When Charlie Mathews met the love of her life, she was 25. Her parents had tried to convince her to get married from the day she turned 21 but she never caved.
Charlie was the kind of girl that believed in true love and soulmates and that's why she had no intention whatsoever to marry someone just because her parents told her to, she wanted to wait for the perfect man to come along and once she met him, she knew she had made the right decision.
The day she met James ''Bucky'' Barnes is the day her whole world was turned upside down. He was the whole reason she knew what the true meaning of love was, and the reason she found out what true heartbreak felt like.
When you are young and in love you think you have all the time in the world, which would be true if there wasn't a war happening around the world, and that any man could be called to the front lines to fight for their country. Bucky ended up being one of them and, sadly, would be part of the fallen ones.
Charlie liked to keep to herself. Her dad had gotten her a job as a secretary for a small clinic near where they lived and she loved her job. She never knew what the day was going to bring, who she was going to meet and what she would have to do.
When she first started working, her main job was to answer the phones, schedule appointments and write down everything the nurses or doctors told her to in their patients' files. She had learned a lot by doing that, whenever there was some down time she would read the files and charts and try to learn as much as possible.
Charlie had loved school, she loved to learn and read about everything she didn't know. Still to this day whenever she wasn't working, she would be at the public library searching for new books to read or at the bookstore buying more books.
She would always get books for her birthdays or for Christmas and she would get as excited as if it was the first book she had ever gotten. Her dad had built shelves for her room when he saw the piles of books that were lying around on the floor, he kept adding to it and after a while, an entire wall of her room was taken by the shelves.
Working at the clinic was something that scared her at first, she had never had an emergency in her life and she didn't know how she would react to seeing people bleeding, in pain or even seeing bones that should normally be under the skin and not poking through it but she never was one to shy away from a challenge and she decided to, at least try it before deciding she didn't want to do it.
She was glad she had listened to her guts because she absolutely loved her job and she wouldn't want to be doing anything else. Everyone that worked at the clinic would agree that Charlie was the perfect addition to their team.
She was nice and always smiling to everyone she met, she had a way with patients, always putting them at ease. If there was a situation that required a lighter, softer approach they knew that Charlie was the one they needed and every time, she got the job done.
Everyone was on edge because of the war. The uncertainty was weighting on everyone's shoulders, no one knew what they would wake up to, who would be drafted to go and almost every day on her way to work, Charlie saw a family hugging their sons, their brothers while shedding tears not knowing when and if they were going to see them again. No matter how many times she saw it happened, it broke her heart the same every single time.
She didn't want to think about how she would feel being in their place, having to say goodbye to someone she loved not knowing if she would ever be able to see them again.
It was relatively calm at work when the head-nurse offered to teach Charlie a few things about minor injuries and how to take care of them. She jumped on the opportunity and every time she had some down time, she would go to the nurse's office to watch and practice new things.
She had been doing this for a month when the doctors finally let her shadow a nurse for an entire week to see if maybe it would be worth going to school and get her diploma.
They were seriously understaffed and if they could get even a single woman to sign up to become a nurse, it would still not be enough but better than nothing. That was the week she met Steve Rogers for the first time.
It was a Wednesday, she had been shadowing nurse Jones for almost 3 days now and they were having a lot of fun together. Jones was an older nurse, she was 55 and had been doing this since she was 20 years old. She had seen everything, at least that's what she liked to tell the newcomers.
They were just done with one of their patients when a tiny, almost scrawny man walked in, limping. He looked pretty roughed up. His short blonde hair was all messy, he had a bit of dried blood on his bottom lip, a nasty cut on his left hand and he looked like he had injured his left leg, hence the limping.
As soon as she saw him walk into the clinic, Charlie ran to him andwrapped one of her armsaround his waist, making sure to take the weight off of his injured leg.
''Lean on me.'' She told him, while pointing towards a chair a few feet from where they were.
He leaned on her and jumped on his right foot until they were close enough to the chair that he could sit on it. Once he was sitting down, she got on her knees near him, to be able to get a better look at his face. He looked everywhere but in her eyes. She didn't know if it was because he was shy or simply embarrassed.
''Hey.'' She said softly, trying to get him to look at her and he finally did.
''My name is Charlie, I work here. What's your name?'' She waited for him to answer, without pressing him.
Clearly, he was uncomfortable and pressuring him to give her an answer wouldn't help calm him down. Charlie looked behind her, waving nurse Jones over. Then, she turned her attention back to the man sitting in front of her.
''I'm Steve. Rogers.''He finally answered, wincing. As soon as he opened his mouth, the wound on his lip opened up and it stung, bad.
''Hi Steve. Can you tell us what happened?''
By then, Jones had reached them and brought a wheelchair with her. They helped Steve get on it and wheeled them to Jones' office. They closed the door after entering, to give Steve some privacy.
Steve simply shrugged ''I got into a fight'' brushing it off like it was nothing. Almost like it was an every day situation and from the multiple bruises and cuts on his body, he got into a lot of fights.
She stood near the sink, damping a cloth to help clean up some of Steve's wounds to be able to assess them properly. She let out a small chuckle when he answered her question and went back to sitting beside him, handing the cloth to nurse Jones and focused her attention on Steve again.
''Do we want to see the other guy?'' She joked, trying to break the tension in the room. The joke made him smirk and he slightly shook his head.
''Nah'' he said which made Charlie laugh.
They kept talking and joking while the nurse finished cleaning his wounds and then went to get the doctor to take a look at Steve's ankle.
She said it was probably just sprained but they should make sure it's not broken.
Usually, Charlie would have gotten up and followed the head-nurse around and to watch her every move but with Steve, she felt like she needed to comfort him. Protect him almost, and that's why she stayed with him the whole time, never leaving his side.
The doctor confirmed what the nurse had already said, thankfully it was only a sprain.
Steve had to stay off of his feet for a few days, put some ice on it and he should be back on his feet the next week.
They gave him crutches to help him get around but being very clear that it didn't mean he could walk around all day, he needed to rest and the crutches were only to help go from his bed to the bathroom and back.
Charlie had a feeling that either the crutches would be left in a corner of his room and forgotten, or that they would be for a lot more than just for trips to the bathroom.
An hour later, Charlie was pushing the wheelchair Steve was sitting on towards the exit, looking down at her patient before letting him get up.
''Are you sure you're going to be okay to get home? I can try to get you a cab.'' she offered.
Steve shook his head, already moving to stand up with the help of his new crutches. Charlie blocked the wheels to keep the chair from moving and helped Steve steady himself with a hand on his back.
''I'll be fine. My house is just around the corner. I'll get there no problem.''
Charlie rolled her eyes while smiling, she had expected that kind of answer. He didn't seem like the kind of guy who asked for help, or let other people help him.
She moved in front of him to open the door of the clinic and keep it open while Steve was wobbling his way outside. He looked like a baby deer learning to stand on its legs for the first time. She tried not to laugh.
''Yeah, you look totallyfine to me.'' she said with a playful smile on her lips.
Steve laughed and looked back at her ''I can do this all day.''
''Oh, I'm sure you can.'' it was her turn to laugh.
''I have a feeling I'll see you again soon, Steve Rogers.''
Steve kept walking, if you could call it that, she could hear him laughing still.
''Maybe'' he said and waved her goodbye.
To no one's surprise, she saw him again. And again... and again.
Thankfully, the injuries weren't as bad as the ones he had the day they met. A few cuts here and there, split lips and a lot of bruises.
Weeks later, Steve was sitting in nurse Jones' office for the second time that week. Charlie handed him a bag of ice while eyeing the bruise that was already forming on his left cheek.
''You know,'' she started, sitting in front of him. ''You are allowed to walk away from fights sometimes, right? ''
By now, Charlie was allowed to take care of Steve by herself. She had gotten pretty good at treating his injuries, thanks to all the practice she's had since meeting him.
She was looking at him, frowning and seriously wondering if he knew he could walk away instead of getting his ass kicked.
Steve took the bag of ice and slowly put it against his freshly bruised skin, shivering because of the cold. He chuckled.
''You should really meet Bucky. You both keep telling me the same thing.''
Charlie rolled her eyes, a habit she had picked up from being around Steve so much.
''Well if you listened to us from time to time, we wouldn't have to repeat the same thing over and over again.''
Steve had told her all about Bucky, his best friend, telling her all about how they had been friends their entire lives.
He talked about him all the time and how often James had kept him from getting beaten up by making the other guys run away. She didn't want to imagine how Steve would look if Bucky wasn't around as much.
''Charlie, I already told you...''
She cut him off, ''I know, I know. You'll never walk away from bullies and you'll always stand up to them.''
He nodded, she had heard him say that dozen of times.
''You're lucky that Bucky knows you so well and knows what you're up to and where to look when he can't find you at your place. I'll have to thank him one of these days for saving you as often as he did.''
He smiled but it wasn't his innocent little smile he always had. It was more like a smirk.
''Actually...'' he said, still smirking.
''What?'' she asked while eyeing him suspiciously.
''Bucky's birthday is this Friday. We're gonna go to a pub a few blocks from here. We're gonna go dancing. You have to come with me! You 'll finally be able to meet him.''
''I don't know'' she hesitated.
She definitely wanted to meet the famous Bucky she kept hearing so much about, but wasn't sure if Bucky would appreciate her tagging along especially on his birthday.
''Wouldn't it be weird? He doesn't know me and it's his birthday!''
''Weird? Why would it be weird? You're my friend, he's my friend and I want you two to meet. He won't mind. I promise.''
She looked at him, thinking about her decision for a few more seconds before nodding and accepting to go.
Friday came around quickly, a little too quickly for Charlie. She was excited to finally be able to meet Bucky, she had heard so much about him and Steve looked like he really loved him.
She was also a little nervous. One, she was showing up, kinda uninvited, when he was only supposed to be out with Steve and their dates. Secondly, she really cared for Steve. He became a really good friend and she knew that if Bucky didn'tlike her it'dbe a deal breaker. He's the only family Steve's got and his opinion means everything to him. She needed to make a good first impression.
The nurses let her go earlier that afternoon and she decided to take that little bit of free time to get a birthday gift for Bucky.
She didn't know a lot about him and wasn't sure what she should get him. She decided to go with a gift she knew was a safe bet: a book.
She entered her favorite bookstore, her little piece of heaven she liked to call it. She waved at the woman behind the register before disappearing behind the shelves.
She picked up random books and read the back cover trying to find the book that would speak to her the most. She ended up picking and then there were none by Agatha Christie.
It came out a few years backbut it wasn't among the really popular books andmaybe he hadn't read it yet. She ended upbuying thebook for him and a few more to add to her collection. Her dad just added to the shelves that were already there and now she needed new books to fill them up.
After paying, she walked out and made her way home. She had a few hours before Steve would pick her up to go to the pub near where they lived.
After talking the second time they met, they realized they lived two streets away from one another. It took 5 minutes from his door to hers, and since they found that out, Steve liked to walk to her house to ''pick her up'' and walk together.
He liked to say their neighbourhood wasn't safe and that she shouldn't be walking alone when it was late.
Being at the clinic quite often himself, he waited for her to be done on the bench right outside and walked her home almost every day.
Charlie thought it was adorable. She knew that if something were to happen, she probably would be the one doing the protecting but it was so sweet of him that she didn't mind.
She took a quick shower to wash off the smell of the clinic off of her, she couldn't smell it anymore but she feared other people could and there was no way she would be remembered as the girl who smelled like cleaning products and blood (or other fluids she'd rather not think about).
From what her friend had told her, the plan for tonight was to go dancing and with that in mind she looked through her closet to find something to wear.
She didn't really like to dance, she always felt like she had no rhythm and looked stupid. She always ended up seating at a tableand looking at all the dancers. She often wishedshe was one of them, they always looked like they were having the time of their life.
She decided to wear a very simple black dress with white flowers on it. It was one of her favorites and if she ended up dancing she would be comfortable. She took it out and put it on.
Afterwards, she took out the curling rolls in her hair, she fixed some of the curls that wouldn't stay put like the others and once she was pleased with how her hair looked she decided to let them loose on her shoulders.
She had blue eyes and red hair and her mom loved to tell her how the color of her hair brought out the color in her eyes.
Once she was done getting ready, she went to the kitchen to wrap up the book she had bought for the birthday boy. Just as she was finishing, she heard a soft knock at the door, it was barely audible and that meant it could only be one person.
''Come in'' Charlie screamed from the kitchen table, she waited a second to see if he had heard her and soon enough she heard the door open and close.
''I'm almost ready, I just need to clean up the mess I made.'' She laughed while standing up and greeting him with a smile.
''I bought him a book. Do you think he'll like it?'' she said, nervously.
''He's going to love it. Bucky loves to read, almost as much as you do.''
He showed her the package in his hand, similar to the one she had just wrapped up. He had bought his friend a book too, a book about the science and new technologies, Bucky was obsessed with it all.
Charlie grinned and, once she was done cleaning everything, picked up her gift, grabbed her small clutch. She walked to Steve, kissed his cheek and he kissed hers back.
It happened by accident one day when Charlie was going in for a hug but Steve thought she wanted a kiss on her cheek. He apologized as soon as it happened, blushing so much he was almost turning purple. Charlie kissed his cheek, trying to show him it was no big deal and that he didn't need to apologize. It somehow made him blush even more. Since then, she always kissed his cheek to greet him.
''You look very handsome'' she wrapped her free arm around his and they walked outside. She let go of him for a few seconds to lock up behind her and wrapped her arm around his again.
Steve smiled and blushed slightly. It's something he tried to get used to, the compliments.
Charlie always knew what to say or do to make the people around her smile. Whether it was a quick compliment, a smile or a hug, she was like a little ray of sunshine and engulfed everyone in her positivity.
He thanked her and returned the compliment. They walked in silence for a few minutes, it was uncommon for them but this time Steve felt like something was bothering her.
He looked at her, nudging her softly in her side with his elbow trying to get her to focus her attention on him.
''Earth to Charlie. What's going on? You seem nervous all of a sudden.''
Charlie was chewing on her bottom lip and kept touching the necklace she was always wearing, both signs that she was nervous.
She hesitated a few seconds, shrugging while looking at Steve.
''It's nothing.'' she mumbled.
''Clearly it's something because it's bothering you.''
''I'm just scared Bucky will hate me.'' she mumbled, so softly that Steve barely heard her.
''What?'' he asked her to repeat, louder.
''I'm scared Bucky is going to hate me.'' she looked down at her feet.
Steve just laughed, making her frown. Was he laughing at her? Seeing the hurt flashing in her eyes, he stopped laughing and smiled at her.
''I think it's physically impossible for someone to hate you, Char.''he tried to reassure her. ''Plus, I know he's going to like you. I've talked to him about you so often, it's like he already knows you.''
''Promise?''
''Promise.''
She smiled at him and started to relax. Just in time, as they were finally arriving to their destination. Steve, ever the gentleman, grabbed the door and held it open for Charlie to walk in, following right after.
Steve looked around and spotted his best friend, at the same time Bucky spotted them and waved them over with the biggest smile on his face.
''That's him!''He pointed out Bucky to his new friend. When she saw him, the first thing she noticed was his smile.
She swore she felt her knees weaken a little bit when she saw him. He had the kind of smile she just loved, the kind that could light up an entire room. It made the corners of his eyes wrinkle but somehow it made him look younger, maybe it was because of the way his eyes lit up almost like they were sparkling. Charlie couldn't stop the smile that stretched her lips.
Steve and her walked over to Bucky and the two friends hugged. When they let go of one another, Steve pointed at the girl standing next to him.
''Charlie,'' he then pointed to the man in front of him ''This is James, Jamesthis is Charlie.''
Charlie had a big smile on her face and stretched outher hand towards Bucky, to shake his.
''Nice to meet you, James and happy birthday!'' she said while he was shaking her hand.
It was Bucky's turn to have his knees slightly buckle under his weight, her smile made his heart flutters in his chest, almost making him blush.
''Thank you. Nice to meet you, too and call me Bucky, doll. Everybody does.''
Charlie blushed at the nickname, cursing in her head for reacting so strongly to a name he clearly used all the time on girls. It had came out so effortlessly. She handed him the gift she had bought for him.
''To make up for crashing your night out with Steve.''
His smile got even bigger, somehow and he took the package from her hand. He shook his head, telling her she wasn't crashing anything and he was glad that she came.
He turned his attention to Steve for a few seconds, with a look that said where did you find this girl? And Steve winked at him, his own gift long forgotten.
Bucky had gotten so excited that she had brought him a gift, he knew that he wouldn't care about Steve's and he decided he would give it to him later.
Bucky opened his gift, from the shape he could tell it was a book and his excitement turning into curiosity. He gave the torn paper to the bartender, asking him if he could throw it away for him and thanked him.
He turned the book to see the front cover, his eyes lit up.
''I wanted to read that one but never got around to it!''
Charlie grinned, happy that her gift was a success and relieved that it wasn't a book he owned or had already read.
Bucky took a few steps towards herand hugged her, whispering a soft thank you in her ear, making the girl blush even more. Letting her go, he suggested they should go sit down somewhere.
They decided to all go sit in a booth at the back of the pub, wanting to be further away from the music to be able to hear themselves talk.
Once they sat, Steve looked at his two friends, talking eagerly about the books they had read, the ones they hadn't read yet but wanted to and he almost gave himself a high-five but stopped himself.
The moment he met Charlie, he knew. She was the one for his best friend and seeing them interact together just confirmed everything he thought.
These two on the other hand... They were completely oblivious to each other's feelings and even to their own.
Steve made it his mission to get these two to see how they felt, nudging them gently towards one another.
Charlie's parents made it their mission to do the exact opposite.