Marvel One Shots

Soulmates 1(Stuckony)

Soulmate AU where people are not necessarily their soulmate's soulmate

Soulmates existed, whether people believed it or not.
Having a soulmate was something crazy. It could be the person you loved or the person you heated. One never knew who their soulmate was, they revealed themselves in the most unique way, most of the time in the least appropriate of times. One could be married, thinking that their spouse was in truth their soulmate, and then, out of the blue, their real soulmate just appeared.
The other problem with soulmates was that it was possible, rare but possible, that one soulmate had another soulmate.
That was the case for Tony, Steve and Bucky.

Bucky knew who his soulmate was since he was a kid. Steve was his soulmate.
Steve was his best friend, they grew up in the same building. He was 14 when he understood that his fragile best friend was his soulmate. One day, Steve touched his forearm and left a light red handprint. That was how he knew it. Bucky had loved Steve since then. One they turned 16, he told Steve, who was surprisingly on board with them being together, despite the time they lived in.
On the other hand, Steve didn't know who his soulmate was. He had told Bucky that he was his soulmate, that they were destined to be together and when Bucky asked him where his handprint was, he had told him that, for him, it manifested in another way. He didn't have the courage to tell him the truth, that he didn't have a handprint, nor any other signs that Bucky was his soulmate. Steve knew it would break his heart and Bucky didn't deserve it. Bucky might not have been his soulmate, but Steve loved him anyway.
Then the war happened, they both enlisted, Bucky left for war and Steve became Captain America. They were separated and then they met again. Steve tried his best to find a sign, a tiny mark, a sound, whatever would tell him that Bucky was his soulmate, that they were destined to be together.
Then Bucky died and Steve thought that that was the reason why Bucky couldn't be his soulmate. If Bucky was dead that young, he couldn't be anyone's soulmate, right? Stev convinced himself that Peggy was his soulmate.he liked her, but she was no Bucky. She was pretty great, a beautiful, badass woman, but what he felt for her was nothing like what he felt for Bucky.
He had a chance, on that plane. Stay and keep pretending that Peggy could be his mate for life, or die. He didn't want to live in a world without his Bucky, not if he didn't even have a soulmate. And so, he decided to go down with the plane and the bomb. He couldn't feel the pain for Bucky's death if he himself was dead as well.

Except, he was not dead. Somehow, the super serum and the ice preserved his body. He woke up in an era that wasn't his, everything he knew was gone. His family, his companions, his friends, his Bucky were gone. Peggy as well wasn't there anymore. Even his Brooklyn, the Brooklyn where he grew up, was now foreign soil.
He was forced to build a life in a new century. And then is when Steve met Tony.
He thought Tony would be much more like Howard but in truth they couldn't be any more different. Thank goodness, if you ask Tony.
Truth to be told, Steve didn't really like Tony when they first met and neither did Tony.
Steve and his extreme righteousness drove Tony crazy. On the other hand, Tony's sarcastic, witty comments, made Steve insufferable.
So there they were, in the middle of a crisis, fighting over dumb stuff.
But that was just Steve trying to flirt. Bucky was the flirty one, not him. He never even had the reason to be flirty with anyone, so he didn't know how.
He didn't know why he wanted to flirt with Tony, he absolutely couldn't stand him, but something attracted him to the billionaire like a magnet.
After the alien situation -he fought aliens, how crazy is that?- he tried to ignore the obvoiuìous connection between him and Tony, but it was like the whole world was trying to push them together.
In a week they would meet at least  twice at the SHIELD facilities.
The third week, Steve finally found the courage to ask him out. He didn't see it as a date date, he just meant for it to be a nice dinner with a friend. For Tony, it was a romantic date. Although Steve didn't expect it, it was nice spending time with Tony in a romantic way. When he was alone, Tony was actually nice and Steve was sure that he could have liked him in a romantic way.
Their date ended with them, sweaty, in Tony's bed, barely covered by Tony's silky sheet.
A few days passed before Steve noticed Tony's red handprint on his hip, right above his pelvis.
That was the same handprint that Bucky had on his forearm many, many years before. That could only mean that Tony was his soulmate and that there was no doubt that he made Bucky live a lie. His love for Bucky was not a lie though.

Tony didn't have a soulmate. Until then, he had never experienced an unnatural attraction for someone. He liked Steve more than he had ever liked anyone else, but there was something about him that didn't sit right with Tony. Eventually, he came to the conclusion that Steve was in fact not his soulmate, unfortunately. But he ignored that. He was happy, they were happy and it didn't matter.
It didn't matter until he actually met his soulmate.

Under Hydra, Bucky was rarely himself, but those few times he was himself, the only thing that got him going was Steve's handprint on his forearm.
As far as he knew, Steve was dead. Or that was what he hoped. Immortality was good only on paper and didn't really want Steve to live such a life, seeing everyone of his friends dying.
But Steve was not dead, and they eventually met again and Bucky realised that he knew the man. They were on the helicarrier, Steve's face was bruised and Bucky was so close to kill him and complete the mission.
"You know me"
"No, I don't" Bucky said, lashing out at Steve in anger.
"Bucky, you've know me your whole life"
Bucky hit Steve but Steve didn't fight back.
"Your name is James Buchanan Barnes"
He hit the Captain again.
"Shut up"
There were things in his head that didn't make sense. Noises, thoughts.
Steve took off his mask, showing his face and let his shield fall from the plane.
"I'm not gonna fight you. You're my friend"
Steve fell on the ground with Bucky over him.
"You're my mission" he punched Steve in the face "You're my mission!"
Bucky was trying to convince himself of that. He was confused. Something about Steve was familiar but he had a job to finish. Killing Steve was his mission, just like many others before.
"Then finish it-  Bucky stopped his fist midair- cause I'm with you to the end of the line"
Bucky's confusion was now showing on his face. He moved himself from Steve, sitting next to him, looking at nothing.
Voices and images were floating in his head. There was a fragile kid picking fights in Brooklyn and then there was Captain America on the train the day Bucky supposedly died.
Steve sat up, looking at Bucky. He carefully moved closer to him.
"Bucky, I know you're there, somewhere inside. It's me, Steve"
Steve took his arm,slowly rolling up the sleeve, showing his red handprint.
He put his hand on the mark.
"See? It's me. Remember?"
Bucky opened his mouth to talk, but they both got distracted by the sound of the glass floor cracking. Before they could realise, the glass  broke under their feet and they fell in the water.
Steve didn't have the strength to swim and he really thought that that was it, he was going to die.
He woke up on the shore, feeling a fresh breeze on his face. Bucky was gently stroking his hair,  as he used to do whenever Steve got sick in the
40s.
"Buck" Steve whispered.
"Steve? Stevie you alright?"
Bucky caressed his cheek. Steve put a hand over his. He slowly sat up, looking at Bucky. He had dreamt about that moment when they would meet again, but it was definitely not like that.
"You're here, you're alive"
Bucky nodded, bringing their foreheads together. He hesitated before kissing Steve, pushing him back on the ground. He kneeled over him,putting Steve in between his legs as he started helping Steve out of his uniform.
Steve let him do, knowing how long he had probably wanted to do it. Steve wanted it too, he missed Bucky and still loved him the same way as when they were 16, but something didn't feel right. The chemistry was there, but something was off. Steve felt guilty, he was not technically cheating on Tony, they didn't clear their relationship yet, but he felt like something was missing. Bucky's kisses were good, he loved feeling his hands all over his body.
There wasn't anything wrong with what they were doing, they were never technically broken up and Steve still went on with his life as if they were. But to Steve's defence, Bucky was dead, he saw him fall from that train, there was no way he could have known that Bucky survived.
Bucky got rid of the upper part of the uniform and started moving towards the pants, leaving small wet kisses on Steve's abs. He stopped when he saw the handprint. Bucky put his hand on it, noticing that it was much smaller than his.
He looked at Steve and then at the mark again.
"It's not mine" Bucky said, disappointed." That's not my handprint"
Bucky got up and sat a few steps away.
Steve followed him, throwing on the t-shirt that was laying on the ground.
"Tell me it's not how I think it is" he said, with a tear rolling down his cheek. "
Steve signed, looking down.
"Why did you lie to me? Why did you tell me that I was your soulmate?"
Steve took Bucky's hand.
"This- he pointed at the handprint- is the only thing that kept me from killing myself when Hydra was not only mind, and now you tell me I'm not and never was your soulmate?"
Bucky turned away. 
"Buck-"
"Whose is it?" he asked, not being able to look at Steve in the eyes.
"Tony Stark" Steve replied, sighing.
"Howard's son?" Bucky asked, looking up with a look of terror mixed with tears in his eyes.
Steve nodded. "What's wrong Buck?"
Despite being mad at him, Bucky threw himself at Steve,who, surprised, fell back on the ground, with his best friend in his arms.
"I killed them." He said in between tears "The winter soldier killed them"
Steve felt a sensation in his stomach.  Bucky didn't say who,but he had the sensation that he was talking about Howard and Maria Stark.