DISCLAIMER: This fanfiction will follow its own timeline, however, I've tried to stick to the movie timeline as much as possible. It must be noted that this story is rated M as there will be some explicit content mentioned later in the story (depictions of sexual intimacy, and also mentions of rape and abuse) but forewarnings will be provided at the beginning of the respective chapter.

It must be noted that I don't own any of the Marvel characters or anything affiliated with the Marvel Universe. However, all OC and original content have been created by me.

CHAPTER TWO

"The One with The Visitor"

The next morning, Lilah woke early and hopped straight into the shower. Today was her day off and she was going to use up every second doing a much-needed cleaning of her apartment and also put the visit she made last night to the Smithsonian into the far corners of her memory. After slipping on a pair of yoga tights, a baggy t-shirt and tying her hair up in a high bun, Lilah padded down the passage and into the kitchen to fix herself a strong cup of coffee and a slice of toast.

Left to her after her Grandmother had passed away, the 3 bedroom, the single-floor apartment was bigger than anything she could afford to buy. With high ceilings and dark wooden flooring, Lilah had so many amazing memories of her Grandmother here that it literally hurt when she redecorated it. However, she knew deep down that her Grandmother would have wanted her to move on and make the place her own. So after many trips to the paint store and making endless decisions regarding furniture and all the nitty-gritty of the apartment layout, Lilah finally had a place to call home. Her own home.

By midday, the apartment was spotless and had the scent of fresh lavender wafting through the air. Standing at the passage entrance, Lilah looked out at her lounge and dining room and then to her kitchen and admired the apartment, the vastness of the Washington skies gleaming into the room. Pleased with her work, she smiled to herself and walked over to the honey-coloured, wall-length bookshelf that stood to her right. Her pride and joy. Lilah's love for reading and music was evident from the contents of this shelf. Save for the few vintage bookends here and there, every row of the shelf was filled from top to bottom with novels, biographies, and vinyl albums.

Standing in front of the records section, Lilah pondered for a moment and then pulled out her copy of Frank Sinatra's 'In The Wee Small Hours' album. She loved listening to vinyl's opposed to the modern CD; something about the sound just moved her. Crossing over to the table that held her record player on the other side of the shelf, she carefully pulled the vinyl out of its jacket, put it in place on the machine, and then slowly lowered the needle. With the voice of Sinatra now travelling throughout all the rooms, the apartment felt alive somehow and Lilah couldn't be more content with that.

Massive bay windows lined the wall on the far end, giving Lilah an uninterrupted view of the city and the tops of tree canopies as far as the eye could see. The warm sunshine filled the room as Lilah took a deep breath of fresh air and let the music take over. "This calls for a cup of tea," she said smiling to herself. Turning on her heel, Lilah headed toward the kitchen but just as she took the corner, the doorbell rang. I didn't buzz anyone in, she frowned thinking about it for a second. Might be Mrs. Gideon, she rolled her eyes and cringed at the thought. Mrs. Gideon, the one and the only neighbour who always visited unannounced and talked the most.

Heading toward the door, Lilah first stopped to turn down the volume on her record player and then walked over to unbolt the door chain. She swung the door open wide expecting to see the small and frail Mrs. Gideon standing just below her eye level but instead, her vision was met with a chest. A very muscular man's chest. Lilah took a step back and let her eyes trail up the man's chest, his neck, and finally to his face.

"Oh ..." her head suddenly spinning as fast as a whirlpool.

"Hi, Ms. Novak, right?" the man asked, his voice gentle yet firm enough to send a shiver down Lilah's spine, "I'm Steve Rogers, Agent of SHIELD, how do you do?" he said with an outstretched hand.

Author's Note:

I always imagined that Lilah stayed in a building like The Clarabelle in Washington DC.

If you research it and find a picture of it, I imagine her apartment to be the one on the top left.

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