Truth is, I never wanted to be like this.

"Could I have a black coffee, please?" I ask nicely, pulling my jacket tighter around me to ward off the chill. Manny, my favorite coffee guy, nods and busies himself around his little cart. He parks in the same spot every day and I visit on most. His white smile is stark against his Hispanic skin and our fingers skim each other's when he hands me the coffee. "Thanks. Hope you have a good day, Manny." I tell him and he nods sweetly at me.

"You have a good day too, querida." Our eyes meet and I stare at him a little longer than necessary as his words go on a loop in my head. So simple. Telling someone to have a good day seems so easy. Benign. For me, every word in my mouth is a bullet in a gun.

New York is a unique place. Full of people milling about not giving a shit. It's great. Yet somehow, I'm always the one that gets covered in shit. Stumbling over a forgotten umbrella, I run face first into a woman's shoulder. She instantly shoves me off and I fall ass first into a puddle. My eyes shut a moment and I just sit there. Cold water seeps through my jeans and my eyes only open when I hear a strange sound. My coffee cup, rolling towards me now without the very thing that gave it purpose.

"What the absolute fucking shit," I ask myself rhetorically before standing at last. Water seeps down my jeans and I stare at the sky to avoid looking at the passersby ogling me. At least of course, until I hear screaming. Not the fun, stop-tickling-me, sort of laugh, but the oh-shit-I-don't-know-what-to-do-and-I'm-terrified kind. I spin in my little puddle towards the sound. My feet start moving towards it without my brain even thinking about it. Dodging running people, my eyes finally find the source of panic. The middle of the sidewalk is vacant except a man in a bright orange shirt curled up on the ground being kicked by three men. "Would you stop?" I ask, running up and hitting the concrete with my knees. Worried hands flit over the male to check for serious injury. The standing assholes take a second to get over their shock.

"Chick's got guts, but this ain't got nothin to do with you. Get outta here." A tall man with pale skin and hair the color of straw commands. I look up at him in particular and frown.

"Is this your first time doing this?" I ask him and watch his bushy blonde eyebrows furrow.

"What?" He asks intelligently. The man beside me groans and I only now see the blood soaking his side.

"He needs a hospital," I tell mostly myself, doing my best to yank the orange shirt to his feet with an arm anchored around my shoulders. Straw hair stops me with a rough hand on my shoulder.

"He'll be needing a morgue when we're done here, sweetheart. Let him go or I'll have to hurt ya." He threatens and angry acceptance settles in me. Gently, I lay orange shirt back on the ground.

"You give me no alternative then." Cracks emanate from my neck when I turn my head side to side. "Want to fight over him?" Skepticism enters his eyes while he and his buddies look me up and down. I'm thin, brown curls crushed under a navy beanie, dark eyes with darker half circles under them, pale skin, and a wet ass to top it all off. I must not look like much a threat because they smile.

"Your choice, baby." He says and simply takes a step towards me. "Free shot." He holds his hands out to the side. A corner of my lips turns up. My fist pulls back and I punch his face with just a little relish. Of course, I'm not an idiot. My one 'freebie' becomes two, then three, then four. It's only when straw-hair is on the ground that his buddies spring into action.

"Hold her back!" Brunet shouts while short and stout bumbles towards me. My arms are held behind my back before I can dodge and stout gets two good hits to my gut before I press myself back against the brunet and kick the face of short and stout. Pushing off his face gives me enough power to flip out of brunet's grasp. Now behind him, it takes a few hard punches over his kidneys and one sharp elbow to his head before he goes down. Short and stout is holding his bloody nose and I huff when he storms towards me. All two hundred pounds of him. His hands land on my ribs and I grunt when he turns and shoves me into a brick building.

"Who the hell are you?" He asks, wide eyes scanning my face with fear. I knee him in the groin and take a gulp of air when he releases me. Not waiting for either of us to recover, I lift my fists again and this time it takes five good punches to put him down. I move back to orange shirt and still feel a faint pulse, thank god. Standing back up, I look at the men rolling on the ground in pain. My feet carry me to straw hair and I search his pockets before finding a phone. I dial 911.

"Yeah, hi. I've got some guy bleeding on the sidewalk. Corner of Park and Tenth. An ambulance would be helpful." The woman on the other end hesitates only slightly before telling me they're on their way. I hang up before she can ask my name. My eyes meet each of the men in turn. "Turn yourselves into the police as soon as you can stand." Instantly, their expressions change to confused. All three men turn and start heading east which just happens to be the direction of the nearest police station, groaning and moaning along the way.

Sighing, I swallow the bitter taste in my mouth and limp along with a full-grown man leaning on me. Thank god he's gangly. My eyes sharpen on a man quickly approaching us with a purpose. "Shit." I breathe and comatose guy moans. "Stop." The man heading towards us stops in his tracks. "Now, jus-" the words are shoved back into my mouth by an unseen fist. I fall sideways, onto the poor already beaten to a pulp guy. Not his day. Before my attacker can continue, my leg shoots out and meets his groin.

"Bitch!" He shouts as he huffs and puffs.

"Shitty last words, pal," I tell him and stand, spin kicking him in the face. He crumples to the ground. Creepy walking guy is still frozen in his spot while I'm getting a little woozy. My hand lifts and feels my split lip. Ugh. "When you hear sirens, turn yourself over to the police," I demand, falling onto a lamppost for support. My eyes are once again drawn down the sidewalk. "Jesus," I curse when I see two more walking this way. "What the hell did you do?" I ask orange shirt guy.

Barely breathing, he answers, "Pissed off," wheeze, "gang," coughs up some blood, "bangers. Owe," after that, I don't need him to continue. Besides, I've got two more men to worry about. I crack my knuckles and stand in front of the idiot who dealt with gangs. Let's do this.

*     *     *     *     *

Ugh. Hospital smell.

"Take it slow, honey." A gentle hand on my arm beckons my eyes to crack open. Crack meant quite literally since it feels like there's a hard crust over my eyes. My hands reach up and carefully rub the crust away before I open my eyes fully. A pretty nurse hovers over me with blonde hair pulled into a tight bun at the nape of her neck. Blue eyes shine in the early morning light coming through a window to my right. Which, you know, is nice for people who like light. Oh shit, morning light?

"How long have I been here?" I ask her, my tongue reaching out and running over my split lip. Ouch. The nurse, Karen, her nametag says, pulls the blankets a little higher on me.

"Just a night. Got yourself pretty beat up protecting that guy. Did alright from what I heard." My eyebrows pop up as I sit myself up with effort. Thank god for bed controls. She notes my confused expression and grabs a spare pillow, helping me lean forward so she can put it behind me. Finally, I'm sitting up like a person and feel slightly less like a slug. "They're on another floor. Serious injuries. You, however," She sighs and moves to the end of my bed, picking up a chart. "bruised ribs, mild concussion, severe bruising pretty much...everywhere. Your knuckles aren't in the greatest condition either." My eyes look to my flexing hands and I feel the burn as I see the red of cleaned, raw, flesh.

"Yeah, well." I shrug and look back at her. "Thanks. When can I get out of here?" She replaces the clipboard and sighs.

"Soon. We need some information from you, then that's it. I'll bring you your clothes." She turns, then swivels back. "Oh, you have three visitors here, by the way. Up for it?" My brows furrow, but I nod.

"Who is it?" She hesitates at the curtain.

"I think they knew that guy you were protecting and wanted to thank you." Karen shrugs and smiles slightly before handing me a small mirror and a make-up wipe. "Might want this." She says kindly before finally slipping out. I hold up the mirror and wince. Raccoon eyes. Quickly, I wipe off all my make-up. Better to have all of it gone than to leave any trace of the mess. Curious, I run a hand through my hair and tuck it over my shoulder, the reflex to look presentable still very present in my mind. The curtain around me slides open to reveal an African American man with warm eyes.

He walks in with an easy smile and a white man steps in just behind him with dark blue eyes and near black brown waves that fall to his shoulders. The man behind him catches my eye, his eyes a bright blue with a crown of golden hair. Our eyes meet and his crystal blue ones widen. Déjà vu hits me like a truck and my mind bounces back to a fuzzy night a couple of months ago full of hard liquor. While I can't remember many things from that night, I do remember those blue eyes vividly. My lips pop open and a blush tints my cheeks as well as his. Oh, Jesus, I had a one-night stand with Captain America.

"Well. Didn't expect a girl like you to beat up about six guys." The man in the middle questions, James Barnes, I think. I blink and look to him instead of Steve, hoping words will come back to me. Steve shakes his head to regain his bearings.

"What, were you expecting a bodybuilder that looks like a balloon animal?" I joke, reverting to humor as a defense mechanism. The three men chuckle and I relax slightly.

"You could say that. Doesn't look like you came away unscathed though." Steve says and my eyes flicker to him. It's said with a little remorse and a slight incline of his head. My lips turn up nervously and I nod once in thanks.

"Not enough to get a visit from Captain America, White Wolf, and the Falcon, I don't think. Unless I'm secretly dying and they called you to tell me. Still, doesn't seem likely." I prattle a bit. All three men grin at me. Bucky Barnes whispers to Sam Wilson and gets elbowed in the stomach for it.

"Nah, as far as I know, you're leaving today. Sam Wilson." He reaches forward with his hand and I take it, shaking gently. "That idiot you saved is the son of one of the men that come to the V.A. where I work. He's just got his first job since coming back and I convinced him to let me come down so he wouldn't lose it. Heard you put up a hell of a fight...?"

"Reagan Monroe. Rea." I finish for him, thankful that part of my brain is working.

"Rea. Protected Jamie's stupid ass." Sam continues and I wave for them to sit down. Sam sits in the chair next to me and Bucky relaxes on the arm just to irritate him. Steve seems rooted to the spot. Whether from the shock that he's seeing me again, the fact I can kick ass, or mortification, who knows.

"Sorry, you got hurt in the process," Bucky says kindly and I nod to him in acknowledgment.

"How'd you learn all those moves?" Steve offers his hand and I tentatively take it, trying not to think about how absolutely mortifyingly hilarious this is. I'm shaking his hand like we're just meeting when his hands have fucking touched my entire body. He's still quite the specimen though. My eyebrows raise at his question and suddenly I remember I'm still holding his hand. I drop it hastily and he looks a bit bashful. "Might've borrowed the security tapes." A smile surprises me by inching across my face.

"Truth is we've been looking for Jamie for his old man," Sam says and gains my attention again. Thank god. Steve's question goes unanswered for now. "Got into some bad stuff, so I thought I'd help him out. Cap's been helping me." The men share a smile and it's nice. It's obvious they're good friends and my heart aches a little with jealousy. Been a long time since I've had any friends.

"And I'm apparently just the third wheel," Bucky grumbles and dodges Sam's slap with a smirk.

"Yeah, he uh, he said he owed some gangbangers money. Guessing they came to collect in blood rather than paper." The men's expressions darken slightly, but we're all distracted by Karen when she comes back in. She smiles kindly at the four of us and hands me a clipboard to write down my information, then sets my clothes on the bed. "Listen, I've got to fill this out and get dressed. Mind?" I ask and they instantly nod.

"Sure. We'll...wait just outside the door." Steve says and pauses a moment, meeting my eyes and holding my gaze. Sam and Bucky look to Steve curiously. Their job is done, I'm guessing. Thank the nice girl, then leave. Steve seems to have more questions and I'm not quite sure how to feel about that. Never had to answer why I didn't call someone after sex because I don't usually run into them again. Ugh, fuck me. Steve is the last out and his gaze brings more heat to my face. I sigh in relief when it's just me and Karen.

"Cuuuuute." Karen drags out and fans herself. She coaxes a smile out of me as she removes various objects sticking in me. "Go for one of them, honey." She suggests and I shake my head while standing up. It causes just a lick of pain.

"Relationships and I have never really gotten along," I tell her, carefully slipping on my underwear, bra, dry jeans, Christmas socks, ankle boots now with chips throughout the block heels, black T, and black leather jacket. Maybe that's what I'll tell Steve. "So, after this is done, I'm out?" I ask her with the clipboard in my hand. Karen nods as I put my beanie back on my head.

"You got it, hon. Take care. And hey," She walks over and hands me a card, blue eyes shimmering. "Call me if you need help. Or if one of those hunks outside doesn't work out." She winks at me and heads out. I blink. Oh, the irony.

A/N

New story! Phew. After continuing a series it's nice to finish something different. I hope you all enjoy and please, give me all the feedback! ;) Thank you so much for reading, lovelies.

Keep going!