like a schoolgirl.
"I think it's grand ole idea and I don't think anyone is going to tell me otherwise, especially since they don't need to know where exactly I'm going, James." She responds, looking up at the sky. Clara wondered if actually going on vacation to visit him was a good idea, but she could. She could just disappear for awhile.
"I'll hold you to that."