The Useless Handbook

Chapter I

Haven't we met?

I looked into your eyes

And my world came tumbling down

You're the devil in disguise

Madonna, Beautiful Stranger

Erik had decided that every time he ended up with a brother or sister's life, besides eventually stopping the Vibranium lock, he would contribute to his people. They were only small acts - things that allowed him to go unnoticed for the world. So he shared a little about one of the things he treasured the most: his knowledge of African traditions. Therefore, he used to give educational talks to children from marginalized areas so that their collective memory would not fade away.

He tried to go to Oakland every time his schedule allowed him, it helped him to stay focus on his purpose – otherwise he would get lost in the middle of so many deaths. In this way he could remember that he did not kill because he was a murderer, but because his cause required necessary sacrifices.

It had been almost a year since his last visit, at that time a care center for children and teen was about to open. It was supposed to have multiple areas - social work, recreation, culture and sports, with a clinic next to it. So he contacted the cultural manager to schedule a couple of conferences.

He toured the neighborhood for a while. He was born there and somehow he also died there the day his father was taken away from him. He saw the poverty, the social inequality, the palpable injustice, but everything would be solved once it ended with T'Challa. With that in mind he arrived at the center, they were already organized in the amphitheater and after the introduction by the managers the lecture began.

"Africa is our mother, the land from which every human being should feel descended. It is the return to the deepest and truest of our being. It is our roots, the source of our existence. Africa is the eternal beginning….".

Definitely, today was one of those days when you cannot wait for it to end. Not only was the tiredness of so many hours of continuous shift, a collapsed emergency room and lack of medication, but what took the most of her was giving everything and not being enough. The same patterns repeating all over again.

She became a doctor because we can save the world thing, the let's go and help the forgotten ones naïve idea. When she graduated, she enrolled in the More Doctors Program and spent six months treating children at the Amazonian rainforest. And when she returned home, she started her residency in pediatrics and then won a spot for a fellowship program in tropical diseases.

She spent two years in Doctors Without Borders. At first she was grateful with this amazing opportunity - being in the middle of chaos, fighting with all her guts, but inevitably every day more and more battles were lost. Nothing causes more pain than watching a child die and she was the main witness of the daily tragedy. Her professional degrees were useless when hunger killed the children, they didn't respond properly to the treatment because the lack of water, food and decent conditions. And nobody – especially politicians, seemed to care.

She ended up sad and broken, so when she came back to her country she didn't know that to do. Why spent her energy helping others when nothing changes? But how could she just be there simply waiting around? She found out on the news about a clinic for children and teens, which was part of a bio-psychosocial multi-center in one of the poorest areas of Oakland. She took it as the ray of hope she needed to continue with her dream. So she started working there with other people who also tried to improve the world from their little piece of land.

It was around noon and she was about to finish her 30-hour shift, when shouts were heard from the admission.

- "Move! We need some help!"

- "Quick! Lay him here!" said a nurse as she opened the curtains of a cubicle.

She saw Mrs. Noxolo, one of the social workers at the center, with a man she didn't know, who had little David in his arms. These child was a regular patient of hers and he was admitted because a viral infection just about last month.

- "What happened, Mrs. Noxolo?" she approached quickly and asked while she began to measure the child vital signs.

- "We were in an activity, doctor. And suddenly the child fainted".

- "What kind of activity? Playing sports? Did he present any other symptoms?", she continued performing the physical exam while the nurse looked for the first aid kit.

- "No, doctor. We were at a lecture by Professor Stevens", she said as she pointed to the man next to her. "David didn't mention anything this morning".

- "Doctor...?", the man asked his name while looking straight into her eyes.

- "Rodríguez. Lexy Rodríguez".

- "Doctor Rodríguez", he paused without losing eye contact, "the kid was sweating and a little pale at the beginning of the talk. When we finished, he fainted on the floor".

- "Ok, very well. Nurse, let's start with IV fluids", she adjusted her glasses, "and you two, please, go to the waiting room. I'll catch you when we have the tests results".

Lexy looked at this man one last time - a warning signal was activated somewhere in the back of her mind. She called off any thought related to him and focused on what she was doing. Later she would keep up with that.

With his experience in the army and the ghost squad, he was familiar with the handling of doctors in the field of war. They were agile, with immediate reaction, and above all, what differentiated them from the other physicians was their fraternity with all the members of the battalion. It has to be your own blood in order for you to care. Something in their eyes – they look at you like if you really matters.

There was something about her that made him feel the same way. He saw her with sincere concern, without losing his calm, without mistreating the kid relatives - the mother had arrived briefly after, she had two jobs and was blaming herself for not having enough time. He saw her staying at the clinic even when her shift had finished so she could pay exclusive attention to the child.

Erik found out that the doctor was a pediatrician - she had worked there for about four months, and basically, she earned the community's acknowledgment and respect for the way she treated them and all of her patients. So much kindness confused him, and if the beauty was considered - those chocolate eyes full of determination, his caramel skin tone, short hair that gave her a playful looks -, she almost seemed to be too good to be true.

When the doctor went out to tell the mother about the child's evolution, he just stared at her. He noticed that she avoided looking at him. At first He thought it was a coincidence, but after the scene was repeated several times he realized that she kept doing it. Would he make her nervous? He wouldn't mind, in fact, the game would get more interesting.

Finally he saw the doctor when she said goodbye to the staff and left out the clinic. He quickly went after her. He heard her talking on the phone, and from what he could listen to she was waiting for a taxi, so he would have to act fast.

- "Doctor Rodríguez?", she turned towards him, her expressive eyes looked at him with cordiality, and if he was not mistaken, also with a little relief, as if she was waiting for him to come. "I haven't had the chance to present myself properly", he said as he extended his hand, "Erik Stevens".

- "Nice to meet you", she said matching the gesture. Erik kept her hand - small and delicate - a second longer than he should have. It felt so soft and he could bet that all of her was like that.

- "I know it's your job, but you earned my respect today".

- "Thank you! It's just ... well, yes, my job", she said with a bit of pride and simplicity. "The truth is that you too earn my respect, staying until now even when you don't have to".

She bit her lips unconsciously, it seemed to him that there was something naughty in her eyes, and even though she looked tired Erik found her provocative. His game was on fire.

- "Prayer is an exercise in passion, not indifference".

You see, some women wanted to be played with romantic moves, so he usually ignored them because he had no time for those dramas. Others wanted to be dominated, which was more of his taste – he just looked at them with a wicked desire and he didn't even have to ask in order to receive because they were already giving it, which was practical but boring. And then there were those women whom he preferred not to find – the ones that you can't put a label on.

So he was intrigued. He wanted to dazzle her with facts and words, and when she gave him that captivated smile, he knew he had found the small access button he was looking for.

Before he could add anything else, a vehicle stopped in front of them.

- "Doctor, I know you have to leave now, but would you like to met with me sometime? Maybe get a cup of coffee?".

He was used to take what he wanted and leave – without permission, no second thoughts. But now he didn't want to fuck up the opportunity before getting close, so he chose his words carefully.

She checked her purse and gave him a card with her contact information.

- "Right now I'm a little zombie, but call me tomorrow, okay?"

- "Okay" he said as he helped her with the taxi door, "get some rest, doc".

- "Lexy, you can call me Lexy".

Erik smiled at her and smacked the car roof as a signal to the driver.

Once he lost sight of them, he started walking home. The day was anything but what He had planned. He was only going to fulfill his punctual quota of expiation and, nevertheless, there he was. He knew he was in trouble when he decided to stay late at a clinic, just to try to impress a girl he had just met. He did not like that shit. And for some reason – that definitely he wasn't going to recognize -, he could not get rid of that stupid smile on his face.

Author's Note:

I want to thank everyone for your support! If you read the fic, left review or gave follow/favorite, thank you! This kind of feedback is amazing.

Well, I wanna talk to you about some other things!

Lexy is physically based on a Colombian actress, she's like the next level! Sweet, such a beautiful smile, that's why I made so much emphasis on that xD She has an Instagram account, elizabethminotta go see her and tell me your thoughts, do you like how Erik and she look together? I don't know if I should describe her petite or tall, what do you think?

I'm sorry if the chapter was a little bit slow, I wanted to contextualize where the characters come from and "justify" the attraction, mostly from Erik to Lexy, because in the other way we all know that Erik is like the sexiest man ever ;)

The text about Africa belongs to Jean-Bosco Botsho, and the prayer quote is from R.C. Sproul.

By the way, I'm publishing this fic in Spanish too (I forgot to clear this up in the previous chapter)! Special thanks to BooYouWhore101 :D

Any suggestion will be welcome!