A/N: *steps out from the corner and gives a nervous wave* After months of fighting with myself on whether or not I should pursue this story and continue with it... I have put on my big girl pants and posted it (as you can clearly see)! This story will contain language (and lots of it!) but won't at the very beginning. Anyways, this story will start off kind of slow and some of the chapters will be shorter, which I apologize for. However, don't fret, as the story moves along the chapters will become longer. Each chapter is dealing with a different girl, but sometimes it will stay with one of the girls for a few chapters before jumping to the other. Only two of the girls will be introduced here at the beginning and as we move along the third will insert herself in here. I feel as if this Author's Note has drug along enough, but I just want to thank my lovely sister for helping me develop this (and one of the lovely characters - without her it would just be two of the girls). Without her, I highly doubt this story would have seen the light of day. So thank you, my dear Brooke. Below is just the summary again before the chapter officially starts. Please enjoy and let me know what you think!
Summary: 3 women, each from different backgrounds. Circumstances brings them together and forms a bond between the three that last forever. This story is about how the trio comes together and how their fates are all intertwined with the Avengers. It's just a side benefit that they each fall in love. Steve/OC; Bruce/OC; Bucky/OC. Begins in the middle of Thor 2 and goes onward (so... spoilers!)
Steve was walking towards his Brooklyn apartment that particular day. He had stayed in New York primparily since everything that had happened with Loki and the Chitauri, but he had been doing more missions for SHIELD. Though their main base was in Washington DC, they had allowed him to stay in New York. The state had a lot of painful memories but it was his home. He had gotten into a simple routine of working out, catching up on the world, and going on missions. His life in the twenty-first century had been as normal as it could be considering his past. And oh did it hurt that he remembered everything, but he forced himself to push forward. Besides, his life seemed like it was going to stay in this simple routine he had gotten used to. He was okay with it not changing since it was all he knew now that he was breathing and conscious. A few of his teammates from the Avengers tried getting him to go out – specfically Natasha, but Clint had tried on a few occasions – to get a girlfriend, but he just couldn't. He wasn't sure exactly why, but he knew he was not ready. Moving on seemed so hard to do even though he knew he needed to. He was longing for a life that was long gone.
The day they informed him that they were going to do an exhibit on Captain America and the Howling Commandos at the Smithsonian he was a bit reluctant. Of course he wanted his friends remembered, but that was putting a lot of things out there. Plus, he would become recognizable. But, his want for his friends to be remembered outweighed what he wanted. That day was the number two on his list of days that changed things for him here in the twenty-first twenty. The first day? The first day was something he had never expected.
The day number one on that list was when he was walking through Brooklyn. This was where he grew up, where he had so many bittersweet memories. Some of his wonderful, loving mother and others of the greatest friend in the entire world that a person could have. Those days weighed heavily on him. He missed them, but he didn't regret what he had done that brought him here. He had eliminated HYDRA and saved a lot of lives which was what mattered the most.
Anyways, that day he had been going to go work out. He was going to take a taxi, but decided he wanted to walk instead. He always used to walk, it wouldn't hurt him to do it now. Plus he would be able to see more how life worked in this century and be able to think some more.
It was when he saw the smoke and heard people freaking out that he knew that something was wrong. He hurried towards where the screams and smoke were coming from to see an apartment building was on fire. No firefighters were in sight, but a woman was sobbing. In between sobs, she screamed out, "My son Zach is in there! He's only eight!" She was being comforted by an older woman. Steve instantly dropped his gym bag and hurried over to the mother. He wasn't one to stand by and let an innocent boy die.
"What floor is he on?" He asked her.
"The third! The third floor!" She cried out right in his face. He turned and ran towards the entrance.
Steve managed to get through the door, but the fire had already spread through a lot of the apartment building. He was able to jump over them enough to reach the stairs. "Hello?" He called out as he moved through the flames. "Son, where are you?" He called out, trying to get a response from the child. He heard nothing. He rushed up to the fifth floor and called out again. This apartment building was six stories, but fortunately he had the common sense to ask the mother which floor he should be on. Looking for this child might take a lot longer than if he had not.
Steve moved through the burning building as quickly as he could manage. He checked every apartment he came to, but he just couldn't find the boy. Instead, he found someone else. The very someone that made this day so prominent in Steve's life.
As he moved into one of the last apartments in the building, still calling for the boy, he heard a girl shouting. "Hey, you! Over here! Hurry, over here!" She called. Steve managed to bust through the door and looked through the flames to see a young brunette. She had a lot of debris and flames around her that slightly concealed her from his gaze. Most of the floor had given out around her. He started to move to come closer to the girl with the almond shaped brown eyes.
"No, don't worry about me!" The girl shouted at him. "Zach is in the bathroom, get him first!" She insisted, pointing in the direction of the bathroom. Her voice was dry and it cracked at the end of her sentence. Steve knew he needed to hurry if he was going to get them both out of here, so he didn't waste a moment to argue with the girl. He ran in the direction she had pointed. He got to what he assumed was the bathroom, hearing soft cries and violent coughs from inside the room and nearly broke down the door until he realized the boy may be against the door. He didn't want to hurt him.
"Zach?! I'm going to break down the door so I can get to you, Zach! I need you to get out of the way and somewhere safe until I get in there, okay? Can you say 'okay' to let me know you're out of the way and safe, Zach?" Steve called through the door. He heard some more coughs and then a very small 'okay'. "Okay, I'm going to break the door down on three then I promise I will get you out of here. One… Two… Three!" He busted down the door on three just as he said he would. The boy was in the tub and let out a yell as the door fell. Steve rushed over and put his hands on the boy's shoulder. "Zach, I'm here to save you. Come on, let's get you out of here." He said and the boy instantly grabbed onto him. Steve picked him up in his arms and rushed back into the living room area of the apartment. The brunette was still in the same spot and she seemed to breathe a sigh of relief when she saw that Steve had Zach in is arms.
Unfortunately, the floor was stable anymore. Not a second later, the floor under the brunette gave out and she vanished from sight. Zach screamed as much as his smoke filled lungs would allow him. Steve looked at the boy and pulled his Call of Duty shirt over his mouth to help the boy with his breathing at least a little. Steve glanced over the hole and saw that the brunette had landed on the floor below and was moving a bit. He heard her groans through the crackling of the flames. If he hurried and got Zach out, he could go and save her. With Zach with him now, he couldn't get through all the fire around her down there without potentially hurting him.
"I have to get Zach out of here, but I swear I will come back for you!" Steve yelled down to the brunette. She somehow managed to lift her hand up and do a weak thumbs up to him before her arm dropped again. With her confirmation, he ran through the fire that was getting bigger and bigger. He nearly fell through the floor with Zach, but managed to just avoid it. Finally, he made his way through the building and ran out the entrance with Zach in his arms.
His mother cried out the boy's name and Steve rushed him over to her. She gladly took her son in her arms and Steve heard the sirens getting closer and closer… But that brunette couldn't wait for the firefighters to get here. If Steve didn't go back in there right now, she could die and he couldn't let that happen.
Since she had fallen through to the second floor, Steve made his way there, ignoring the flames that were burning him. He needed to save her. She had to be saved. He refused to let anyone be killed again just because he couldn't make it in time. He managed to find the apartment she had fallen into. Flames were surrounding her and even some were burning her. He rushed up to the flames and saw that she hadn't moved at all because wood had fallen on her legs. She lifted her head a little and spotted him, but more wood came collapsing down on top of her and landed on her back and head. She didn't even scream.
Steve hurried through the flames and through the wood off of her. He patted out the flames on her clothes and felt a lump form in his throat. Part of her clothes had been burnt off and she had a lot of burns on her, but there was nothing he could do at the moment. He swatted out the fire that had burnt her on her back and arms before he picked her up bridal style in his arms. She was limp.
He didn't dare look down at her. His first priority was getting her out of the fire. They were still both in danger. He turned and went the same way he went, getting burnt and once again almost falling through the holes in the grounds.
As he got to the doors, firefighters started to flood into the building. Two immediately flocked to Steve and the brunette, but Steve refused to let the girl be taken by one of them. He was directed outside immediately and was brought over to the ambulance since he wouldn't put the brunette down himself. The paramedics told him to lay her down on the gurney and he did as he was told. Finally looking down at her, he felt something in his stomach clench. She looked so young but her face was dirty and her skin had horrible burns over them.
"Sir, I need you to back up so we can take her to the hospital. Please, we need to save her life." One of the paramedics, a woman, said to him. He could only give a small nod, taking a step back but not taking his eyes off of her. He watched as they loaded her into the ambulance and then the ambulance drive off. He didn't even notice the other ambulance with more paramedics in it that were badgering him to let them bring him to the hospital to check him.
Steve looked at the blonde paramedic that was shaking his shoulder. "I'm sorry, what?" He asked her, coming back to Earth.
"Sir, I need you to let us help you. You're burnt badly and you appear faint." The blonde paramedic said to him, worry etched into her face.
Steve's first instinct was to fight. To insist he was fine… But he could feel the burns and cuts on him now. He looked around and spotted Zach with some paramedics. The small boy looked up and caught his gaze. In a blur, Zach was suddenly running to him and threw his arms around Steve's legs.
"Thank you so much, mister." Zach said to him, his voice seeming weak. Before Steve could even respond to him, the boy spoke again as he pulled back from hugging Steve. "The girl that fell in there... Is she going to be okay?"
Steve looked in the direction that the ambulance had disappeared. "I... I'm not sure."