Soulmate AU
Grey has always been a part of your life. A dull grey, with no life, no hope, no soulmate. You stared down at the neutral mark on your sternum, fingering it slightly before your hand fell on your lap.
For years, you had hoped that one day, that gloomy grey would turn to any color on the spectrum, anything. Hell, you would have been happy with white. But your hopes rested in the hands of a deaf god. Your soulmate mark never changed, it was perpetually grey and monotone, no matter how much you moved around the globe, you were never near enough to the person you'd consider the right one.
Your parents were the ones who embraced you when you called yourself a freak on your 18th birthday. By then, every single one of your friends sported various shades of vivid reds, purples, blues, and so on. Reds meant that they either had met their soulmates or were really close in proximity to them. Sometimes, the marks were black. That meant that people had lost their soulmates somewhere along the way. It was always sad to see black marks on peoples' chests, but it was never as dissuading as grey.
Grey meant uncertainty. Grey meant a shrug and a pitying look from those around you. Grey meant that you lived your life knowing that you had to somehow compensate for the hole that you felt threatened to swallow you entirely when all you needed was to talk to someone who understood. And you were tired of it. You were tired of the looks, you were tired of the not-so-subtle questions, you were tired of trying so hard to be happy when you clearly weren't and struggled to not cry every damn minute of your life.
Twenty-five years into your life and the grey on your chest had not even shifted shades. It had remained the same and you had given up on it ever changing.
You found yourself hanging out with one of your closest friends, Natasha Romanoff, when Nat almost spit the wine she sipping on when she looked at your chest.
"Y/N!" she choked out, quickly swallowing the liquor before frantically pointing at your sternum.
"What?"
"Your mark!"
You glanced down and sure enough, that grey that had been there every day was now gone, being replaced by a dark blue. "Holy shit."
"Holy shit is right," Natasha remarked. "You know what this means?"
"What?"
"I get to hunt them down," she had an almost maniacal smile on her face and you scoffed, rolling your eyes.
"You will do no such thing."
Nat pouted, an expression you never thought you'd see on her beautiful face, but nonetheless, it was there for you to witness. "Y/N, come on."
"No," you said firmly. "I am not going to look for them. If it's meant to be, it'll happen."
"Well, obviously it's meant to be," she snorted, pointing at the mark that was now a lighter shade of blue. "He's your freakin' soulmate."
"We'll meet when it's the right time."
She sighed dramatically, shaking her head. "You're impossible."
You grinned at her. "Thank you."
You were checking your e-mail when on the website's homepage, you saw the article announcing the return of Captain America. Retrieved from the ice, Steve Rogers was now reportedly accommodating himself to a life in the modern day.
His face was plastered all over the news for a week or so, before eventually, other news took his place and you eventually forgot about him.
Until Natasha showed up at your doorstep with a knowing smirk plastered on her face.
"What?"
"I think I know who your soulmate is."
"How could you possibly know that?"
She gave you an offended glare. "I don't have to remind you who I am, Y/N."
"Oh, God, you meddled, didn't you?"
"No. I just met him and the subject happened to come up and..." she paused, glancing down at your covered chest. "Mind if I take a look?"
"Absolutely not!" you squawked, crossing your arms over yourself protectively.
"Y/N, come on, cooperate with me," she sighed out. "His chest changed to pink when we got here."
"He's here?"
Nat smiled at your question. "Yes. He's waiting on the first floor for my call."
You took a step forward with the sole purpose of going downstairs, but Nat stopped you from doing so. Instead, she quickly unzipped your sweater and gasped at the sight. Your chest was now a warm orange.
"Y/N, it's him."
"Who is he?" you insisted.
Nat didn't say anything, instead she fetched her phone out of her pocket and dialed a number. A few seconds later and you heard the words. "You can come up."
"Oh, my God," was all you could say.
Nat looked almost gleeful as she followed you inside your apartment, taking a seat right next to you. She took your hand in hers, squeezing it comfortingly before there was shuffling by the front door. Your head snapped up and you audibly gasped.
Steve Rogers stood at the doorway, fidgeting on his feet as he seemed to be undecided on what to do. He was obviously nervous and you felt your breath catch in your throat at the sight of him.
You got up from the couch and walked up to him, quite aware of the vivid red now permeating the white shirt he had on. He seemed to calm down as you approached him, his face softening into a gentle smile and you met his warm, blue eyes.
"Y/N," he said. Your name dripped off his lips like it was sacred and you could only nod.
Steve beamed at your gesture and held out his hand.
"Hi, I'm Steve. I'm your soulmate."
You placed your hand on his and he immediately interlaced your fingers. You felt your world shift, as if someone had uncovered a big part of you and now you could see the light that had been missing all of your life.
Steve edged closer to you, tipping his head down until you were both breathing the same air. You didn't know where to look, his eyes, his full lips. He was more than you could have imagined.
You shivered as he cupped your jaw, fingers tangling in the hairs at the nape of your neck and were completely pliable as he moved you closer to him. Your eyes fluttered closed and when his lips met yours, you knew that the waiting had been worth it.
