Hello, everyone. Just to put it out there, I've actually posted this story some time ago and kind of abandoned it. I deleted the original story and revamped the chapters. I'm excited to start this up again.
This story takes place after the Winter Solder and before Age of Ultron.
This story is a romance/angst between Steve Rogers and my o/c, Lilyanne Elizabeth Chambers. When Lily found out her younger sister was diagnosed with cancer, she didn't hesitate quit her job as a new nurse and move back to New York to take care of her. Lily is kind, clever, and funny, but soon finds herself slipping as she struggles to come to terms with her sister's worsening condition. If that wasn't enough, her family is broken and relationships within her family are crumbling. Lily is trying to keep it all together and is on the verge of breaking down until she unexpectedly meets none other than Steve Rogers. There's an instant mutual attraction between the two and they share a lot more in common then they think. But can they be the one to help mend each other's hearts? Rated 'M' for future lemons and drug use.
"I owned every second that this world could give
I saw so many places, the things that I did
With every broken bone...
I swear I lived"
- OneRepublic
Chapter One: Unexpected Meeting
Lily shoved her freezing small hands into her jacket pockets, trying to warm them up as best she could. It was snowing in New York and the November air was way too cold for her to tolerate at the moment. Lily looked around her and didn't see anyone else as she walked through Bryant Park. She knew no one else in their right mind would be out in this weather. The brunette sighed and looked down at her boots, silently cursing herself for making the hasty decision to go outside and not choosing better clothes. But she needed to get away from her house, away from people, away from her mother. Not only was she cold but her head was pounding as a result of fighting with her mother only half an hour ago. Lily wasn't one to lose her temper or fight, so she did the next best thing and walked out of the house. All because she had spent the hour before hanging out with her best friend since childhood, Andre. Apparently her mother had an issue with it. She pretty much had an issue with anything Lily did if it wasn't taking care of her sister.
"Looks like I'm the only person crazy enough to be out here," she muttered softly to herself as she adjusted her black rimmed glasses. Lily's feet continued to crunch against the snow for what seemed forever, not paying any attention to where she was going. She pulled out her iPhone, which she had put on silent before storming out of her house, and groaned when she saw eight missed calls and eleven texts from her mother. She figured if it was anything serious, her mom would have left her a message on her voice mail.
"Dear Lord," she silently prayed while looking up, "if you're up there, please help me. Please give me the strength and patience-" Lily all of a sudden felt her nose make contact with something really hard, causing her to stumble backwards a few steps before falling on her butt. She shrieked when her butt made contact with the cold and snow covered ground. "Oww..." she grabbed her throbbing nose. Warm blood was quickly trickling out of her nose and sticking to her lips.
"I'll call you back," she heard a man say. "Miss? Are you okay? Here, let me help you up."
Lily looked up to see a tall man with blonde hair and blue eyes staring down at her but couldn't bring herself to say anything. Blood was dripping profusely from her nose and she was suffering from faint dizziness. Before Lily could protest, the man placed his hand on her back and gently helped her up. He guided her to the closest bench just a few feet away and sat her down.
"Here," he pulled out a white handkerchief from his pocket and gave it to her. Lily hesitantly took it with one hand while the other still covered her mouth and nose. She really wanted to tell him that she was okay and didn't need his help but at the same time was incredibly desperate to rid her face and nose of her blood. Lily wiped her lips and held the handkerchief to her nose, suppressing the bleeding. When she looked forward, she saw the blue eyed man kneeling in front of her, his eyes laced with concern. She was all of a sudden thankful for the cold she had cursed at only a moment ago, for if it weren't for the cold making her cheeks rosy red, her blush would have been obvious to the handsome man in front of her.
"Did I walk into a tree?" she asked. The path she was walking down was lined with trees. She assumed that was the only logical explanation. There was nothing else she could have possibly walked into. "Wait," she squinted into the distance. "Where are my glasses?"
The man awkwardly scratched the back of his head. "No, ma'am. You, uh, walked into my arm. And I'm sorry," he handed her glasses back to her, both of the lenses horribly cracked. "They're broken. Do you have another pair with you?"
Lily raised an eyebrow in amusement. "No, I don't. I'll be fine, I just can't see past five feet...I walked into your arm?" She repeated his answer in disbelief.
"It was my fault. I stopped to take a phone call and didn't bother to move off to the side. Is there anything I can do to help, miss?"
Lily shyly gazed into the man's eyes and couldn't help but think how gorgeous they were. A perfect layer of eyelashes fanned his eyelids. He was quite the looker. The man held her gaze only for a few moments before breaking the silence. "Are you okay? Are you feeling dizzy at all?"
"Um, I'm a little dizzy," she admitted. Though she wasn't sure if it was the hard hit she took, her vision being unclear, or the fact that this handsome man was still talking to her. She assumed it was a combination of all three.
"We should get you somewhere warm. All this cold isn't good for your nose. Hopefully it's not broken," the man said.
Lily tenderly touched her nose. Nothing felt wrong or out of place. "I think I'm okay. Just some ruptured blood vessels. But you're right, I should probably go somewhere warm."
The man scratched the back of his head again. "There's a coffee shop not too far away from here. I'd like to walk you there if uh, that's okay with you?" The man asked awkwardly. "I'd like to make sure you get there alright, it's the least I can do."
Lily couldn't help but crack a small smile. The man was a little on the shy side. Which was surprising to her, seeing as he was extremely attractive. Usually the two didn't go hand-in-hand.
"I wouldn't mind that at all. My name is Lily," she introduced herself. "I would shake your hand but I'm sure you wouldn't want my blood on you."
"Steve," the man introduced. "Do you need help getting up?"
The brunette shook her head and smiled. "I think I'll be alright. Just make sure I don't walk into anything else...or anyone else, for that matter." she told while standing up.
"Are you sure you're okay? That's a lot of blood," Steve told her as the two started walking. It was then he noticed how easily he towered over her. He had to guess she was only around 5'4 and she looked pretty petite.
"Oh no, this amount of blood is actually quite normal," she told, causing Steve to raise an eyebrow. It certainly didn't look normal to him. "I'm a nurse," she added. "Licensed Registered Nurse, anyway. No job at the moment."
"Really? Then I'm pretty sure you don't need my help," Steve joked, throwing his hands up. This earned a muffled chuckle from Lily.
"I'm still blind, remember?" Lily half-joked, trying to keep their conversation going. The last thing she wanted to do was endure a silent and awkward walk with another man. Even if he was super attractive.
"Looks like you and I are the only two crazy enough to be out in this cold," Steve flashed her a small smile as he shoved his hands in his pockets.
Lily shrugged her shoulders. "Yeah, thought a walk would be nice...so are you in the military?"
Steve was caught off guard by her question. "Was. Why do you ask?"
"Haircut, physique," Lily blushed when she realized what she said. "But yeah, you give off that vibe. You actually look a little familiar."
"I get that a lot," Steve admitted, knowing it was only a matter of time before she put two and two together.
"You're Captain America," Lily said calmly but stopped dead in her tracks. "You are, aren't you? Your name is Steve. Steve Rogers?"
And there it was. Steve hoped she wouldn't make a big deal out of his identity. She had been really nice so far and if he had to be honest with himself, he was enjoying their small talk. It was nice talking to someone who wasn't an Avenger or some random person fawning over him.
"Yes, that's me," he answered with a soft smile.
"That's so cool. That would also explain my nose bleed," she joked in reference to his muscles, then mentally slapped herself for making such an awful joke.
"Yeah, I'm really sorry about that, miss," Steve apologized again.
"No, I should have been watching where I was going instead of paying attention to my phone."
"I shouldn't have been standing in the middle of the path. Not your fault," Steve argued.
Lily playfully rolled her eyes. "What were you doing here at Bryant Park anyway? I doubt there would be any super hero business going on here," she attempted to joke again.
Steve chuckled at how silly she sounded. Lily was pinching her nostrils and her voice sounded funny. "No. No super hero things happening today. Just a normal day, miss. I was out for a run."
"Lily," the brunette corrected with a shy smile. She found it so endearing that Steve was polite.
"Sorry, Lily," Steve corrected.
Lily pulled the handkerchief away from her nose and was satisfied that the bleeding had already stopped. But she knew her face was still a mess so she kept her head down. She didn't want Captain America of all people to see her looking so ugly.
"This is so weird," Lily admitted with a soft chuckle.
Steve gave her a quizzical look. "What is?" He questioned.
"I'm trying to make small talk with you but I actually know quite a bit about you. I learned about you throughout middle school and high school and I even took my sister to see the Captain America exhibit at the Smithsonian about six months ago."
"Yeah, that is kind of weird," Steve played along so Lily knew not to take him seriously. He shoved his hands into his pockets. "Nah, I'm used to it."
"Is it weird having an exhibit all about you? People you don't even know, know so much about you."
The Captain shrugged. "Like I said, I'm used to it. Though I have to say it was a shell shocker at first. Just about everything in this time was when I woke up."
Lily found herself in awe of the man. Sure, she knew the story of Captain America. But here he was, in the flesh, actually talking about how things were when he first woke up. It made everything so surreal.
"That's...I'm not sure what to say," Lily admitted with a short chuckle.
"You don't have to say anything," Steve reassured, hoping he didn't make her feel awkward.
"So. How about you tell me something people don't know? Like I dunno, your favorite color color or food? Unless that's already out there..."
Lily and Steve made a right turn and started to walk down the block in the direction of the coffee shop. Steve looked down at her again, trying so hard not to smile like a fool in front of her.
"Blue and pecan pie," Steve answered. "My favorite color and food."
Lily looked up at him and grinned. "Nice to know, Steve. That's very American of you."
"Not a coincidence, I swear."
"Sure," Lily teased.
"Here we are," Steve motioned to the coffee shop window on their right. Steve stepped in front of Lily and opened the door before she could. The young woman was taken back by his gesture and shyly bowed her head down as she walked through the open door.
"And they say chivalry is dead," she told Steve as he walked through the door.
"Not with me, ma'am," Steve smiled at her.
"Lily," she corrected once again with a smile.
"Alright. Well, Lily," Steve put emphasis on her name, causing her to blush. "I'll go find us a table. You should get cleaned up."
"Okay," she agreed with a head nod. She drew in a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. She really couldn't believe she had walked into Captain America! Of all people! But for some reason the fact that he was Captain America wasn't that a big deal to her. All she could focus on was the sweet Steve who had so nicely offered to help her out after she ran into him.
"It'll be a table in the back," Steve pointed towards the back of the coffee shop. Lily nodded with a smile and took off to find the bathroom.
"Is that your girlfriend, Steve?" The old woman behind the counter asked.
"Mrs. Hilton, how are you?" Steve greeted. He sincerely hoped Lily hadn't heard that.
"I'm just fine, Steve. That girl, she's awfully pretty. New girlfriend?" Mrs. Hilton grinned widely at the already embarrassed super soldier.
"No, ma'am. Just met her. She, uh, walked into my arm and got a bloody nose. I took her here to avoid the paparazzi. I hope you don't mind."
"She walked into your arm? That'll be a story to tell your future kids of course. Are you gonna ask her out?"
Steve blushed and cleared his throat. "I don't think so. I just met her."
"So?" Mrs. Hilton leaned over the counter on her forearms. "Steve, why don't you date? I've known you for quite awhile and I've never seen you with another woman."
Steve let out a sigh and shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know," a sad smile now plastered on his face. "It's hard finding someone I can relate to."
"Well, you'll never know unless you take chances, young man," Mrs. Hilton smiled and gestured over to the back of the coffee shop. "You think her bumping into you is just a coincidence? Everything happens for a reason. Go ahead and ask her out. What's the worst that can happen?"
Steve could only shake his head and smile. "We'll see," he simply answered.
"Well, your table is open. Enjoy your day, Steve."
He took a seat at his normal booth and patiently waited for Lily to return. He clasped his hands over the table and fought the urge to tap his foot in anticipation. Was he getting strung up over a girl he just met?
"Hey there," Lily greeted cheerily as she took her seat in front of Steve.
"Hey," Steve greeted back. He found it difficult not to stare at her now. Now that her face wasn't buried in his handkerchief, he discovered that her eyes were a deep cerulean blue and she had a heart-shaped face that was clear and almost porcelain like. She had dark brown hair but the length was unclear due to being tied up in a messy bun. Steve had to admit...he found her very, very attractive. She did, however, look extremely tired. Faint dark circles were noticeable under her deep blue eyes. "Are you feeling any better?"
"Much better, thank you," Lily tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and clasped her hands over the table.
"I'm not sure you should be thanking me, I'm the one who gave you a bloody nose, remember?" Steve reminded.
"I think you're doing a great job redeeming yourself so far..." Lily trailed off, too shy to make eye contact. Her pale cheeks were starting to turn red.
Steve may have been a little clueless when it came to women, but that blush didn't go unnoticed by him.
"You think so? What else can I do to make up for today?" Steve found himself wanting to get to know her more. He knew he hardly knew the woman but already her personality drew him in. She was sweet, had a sense of humor and she talked to him as Steve, not Captain America.
"Well, I do have something in mind..." Lily bit her lip and made eye contact with him. Steve swallowed nervously.
"Anything," he encouraged, hoping it wasn't anything too crazy.
"I uhh...it would mean the world to my little sister if you could come and visit her. You're her favorite Avenger and I'm willing to bet she's your biggest fan. She's not fan girl crazy though, I promise."
Steve was caught off guard. He didn't mind fulfilling her request at all, but he didn't expect her to ask anything like that. He was secretly hoping she would somehow ask to see him again. It would sure save him the trouble of asking. "Sure. How old is she?"
Lily's demeanor instantly changed. She cleared her throat and let out a small sigh. "S-she's 17, about to be 18 in a few months. She's uh...she's sick."
"I'm really sorry to hear that, Lily," Steve told her. Maybe her sister's condition was taking it's toll on her. Maybe that's why she looked so tired. "I would love to come see her. Just tell me when and where."
Lily's heart was about thump it's way out of her chest. "Whenever you're available, really. I would say avoid Tuesdays and Thursdays, she goes to the hospital those days."
"How about tomorrow afternoon?" Steve suggested almost too quickly.
Lily's smile widened. "Tomorrow afternoon would be perfect. Wow, I can't thank you enough. She'll be so happy."
"It's my pleasure, Lily. But...can you do something for me in return?" Steve's nerves were starting to get the best of him. His throat was all of a sudden dry and he could feel his heart pounding a little too hard.
Lily let out a nervous laugh, which had actually helped calm Steve's nerves. "For what you're doing for my little sister? Anything, Steve."
"Will...will you on a date with me? Maybe after I meet your sister? I mean, if you have nothing planned after that." Steve coyly asked, a small smile tugging on the corner of his lips.
Lily felt her cheeks starting to tingle. She was sure she was red and had to purse her lips together to keep from smiling like a fool. She shook her head yes, unable to bring herself to speak at the moment.
"I'll take that as a yes?" The super soldier questioned her subtle head shake.
"Yes," she finally answered. "I'd really like that."
"Oh," Steve wasn't expecting her to say yes, to be honest. He thought it may had been a bit too much asking her out on a date when it seemed she had a full time job taking care of her sister. "What time would you like me to come over tomorrow?"
"I think-" Lily all of a sudden reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone. After checking it, she looked over Steve's shoulder, causing Steve to look where she was looking. Steve saw an older woman with the same brown hair like Lily's standing outside with her hands on her hips. She looked pretty pissed off. "I texted my mom earlier and told her I was here. I didn't expect for her to get here so fast. I should get going. Does 4pm sound okay?"
"Sounds great. Wait, should I get your number? I don't know where you live."
"Oh!" Lily pulled out her phone again, feeling like a fool for almost leaving without his information. "What's yours? I'll text you."
Steve gave Lily his cell phone number and she was quick to text him back. Steve stood up the same time as Lily, causing her to awkwardly stare up at him. "I, uh, it was nice meeting you, Lily. Given the circumstances..."
"It was an unexpected surprise," Lily admitted while finally gaining the courage to look him in his blue eyes. She felt her knees literally start to grow weak as he looked at her. "So I'll see you tomorrow?"
Lily wasn't sure what to do so she awkwardly held her hand out for him to shake, catching Steve by surprise. He took her hand and gently shook it, amused by her quirkiness.
"I'll see you tomorrow, Lily. Take care."
Lily smiled at him one last time before leaving. Steve turned around and his smile dissipated when he saw how furious her mother looked. He could hear her mother faintly scolding Lily about being selfish and something about leaving when her sister needed her. Lily though seemed unfazed and remained calm as she opened the passenger side door for herself. But his smile quickly returned when he saw that her own smile never left, even as she entered the car.
"Good job, Steve," Mrs. Hilton approached him and patted his back in approval. "Though that mother of hers seems like a handful already. Interesting that her mother is picking her up. Did you ask how old she was? She looks a little young."
"Yeah, I think she lives with her mom and sister," Steve assumed. "And she's old enough to be a Registered Nurse. She can't be that young."
"So...when's the next time you'll see her?"
Steve shoved his hands into his pockets and smiled at the vacant spot outside where Lily and her mom had just been. "Tomorrow."
First chapter down in the books! What did you guys think? All I ask is just don't flame. Love criticism and all that, but don't be a douche when you review. :)
Next chapter will be Steve meeting Lily's sister and of course their date. Thanks for reading. :)
