How to Fall In Love... With a Superhero(es)
I Own Nothing!
It all began on a crisp spring day in New York City...
Five blocks away from the famous Avengers' mansion, there was a small flower shop that contained within it a girl.
And this was your average ordinary day, but it would change as quickly as the weather. It was the day 'they' walked in.
Steve had left the mansion on a mission. Not the regular missions that he usually goes on, but one to relieve himself of the cabin fever he was feeling. It had been a few months since he was awakened to find his world had changed in the blink of an eye. How was he ever going to survive in a world like this? He should have died a long time ago... What's there left to live for? Peggy was dead, and Bucky too. The two people he had cared for the most in this world.
But unknown to him, fate was about to throw him a wild card in the form of a girl in a flower shop.
Steve had made it five blocks when he suddenly stopped to let a couple pass him on the sidewalk. He looked up to find that fateful flowershop beckoning him in with the sweet scent of gardenias and tuberose. Maybe he would buy Peggy some flowers and go visit her grave...
The ring of a bell greeted Steve inside and alerted the owner to a potential customer. And when she eventually did come out, Steve was left breathless...
She was at least two inches shorter than him, with really long hair that reached to her lower back. Her hair was the color of warm brass with natural platinum blonde streaks that ran through it. Her moves were elongated and graceful with a humble nobility to them. Her eyes were the color of the sky during the aurora borealis and her lips were as full and pink as the roses she sold. Her skin was flawless and the occasional freckle added character to her features.
"Can I help you?," she said in a voice like a cool waterfall.
"Sure... uhhh... hmmm... I... uh...yeah," was all that Steve seemed to muster up the courage to say. He could face all of HYDRA if he wanted to, but he couldn't ask for flowers from a college student.
"The lilies are especially beautiful today... How about we start there?"
All Steve could do was nod and follow the beautiful girl towards the front of the store where large canisters held every type of lily imaginable.
"So what's the occasion, mister? Wedding? Graduation? Birthday?," the girl coaxed out of Steve.
"Death, actually... I'm visiting someone's grave today..."
"I'm really sorry to hear that... my condolences. White is the perfect color for times like that. It's a color of pure hearts and sympathies. It shows the person you love that you will always have them in your heart. A part of you forever."
She offered him a bunch of radiant callalilies that almost blinded him in the sunlight.
"They're perfect. She loved this type of lily."
"I'm glad to hear it. Shall I wrap them for you?"
He nodded and she was gone before he could catch another glimpse of her. She emerged from the back after wrapping the lillies into a tight bundle and gingerly handing them to Steve.
"They're on the house. I know how it is to lose the ones you love. It can be one of the most crippling things that can happen to a person. Now this is my gift to you." She looked at him with the most profound look of both understanding and pain that they seemed to share like a bond.
"I can't do that... I may be in a depressing state right now, but I'm going to pay for these flowers."
"No. I insist. Take them and say hi to her when you see her. Now get outta here!"
"Nope. Not until you tell me how much these lilies cost. I will remain in this spot until you do."
"Sir, don't make me do this!" She gave him a semi cross look and came around the counter to shove him out the door if she had to. She began to push him and he remained a brick wall. When she put her hands on his arm and his shoulder, a tingle of electricity ran up his arm and caused his face to gain a pink tinge. Her touch was like a pulse of life running back into his veins. She began to laugh and so did he when she finally gave up.
"UGH! Fine. I give up. It's $10, please."
He produced the ten dollars from his wallet and she squirrelled it away in the cash register.
"How about I make up having to deal with a pesky customer like me to you? Maybe we could meet for dinner and a walk through central park? It's the least I could do."
"Sure, Ace. Maybe tonight at 8? You could meet me here." She giggled and gave him a beaming smile.
"It's a date. And this time I won't be so stubborn."
"It's a deal." She shook his hand. "What's your name, by the way?"
"Steve Rogers. And you?"
"It's Delphinium. Delphinium Halcyon or Del for short."
Steve had finally found something to live for even if it was silly to think that he could have something in common with someone a quarter of his age. He still had hope, though.