#howtochoose

Steve stood at the top of the stairs starring down at his long lost soulmate for what felt like ages. The grip on his gun was so tight it almost hurt as he lowered it away from Bucky. His breath caught in his throat as he looked into Bucky’s steely blue eyes that used to look at him with nothing but warmth and love. Now they eyed Steve beedily as Bucky was debating what to do now that he had been caught. The two men just stared at each other, waiting for the other to break the silence.

“Steve,” a soft voice called out from the common room. Bucky’s eye’s darted up towards the door and took a step forward. Steve raised his gun again, stopping Bucky in his tracks.

“What are you doing here?” Steve asked.

“There was a girl by the river when I pulled you out. She said to come here to talk to her,” Bucky said. Steve lowered his gun again, his brow furrowed.  

“She told you to come here?”

Bucky’s shoulders tensed and his brow furrowed.

“Why do you care?” Bucky said in a gravely voice that sounded like it hadn’t been used in awhile.

“She’s also my soulmate and I have to keep her safe, even from you,” Steve answered. Valerie called out again, her voice sounding closer. Both of the super soldiers could her her footsteps nearing the stairwell door. “What did you need to talk to her about?”

Bucky looked down at the ground for a moment. His shoulder moved up and down like he was trying to compose himself and Steve gripped his gun a little tighter. Bucky looked back up at Steve, a steelyness in his eye that hadn’t even been there in the D.C.

“Bucky…”

“You didn’t hold a gun to me in D.C.” Bucky said.

“You weren’t asking for my soulmate in D.C.,” Steve replied. “I don’t want to hold a gun to you but until I know why you came to see her, I don’t have another choice. Maybe I’ll put my gun down if you tell me what you want with her.”

“I don’t know,” Bucky grumbled, eyes darting down.

“I need better than I don’t know,” Steve said. Bucky huffed, his lips pressed tightly together.

“I just came to talk to the girl from the river.”

“You said that already,” Steve said through gritted teeth. Steve’s patience was waring thin. All he wanted to do was run to Bucky. To throw his arms around his soulmate and help him out of this situation and introduce him properly to Valerie. He didn’t dare to think about the life they could have. One of easy contentedness living far away from any outside forces looking to exploit them. Now wasn’t the time for daydreaming of lives that could be. No, now was the time for caution because some swedish asshole decided Bucky needed to be brainwashed for 70 years. Used and abused for Hydra. Before Bucky could answer, the door opened and Valerie peaked her head in.

“Steve? What are you…” the question died on her lips once she noticed the gun in Steve’s hand and the tightnessof his shoulders and jaw. Suddenly, rushed steps came from the stairs, and in a flash Bucky and Steve were struggling against each other. Bucky’s arms were around Steve’s waist, trying to get past him. Steve had Bucky in a headlock, his feet planted to the ground. Steve hit bucky with the butt of his gun, but Buckky caught his wrist. Steve grabbed Bucky’s arm and twisted it, using his hight to his advantage and pushing Bucking to the ground. Steve knelt on Bucky’s back. It all happened so quickly, Valerie didn’t even have time to yell.

“Valerie, get out of here,” Steve yelled, his gun pressed into Bucky’s back. Valerie stood frozen in wide eye terror as Bucky looked up at her. “Call Tony, then Same. Tell them what’s happening

Valerie ignored Steve’s request and just looked at Bucky, who wasn’t even struggling against Steve. Bucky was here. He was here. There Bucky was, in ragged, slightly grimy clothes that she was sure were stolen, a knifelaying just a foot away from his flesh hand. Valerie didn’t care about the knife nor did she heed Steve’s warning to leave. All she could think about was getting this distressed man into the tower.

“Bucky,” she whispered, disbalief washing over her. “What are you doing here?”

Bucky took a minute to look her over. She had a nervous look in her eye, but her hands gripped the doorhandle so tightly, it was like she was tethering herself to prevent her from running the few steps between them. He cleared his throat. “I wanted to talk to you.”

“About what?”

“You said you’d be here if I needed help,” Bucky said, he stared at her determedly, fighting every urge to push Steve off of him so he could look at her properly. “Why?”

Valerie mouth opened and closed, trying to form words. What did he mean ‘why?’ It was a question so simple, that it felt like it should just be known. Yet here Bucky was looking up at her like a lost kid looking for help. His tone was sharp and pointed though, so cutting, Valerie stepped back. “Why did I offer you help?”

“You saw what I did to him, why would you want to help me?”

“Do you not think you deserve it?” Valerie asked.

“Why would I deserve it?”

“Because it wasn’t your fault,” Steve interjected. It wasn’t the right answer. Bucky started shaking his head, lips pressed together in a thin line.

“No, I still did it though,” Bucky said through gritted teeth.

“You also pulled Steve from the water and you’ve had this long to go back to Hydra, and you didn’t,” Valerie said, hands gripping the rail. “If you’re so unredeemable, why not just leave Steve to die and go back?”

“I don’t know,” Bucky mumbled.

“Why don’t you get off of him, Steve? We can get him some clean clothes and some food. In the mean time, he can try to think of a better answer than I don’t know,” Valerie said, taking a tentative step forward only to jump back as Steve yelled out a ‘no’ and shoved his hand out to block Valerie.

“Steve!” Valerie hissed.

“He doesn’t come in until he tell me exactly why he’s here,” Steve said firmly.

“I shouldn’t be here,” Bucky siad.

“Then what are you doing here?” Steve asked.

“I don’t know.”

“We need better than I don’t know, Buck,” Steve said.

“Okay, Bucky you turn on Jarvis and instead of giving Steve your weapons, you place them infront of you on the table?” Valerie asked, finally getting out of Steve’s grip and stepping beside Steve. “Does that work for everyone?”

“I shouldn’t be here,” Bucky repeated.

“Were you just planning on waiting in the stairwell until someone happened to see you then?”

“I…I don’t know. I just wanted to ask you something.” Bucky said, turning his head away from Valerie and Steve.

“What did you want to ask?” Valerie asked.

“What’s your name?”

Valerie looked from Bucky to Steve, who kept his eyes trained on Bucky. Part of her didn’t want to answer. It was the part of her that knew how dangerous Bucky was. If he could nearly kill Steve then what hope did she have against him? But another part of her just wanted to crouch down next to him, caress his face, and tell him everything was going to be okay. To shoo Steve off and wrap her arms around this lost man.

“Valeire,” she finally answered.

“You’re full name,” Bucky demanded.

“You don’t -” Steve began but Valerie cut him off.

“Valerie Marie Jones,” she whispered so quietly Steve almost couldn’t hear her but Bucky had never listened so closely to anyone in his entire life.

“Do you have my name on you?” Bucky asked. Valerie nodded, her eyes stinging.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Bucky asked, hurt lacing his words.

“Th-there was so much going on. I didn’t think it was the right time.” Valerie said, breathing low to stop the tears from falling.

Bucky didn’t say anything. He turned his head away from her and his mouth became a straight line. His gaze was so hard and piercing, Valerie thought he might carve a hole throught the concrete wall as an escape.

“Why did you want to help me?” he finally gritted out, “You didn’t even want to tell me who you were, yet you want to help me?”

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you who I was. If I could go back a change that, I would. But I do want to help you if that’s what you want,” Valerie said. Steve let out a wet scoff and suddenly Valerie remembered that Steve was still there, pinning Bucky to the ground.

“Of course he wants help, and we’re going to give it to him,” Steve said. His eyes were red and he took measured breaths. For the first time, Bucky started to struggle a bit, a slight panic in his eye.

Valerie shook her head, stepping towards Steve and crouching down to place a hand on Bucky’s shoulder. “No, he has to want help. He has to ask for it, Steve. Forcing him to go through what you’re asking of him could do more harm than good. Please get off of Bucky and let him make his choice.”

Steve shook his had back and forth, his face screwing up like he was trying to will the tears to go back into his eyes. “Even if I wanted to, I can’t let him leave.”

“Why don’t we just start with standing up?” Valerie said, softly caressing Steve’s cheek.

Steve nodded and pinned both of Bucky’s hands behind his back before standing and bring Bucky up with him. Bucky looked like he wanted to bolt. His eyes were darting from Valerie to the door leading into the tower and the stairs, but he made no move to get out of Steve’s grip.

“Valerie grab that knife and bring it to the kitchen. Then call Tony and tell him what’s happening,,” Steve said. Valerei picked up the knife and hesitated looking between the two men.

“We’ll be in there in a second,” Steve reassured. “I just need to pat down Bucky before he goes in.”

Valerei nodded and left the men alone again. Steve sighed and walked Bucky over to the wall. He placed Bucky’s hands against the cinder blocks and pushed his feet apart. He got to work, searching for any hidden weapon on Bucky. He ran his hands across Bucky’s arms and down his torso and legs. Steve turned Bucky around and repeated his search again. Bucky said nothing and only moved when Steve moved him. He had a far off look on his face, like he wasn’t there.

“You alright, Buck?” Steve asked, lifting up Bucky’s shirt to pull a gun from his waistband. Bucky didn’t say anything. Steve reached the front of Bucky’s right boot and felt another knife. He sighed and pulled it out. “You packed pretty light for storming the tower alone.”

“I shouldn’t be here,” Bucky whispered.

“No, probably not,” Steve sighed, standing to look Bucky in the eye. “But I’m glad you came.”

“If you were smart, you’d kill me,” Bucky said matter-of-factly. Steve’s entire body went rigid and his blood felt icy.

“I don’t want you dead,” Steve mumbled.

“I wanted you dead.”

Steve started at Bucky. His jaw was set and if he didn’t know better, he would have believed what Bucky said. But there was something behind that suredness that told Steve he was fronting. He just shook his head.

“If you wanted me dead you wouldn’t have pulled me from the river.”

“You don’t know me,” Bucky said, glaring at Steve.

“I do know you, Buck and you know me.”

Bucky stared unblinking at Steve, like he was waiting for Steve to take back what he said. But he didn’t. Steve just took a step back and waited for Bucky to walk through the door into the tower. After a moment, the two men were walking into the common area.

“Jarvis,” Steve said, setting down Bucky’s weapons. “What’s Tony’s ETA?”

“Mr. Stark should be back at the tower in about 30 minutes,” Jarvis replied. “I also should tell you that as soon as Mr. Barnes left the stairwell, I was able to regain access to that area but my access to the common area was gone the moment Mr. Barnes entered.”

Steve huffed and shook his head. “Bucky, first let’s start with not disrupting Jarvis. If you’re gonna stay we need Tony to agree to it and messing with Jarvis is not the way to get on his good side.”

Valerie walked into the kitchen from the living room, putting her phone back in her pocket. “Tony is on his way and he know’s that Bucky is messing with Jarvis. He’s really not happy about it.”

Bucky shifted uncomfortably, but he made no move to stop interfering with Jarvis. Steve and Valerie just stared at him, waiting for him to do something but nothing came. Finally Valerie sat next to him.

“If you want us to help you, you’re going to have to trust us a little,” She said, mindful to keep her voice even and kind, not touching his at all.

Bucky considered her words for a moment, his body so rigid Valerie thought he looked like he’d shatter if touched. Steve took a step towards Bucky, a comforting hand outstretched. Bucky’s eyes darted to Steve and Valerie jerked her head side to side in a absolutely-not-abort-mission kind of way. Thankfully, Steve picked up on this and dropped his hand.

“Valerie’s right, Buck,” Steve sighed. “Help us help you.”

Bucky looked to Steve and then Valerie, before giving a curt nod and pulling out some kind of device that looked out of a sci-fi movie to Valerie, and flicking a switch. 

“I now have access to the common area kitchen,” Jarvis said. “Mr. Stark is also 15 minutes away.”

“I shouldn’t be here,” Bucky murmured.

“Why not?” Valerie asked.

Bucky’s jaw clenched and his breathing became deep and measured. Whirling came from his metal arm as his balled his fist. It should have been terrifying - Valerie hadn’t been able to forget just how broken Steve looked when he had been pulled out of the river. Yet she knew he wouldn’t hurt her. 

“Is there a specific reason you shouldn’t be here?” she asked. Again, he didn’t answer.

“Bucky, we need some answers. Tony is-” Steve began to plead but Bucky interrupted.

“I killed Howard and his wife,” Bucky said lowly, staring at the counter. Valerie’s forehead creased in confusion. She didn’t know who those people were, but from Steve face she could tell it was bad. As soon as the words left Bucky’s mouth, the color drained from Steve’s face. His mouth opened and closed stupidly as he looked for anything so say. After a moment, Steve finally found his voice.

“You didn’t have a choice, Bucky.”

“I still did it.”

“You wouldn’t have done that if you were in your right mind,” Steve comforted, but Bucky just shook his head.

“I shouldn't’ have come here,” Bucky muttered.

“But you did,” Valerie said firmly. “You came here to ask for help and we want to do that Bucky.”

“You two want to help, but is Stark really going to want to help the guy who murdered his parents?” Bucky asked pointedly. 

“What did you just say?” a voice asked from behind Steve and Valerie. They both whipped around to see Tony standing in the middle of the room  in his Iron Man suit. His mask flipped up and he was glaring so intensely at Bucky, Valerie was sure he would set on fire if Tony didn’t look away.

“Tony-” Steve started but was silenced when Tony turned his gaze on him.

“Did you know he killed my mom,” Tony said, lowly.

“No, I didn’t,” Steve said quickly. “I didn’t know and I’m sure that when Bucky did it he didn’t know either.”

All three of them turned to Bucky who was just staring blankly at the floor.

“Hey! Now’s a great time to start talking, Manchurian Candidate,” Tony barked.

“I’m sorry…” Bucky said softly, not looking up.

“You’re sorry? Is that all you have to say?” Tony yelled. He rushed forward and Valerie stepped in front of Tony. “Get out of here Valerie, I’ll hurt you if you get in the way.”

“Tony, he wasn’t in his right mind,” Steve yelled. “And Valerie has nothing to do with this.”

Tony was seething. He flipped his mask back down and lifted his hand up, a whirling noise came from it and the light in his palm got brighter. Valerei pushed his arm away from its target right as it shot a beam of light. A hole was in the wall and Tony roared.

“Tony, stop!” Valerie yelled as Steve shouted at her to leave. Bucky was still seated at the table, looking completely unfazed. “Tony, don’t hurt him!”

“Why? He killed my mom and all he has to say for himself is sorry,” Tony spat.

“I know, and I can’t imagine what you’re feeling but hurting him won’t bring her back,” Valerie pleaded.

“Why is he here?” Tony asked though clenched teeth.

“He came for help,” Steve said.

“I told him to come if he needed help,” Valerie said. “He wants to make up for what he’s done.”

Tony scoffed. “Really? Is that what you want, Barnes. To go around to everyone you hurt and give out some half-assed apology and then rot away in some super max prison? Becasue that’s what’s coming for you. I’m gonna make sure of it.”

Bucky finally looked up and with the saddest eyes Valerie had ever seen said to her and Steve, “I shouldn’t have come here. I’m sorry.”

In a fraction of a second, Bucky grabbed his weapons from the table and unscrewed the hilt. A small ball can rolling out and in a flash, a dense fog filled the air. Valerie couldn’t see anything but felt large metal hands push her to the ground and heavy footfalls rushing away. Her eyes watered as she tried to wave away the smoke. She stood slowly and reached out her hands to feel her way to Steve, if he was even still there. A few steps in she hit the kitchen counter.

“Steve!” she called out.

“I’m right here, Val,” he replied and a moment later Steve’s large hand reached through the smoke to pull her through. In a moment, they were in the stairwell again breathing the fresh air. The two just leaned against the wall in silence as Jarvis filtered out the smoke. Valerie tried to strain her ears to hear any sign of Bucky or Tony, but they were both gone. She was trying hard to not look at Steve, she could already tell how he was feeling through their mark. Devastation and longing like she had never felt crept from his name, encasing her heart in a deep sadness so thick molassas seemed as thin as water. She looked up at him, as silent tears poured down his face.

“Steve…” she whispered, but he just shook his head.

“He was right here, Valerie,” Steve gasped. “He was right here, wanting my help and Tony chased him away.”

“I’m so sorry, Steve,” Valerie cried. He just looked at her eyes wide and watery. She racked her brain to find the right thing to say, anything to make that beaten puppy dog look on his face go away but what is there to say? How do you comfort someone when the love of their life is so close and yet so far beyond their reach? Valerie decided the universe had the most fucked up sense of humor.

“How was I supposed to know they made him kill Tony’s parents? I never would have kept him here if I had known,” Steve sobbed. He buried his head in his hands and sank to the ground. Valerie wrapped her arms around him and held him as he cried for his soulmate.

They sat like that well past soreness stiffened Valerie’s knees and Steve’s tears dried up. THe two just sat huddled together until the door swung open and metal footsteps came culomping in. Tony stood in front of them, glaring down in distrust.

“Did you know?” he asked.

“Tony,” Valerie started but Tony was determined to get his answer. He pushed Valerie off of Steve and grabbed the other man by the collar, shoving him against the wall.

“Did you know?” He repeated. Steve looked past Tony, his voice came small and scratchy from crying.

“No.”

“Did you know he was coming here?” Tony asked.

“No.”

“Why was he here?” Steve didn’t answer. Tony shoved him against the wall for a second time. “Steve!”

“I told him to come here!” Valerie yelled, the shock of Tony’s abruptness finally abetting. “When he pulled Steve from the river, I was there and told him to come here when he wanted to get help.”

Tony turned to Valerie and let go of Steve. His face was red and his gaze made Valerie want to curl up and die.

“I’m not helping him with anything,” Tony spat. WIth that he turned and went back into the tower.

Valerie let out a breath she didn’t know she had been holding as soon as the door slammed shut.

“Steve,” she whimpered, though she didn’t know what to say.

“Are you okay?” Steve asked, his gaze still far off.

“Yeah,” she said. “Are you?”

“Bucky needs help. I have work to do,” Steve said. He pushed himself off the wall and walked into the tower without sparing Valerie a glance. He left her alone to her thoughts and finally Valerie sank to the ground herself, tears streaming down her face.

Chapter 13

tags

A soft twinkling of music broke the silence permeating the quiet bedroom, rousing Valerie and her boyfriend, Matt to consciousness. Groaning, she turns to the bedside table to turn off the alarm. The quiet returns and she turns back to her boyfriend who wraps his arms around her waist in an attempt to get her back to sleep. The humid September air making a little too hot for the gesture, but she let it happen since they always played this game in the morning.

“It’s too early, baby,” he said, tiredness making his voice groggy.

“Not when you have class in an hour and a half,” she said, “I can’t be late for my first day teaching and you can’t be late for your first day of law school.”

Matt hums and kisses her freckled shoulder before untangling his arms from her. Valerie gets out of bed and walks to the bathroom down the hall. While brushing her teeth, Valerie goes over all of the plans she had for her first day. Ever since she was hired as Central High’s newest history teacher two months ago, Valerie had done nothing but making and remaking lesson plans, organizing her classroom, and thinking through all the possible scenarios she could encounter. The night before she was up until one in the morning going over her plan for the first day, she even kept Matt up to talk out her plan. He had to drag her into their bed to make her stop.

Valerie turned on the shower as Matt walked in to get ready for the day. He saw the far off look in Valerie’s eye and the crease between her brow that meant she was thinking too hard. He stood beside her and nugged her with his elbow, bringing her back to the present.

“So, how many times have you gone over how today is gonna go since walking up,” he asks.

She sighs, “I think I was in the middle of the fifth time.”

“Baby, you have nothing to worry about,” Matt says, “You worked your ass off in college, you’ve been preparing for the past two months, you’re ready.”

Valerie shakes her head. He was right of course, she was ready. However, being told that wasn’t going to sooth her anxiety. Matt wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

“Why don’t we get in the shower, and you can tell me your gameplan again,” he said.

“Yeah, but I want you to tell me how you’re feeling about today,” she said while taking off her pjs, “It’s not every day that you start law school.”

Matt gives a small smile, pulling down his briefs.

“I’m a little nervous, but it’ll be good,” he said, “Besides I’ve got a hot date tonight to look forward to.”

Valerie smiled and gave a breathy laugh, “No kidding, so do I.”

The two showered and got ready for their days. Matt got dressed in a green button down and blue jeans with dark brown vans. Swinging his backpack over his shoulder, he ran out the bedroom door kissing Valerie on the cheek who was dressing in black slacks, a red flower print tank with a navy cardigan covering her arms. Valerie smiled shaking her head at her boyfriend’s tardiness. She opened the sock drawer looking for socks to wear when she felt a hard something stuffed into one of Matt’s socks. Curiously, she grabbed the black dress socks and unraveled them until a small black velvet box fell into the drawer. Valerie felt a lump form in her throat and fall straight to the pit of her stomach. Shaky hands grabbed the box and opened it slowly to see a beautiful engagement ring.

The ring was simple in design – a silver band narrowing in the center to give way to a small diamond. It was the kind of ring that Valerie had thought would be the perfect engagement ring but the nervousness that permeated her body made her second guess that notion.

“Is he proposing tonight?” she said.

The question gave her pause. Was she ready for that? Of course, that was the natural next step; They were both graduated from college, had been dating for almost five years, and though he was just starting law school, he had a good management job at his dad’s business, and she had just been hired. They had the materials to build a good life together and despite knowing that Valerie couldn’t help but to be hesitant at the idea of spending the rest of her life with him. She never had to think too deeply about her life choices before – there was a set path that everyone in her life followed, and she knew she would too. But when she looked down at the ring, she couldn’t help but feel like it could be the beginning of a monotonous life. She cared deeply about him, but she had just fell into a relationship with Matt their freshman year after running in the same circles and hearing everyone say that they would be good together. They were good together, weren’t they?

A loud ringing shook Valerie from her thoughts. She quickly shut the box and shoved it back into the socks before slamming the drawer shut. The ringing continued and she grabbed her phone seeing her mother’s face on the screen.

“Good morning, Mom,” she said breathlessly after answering the phone.

“Good morning, sweetheart,” her mom said, a chipper tone clear in her voice, “Happy first day of teaching! Are you driving to school now?”

“Not yet, I’m just putting on my shoes.”

“Well, I just wanted to call and wish you luck,” her mom said, “Your father says good luck as well, we are both so proud!”

Valerie clutched the phone between her ear and shoulder as she slipped her shoes on and grabbed her bag and keys. The time on the microwave telling her she had two minuets to get out the door if she wanted to be early. She let out a small huff, “Thanks mom, I appreciated it.”

She walked out the door of the small townhouse she and Matt rented. Walking to her car she debated telling her mom about the ring.

“Of course, dear,” her mom said, “Sweetheart are you okay you sound stressed?”

Valerie closed her eyes, settling into her car. Her mom could always tell when she felt off. She could also always tell when she was being lied to. “Well, I’m just a bit thrown. I found a ring in the sock drawer this morning.”

A loud gasp came from her phone. “I told Matt to find a good hiding spot and he thought the sock drawer you both share was a good choice?”

“You knew he was planning on proposing?” she asked, the pit in her stomach only getting bigger. She pulled out of the driveway.

“Yes, he asked for our blessing a few weeks ago,” Her mom said, “We gave it to him, of course. He is such a nice young man.”

Valerie sighed. He was a nice guy - there was absolutely nothing wrong with him - but when faced with the prospect of spending forever together, Valerie couldn’t think of any reason why she would want to say yes. Her mom spoke again, “You don’t seem particularly excited, Valerie.”

“I’m just not sure if I’m ready for that,” she replied.

“Do you love him,” Her mom asked.

“I do…” she began but her mom interrupted.

“Then why the hesitation? You’ve both graduated, got good jobs. Sure, he’s still in school, but it seems like there isn’t a reason not to.” Her mom reasoned.

“It just seems so sudden and…” Her mom interrupted again.

“Sudden!” her mom said, “You’ve been dating for what, five years now? Your brother dated his wife for three years before proposing; Heck, your dad, and I dated for only two years before getting married.”

Valerie sighed. “We've been dating for four years mom, and I just hadn’t thought much about marrying him before. I figured it would happen, I just wasn’t expecting it right now.”

Her mother chuckled, “It’s just the nerves talking sweetie. You’re overthinking this as you do with most things. Just take a breath and focus on your first day of teaching, for now, you can worry about the engagement later.”

Valerie pulled into the faculty parking lot of Central high school and found a parking spot near the entrance of the west wing of the building where her classroom was located. She took a deep breath. “Maybe you’re right.”

“I know I’m right, mothers always are,” her mom said.

“Well, I’m at school now. I should go. I love you, Mom,” She said.

“I love you too sweetie, have a good day,” her mom said before hanging up.

Rubbing her face out of frustration, Valerie couldn’t help but focus on what her mom said – you can worry about the engagement later. Engagement? She said it like Valerie had already accepted. Why not just tell her to worry about her marriage later, she thought, everything had been planned without her anyway.

Valerie shook her head. Her mom was right about one thing, she needed to focus on school first. She got out of her car and grabbed her bag from the back seat. She looked up at the tall brown building and couldn’t help but to smile to herself. Despite the sudden rockiness of her relationship, this was going to be a good day. She had worked hard for this moment, and she was going to enjoy it.

She walked in and saw the other teachers walking down the overwhelmingly tannish white hallway. Administrators and department heads had attempted to break up the repetitious color with posters and bulletin boards advertising school clubs, sports, and other events as well as information on different educational materials but the persistent color is unrelenting. Her coworkers were entering their own rooms and greeting each other good morning. Valerie walked down the hall to room 116, her classroom. She unlocked the door and turned on the light. Her room was spacious and allowed for 25 students to sit comfortably (though her largest class had 29 students). In the weeks leading up to the first day of school, she decorated it with posters on U.S. and world history as well as some plants and cute little inspirational DIYs she had made. In the corner, she made a little reading nook for students to relax during independent work times or if they couldn’t sit at their desks. Her desk was next to the door, and she knew before the day's end it would be littered with paperwork. Valerie set her bag down and began to set up an activity she had planned for the day when she heard a knock on the door.

“Good morning, Ms. Jones!” a high-pitched voice exclaimed. Valerie knew who it was before even turning aground. The social studies department head Marie Johnson was a kind, and dedicated woman if a bit overly chipper. Though with 20 years of experience, Valerie had been grateful for her guidance during the past few weeks of meetings and orientation. Valerie turned around to greet her.

“Good morning, Marie, how are you?” she said.

“I’m doing wonderfully this morning, excited for the new school year,” Marie replied, “How are you feeling? Just want to make sure you feel alright before the kids come in.”

“I’m feeling alright, just a little nervous but overall ready to start,” Valerie said. “I am glad that the freshman will be the only ones in the building for the first two hours, I think that will be a good way to ease into the year.”

It was district policy that freshmen come to school alone on the first day so they can get the lay of the land before the rest of the student body arrived. The policy was popular among students and parents, but Valerie appreciated not having to deal with a sea of teenagers immediately.

“Yes, that seems to be a common feeling among first year teachers,” Marie laughed, “I’m glad to hear you’re feeling alright. Is there anything I can help you with?”

“No, thank you, I’m just setting up the ice breaker I have planned,” she said.

“Can you remind me what it is again? I remember it was something fun,” Marie asked.

“I’m putting up signs that say agree, disagree, yes, no and I’m going to say different statements like ‘I have siblings.’ ‘I’m excited for this class.’ or ‘I had a good summer.’ and then ask if students want to elaborate on their answers” Valerie said.

“Oh, how fun!” Marie said. “Well, I’ll leave you to it. Let me know if you need anything at all, Valerie.”

Valerie nodded and waved goodbye before returning to work. Half an hour passed before she heard the dull roar of students beginning to walk down the hallways, the 14 and 15-year-olds yelling and conversing with each other on their way to their first classes. Valerie stood and walked outside her door to greet her students. She straightened her sweater and saw students filing into classrooms and greeted the ones who walked into her room. After ten minutes, the bell signaling passing time had ended rang and Valerie walked into her room leaving her door open in case any kids were lost. Her first class was American history and was supposed to have 23 students, but she only counted 22 who walked in.

She stood at the front of the room, her students talking to each other about their summers and how nervous they were about the first day of high school. Valerie smiled slightly, silently standing in solidarity with their nerves. She rubbed her hands on her pants before speaking.

“Good morning, everyone!” She began, “I’m Ms. Jones and I’ll be your modern U.S. history teacher this semester, hopefully, you’re all in the right classroom.”

A few kids suddenly looked stressed and pulled out their schedules. Only one raised their hand and asked where the economic teacher, Mr. Skylar’s, classroom was. Giggling erupted and a few asked how the student could mistake a man for a women’s name, Valerie ignored them.

“Mr. Skylar is in the room directly above mine, room 216,” she said. The student thanked her and walked out as two girls walked in and sat down. “Okay, so I think it’s safe to assume that everyone is now in the right place, so let’s get started.

“First off, welcome to high school, I’m sure that you all will have a memorable experience and will do your best this school year. A little about me, I graduated from the University of Wisconsin - Madison last spring, so it’s my first day as well and I’m super excited to get to know all of you this year. I have a few classroom rules, but I can’t imagine they would be that different than the teachers you’ve had before,” Valerie says before going on to explain her rules and expectations for the class. The students listen quietly though a few make comments to each other. When she finishes, she passes out the syllabus for the class.

“This is the class syllabus; it has all the assignments I have planed as well as the readings and due dates. I’m not going to go over them right now, I’ll save that for tomorrow so please bring these back. Today, I want everyone to get to know each other a little better. So, we are going to do an activity.” Valerie said. The class perked up a little at not having to be lectured anymore. She explained the activity to the kids and had them all stand-up. “The first statement is: I had a good summer.”

Most of the students stood under the agree sign, though two stood under the disagree sign. “Does anyone want to share their reasoning?”

A tall brown-haired boy standing under the ‘agree’ sign raised his hand. “Yes, and can you remind me what your name is please.”

“I’m Max and got to go to Disney World,” Max said.

“Sounds really fun! Does anyone else want to go?” Valerie said. She called on a few other kids standing under the ‘agree’ sign who spoke about family vacations, sporting events, seeing the latest Marvel movie, and beach days. One under the ‘disagree’ sign said she didn’t have a good summer because her friend moved away. The next statement was about the class and about half of the class was excited while the other half was not. The activity continued on, students were laughing exchanging stories and anecdotes about what they were feeling. The last statement Valerie had time for was ‘I’m excited for the first day of school.’ Again, the class was split. A girl wearing a galaxy shirt who was standing under the ‘agree’ sign raised her hand.

“Why are you excited for today, Maggie,” Valerie asked.

“Well, it’s the first day of high school, which is exciting, but today is also the day all of the planets are going to be aligned. It’s gonna happen at about 4,” Maggie said excitedly.

“I did not know that; that’s really cool,” Valerie said. Valerie looked at the clock, “Well it’s about five minutes before the bell rings. You all can go back to your desks and get ready for your next class, feel free to ask me any questions if you’re not sure where your next class is.”

The students began talking again and walked back to their seats. Valerie sat at her desk and talked with a few students before the bell rang. She took a deep breath. Her first class was done, and it went well she thought. She took a second to prepare herself for her next class before going to stand outside her door to greet the next class. The rest of the day went about the same as the first period, though her junior world history class seemed to feel like they were too cool for the ice breaker, they warmed up to it as it went on. When the three o’clock bell rang signaling the end of the school day, Valerie said goodbye to the students who were rushing out of her room and plopped down in her chair. She had made it through her first day. It went well and had effectively taken her mind off the engagement ring and conversation with her mother. Now she just had a meeting to attend.

She stood from her desk and walked to Marie’s room where the meeting was being held. It was just a debriefing on the first day and to talk about some initiatives the district wanted to implement. It was over in 45 minutes and Valerie was walking back to her room to gather her things. ‘Out of the building at 4 o’clock?’ she thought, ‘that will never happen again’

She laughed at herself before turning away from her locked door. She started to walk down the hall but out of nowhere, the environment changed. Valerie was no longer in the tannish white halls of Central high school, but in a large, lavishly decorated living room.

Valerie looks around, completely bewildered at the sudden change in environment. Her mind races with questions about where she was, and how she got there, if she was hallucinating. She turns slowly to see floor to ceiling windows showcasing the New York City skyline complete with an up-close view of the Empire State Building. Valerie drops her bag to the ground. She was in Madison; how could she possibly be in New York? Her heart began to race, her breath quickened. She ran her hands through her hair and suddenly the room felt too hot. She shed her cardigan and tried to regain control of her breathing, but it was too much. She was too discombobulated; she didn’t even hear the ding of the elevator across the room.

Tony Stark and Steve Rogers stepped out of the elevator even more surprised than when they went on. He and Steve were very surprised when Jarvis told them two minutes ago that someone had just appeared in the living room of the penthouse – people don’t just appear, this must be an intruder who managed somehow to get past all of the Tower and Jarvis’s security protocols. So, Tony and Steve, after grabbing a glove from an iron man suit and a gun respectively, go to see who managed to appear out of thin air. This person just has to be dangerous, but when they step off the elevator, all they see is a young woman appearing to have a panic attack.

“Ma’am, could you please turn around,” Steve says. The woman doesn’t appear to hear him. She just walks to the windows and stares with her hands in her hair, shoulders heaving. He can hear her labored breath from across the room. Tony and Steve share a look. Tony closes his eyes and walks towards her. “Hey!” Tony yells, “Lady, you’re gonna have to explain to us how you’ve got up here.”

Valerie turns suddenly. She looks at the two men who look exactly like Robert Downey Jr and Chris Evans. She’d never really paid attention to the Marvel movies before, but she knew those faces. Had she gotten herself into the middle of a movie set? She was even more confused, and she felt even warmer. She opened her mouth – to say what, she didn’t know – but suddenly a white-hot pain erupted from her shoulders. Her hands gripped her shoulders and she let out a loud scream, falling to her knees. The men rushed up to her but by the time they reached her, she was on the floor passed out from the pain.

The two Avengers had no clue what had just transpired. They stood above her staring down, neither really sure what to do with the woman crumpled on the ground. Steve shook his head and finally crouched down to check for a pulse. She was still breathing, but when Steve pulled his hand back, he knocked her left hand from her right shoulder, revealing the name James Buchanan Barnes burned into her skin. Steve tensed and his hand grabbed his left bicep. “That soul mark wasn’t there before, right,” Tony asked, though he knew the answer. “And why is it burned in like that?”

Steve stayed silent. He reached out again but this time to lay the woman flat. Steve took a deep breath when he saw his name, Steven Grant Rogers, burned into her other shoulder. Tony let out a low whistle. Steve just found his second soulmate.

Steve did not call the next morning, in fact he didn’t call back at all the next day. Valerie tired to shake her worry, but the constant adrenaline and anxiety coming from Steve’s name was making that incredibly difficult. His mark felt like it was buzzing from whatever he was doing, and despite her efforts to send calmness to Steve, Valerie was more nervous than she’d ever been. She texted him about once an hour to see if he would respond but he never did. Valerie tried to text Sharon, but she also wasn’t answering. Valerie tried her best to distract herself, but with no real friends or job, or really anything it was difficult. All she had to distract herself since getting here was researching soulmates, talking to Tony, and getting interview by doctors and scientists.

Valerie sighed and looked at the clock which read 10 o’clock. She’d been scrolling aimlessly through Netflix for the past hour waiting for it to be an acceptable time to go to bed. She turned the tv off and got up to start getting ready for bed.

Sleep was difficult. She was too anxious to close her eyes for more than a few seconds and not even the two melatonin gummies she took was of much help. Valerie tossed and turned in her queen sized bed for hours until she felt a sharp burst of fear come from Steve’s name. Valerie clutched her shoulder tightly and cried out. It was the strangest sensation – like there was fire radiating outward. Then it stopped and all she could feel was the buzzing that had been going on since the night before. Valerie groaned and slammed her hands on the bed, tears running down her cheeks.

“This is too much,” she whispered to herself. “He promised he’d call but instead all I get is his name acting up. What the fuck is happening.”

Valerie threw back the covers and grabbed her phone. There weren’t any new calls or texts which wasn’t surprising. She unlocked her phone and called Steve which went right to voicemail.

“You’ve reached Steve Rogers. I can’t come to the phone right now but please leave a message and I’ll get back to you. Thanks,” Steve’s voice mail said. Valerie sighed and ignored the small comforting feeling that came with hearing his voice.

“Steve, it’s Valerie – again. Please call or text me. I know you can handle yourself, but I just felt something from your mark and it’s freaking me out,” Valerie said tiredly. She hung up and called Sharon.

“Hi, I can’t come to the phone right now. Leave a message at the beep,” Sharon said. Valerie signed.

“Sharon, what is going on? I’ve heard nothing from you or Steve and it’s freaking me out. Please just call or text me,” Valerie said.

She threw her phone back down on the bed and rubbed her eyes. She didn’t know what to do. She couldn’t sleep but she was just so tired from all the worrying. She looked at the clock which read in bright blue lettering four a.m.

“Well, I can’t stay in the house all day again,” she said to herself. Valerie got up and went into the kitchen and pulled out the piece of paper she put in a small catchall bowl when she got back from her walk around D.C. She unfolded it, and typed Sam Wilson’s number into her phone and sent off a text.

Valerie: Hey this is Valerie from the Mall, wanna do some marathon training?

Valerie put her phone down on the counter, not expecting an answer for a while; it was still pretty early. Valerie started to make some coffee and turned the tv on to watch the morning news. Nothing was of any real importance, at least not to Valerie. There was no big conflict going on that involved Steve that was being reported on, so it was just background noise. As the coffee brewed, Valerie checked her no again. No new messages. She groaned.

She had been checking for new messages relentlessly; it made her feel like a teenage waiting to hear from her boyfriend. It wasn’t a feeling she enjoyed, especially since who she most wanted to hear from was Steve. Valerie rubbed the back of her neck, smoothing away the knots that were forming.

“I’ll hear from them when I hear from them,” Valerie said to herself. “They are two highly trained agents and probably got pulled into a mission or something.”

Valerie rolled her head and turned her attention to the coffee pot which had just finished brewing. She grabbed cream from the fridge and a mug from the cabinet and poured herself a large cup of coffee. Valerie grabbed her phone and sat on her couch to listen to whatever it was the newscaster was talking about.

About half an hour later, her phone chimed from her lap. The sound was so foreign to Valerie, it startled her, spilling some of her second cup of coffee. She quickly grabbed her phone and was hopping to see a text from Steve or Sharon, but it was Sam. Valerie let out a breath she didn’t know she had been holding.

“So, the stranger knows how to respond to a text, but not my soulmate or former protection detail. Got it,” Valerie murmured, trying unsuccessfully to not feel annoyed at Steve and Sharon.

Sam: Good morning, Valerie, I’d like that a lot. Meet me at the Lincoln Memorial at 6.

Valerie: Great! Sounds like a plan.

Valerie looked at the time. It was 4:51, just enough time to get ready and head out. Valerie washed her mug, brushed her teeth and threw her hair up into a ponytail. She got dressed in a red t-shirt with UW – Madison written in white block lettering, black shorts and black running shoes. She grabbed a fanny pack to hold her keys and phone and was out the door.

It was still fairly dark – the sun was just about to rise, and everything was cast in a blueish hue. The air wasn’t too cold, but Valerie knew she’d warm up once she started running. Valerie walked down the street to the subway entrance and hopped on the line that took her near the Lincoln Memorial. By the time she was walking to the famous stairs leading up to the monument, it was 5:45. She began to stretch and wait for Sam.

“Hey, early bird,” a voice called out behind her. Valerie turned and saw Sam walking up to her in a black dry-fit shirt and grey shorts. “I was surprised to get a text from you so early. Nice fanny pack, by the way.”

“Hey, I really enjoy my pack! It’s very practical,” Valerie said in mock defense. “Besides, where else am I going to put my phone and keys?”

Sam grinned, “Alright point taken, I’ll respect the pack. Do you run often?”

“Somewhat. I usually go for a run about once a week, but I haven’t since I moved here. My runs are usually about three miles.”

“Alright, three miles it is,” Sam said. He did a few quick stretches before the pair ran off.

A little over half an hour later and the two were coming to a stop. They were both sweaty and panting, having sprinted the last half of the third mile, though Valerie was a little worse for wear than Sam. They took a seat on a nearby bench.

“Not too bad, Valerie, you’re pretty fast,” Sam said.

“Thanks,” Valerie said breathlessly. “Just trying to keep up with you.”

Sam grinned, “Yeah, you kept up pretty well.”

Valerie gave a breathless laugh and pulled her phone out. Running had distracted her while she was doing it, now that she wasn’t doing something, she needed to see if there was an update. She tried to hide the disappointment when there weren’t any new messages.

“Are you waiting to hear form someone?”

Valerie looked up at Sam and shook her head, quickly putting her phone back in her fanny pack.

“No, well yes. Someone said they’d call me, but they haven’t,” Valerie said. She didn’t really want to talk about it, but she was tired of venting to herself about Steve and Sharon’s silence.

“Is this a date?” Sam asked. Valerie’s cheeks went red.

“No, it’s…” Valerie started. She didn’t really know how to explain the situation.

“Is it your soulmate,” Sam asked softly. Valerie sighed and rubbed her face.

“Yeah, it’s my soulmate. He’s on a business trip and he hasn’t called or texted and I’ve been trying to reach him and a coworker of his who might know what’s going on with him but neither are answering,” Valerie said. It wasn’t a complete lie, but she didn’t know Sam well enough to tell him that Steve Rogers was her soulmate.

“What does he do? Do you think he’s in danger,” Sam asked, concern creasing his brow.

Valerie shook her head. “None that he probably couldn’t handle. His job is dangerous and fairly secretive, I don’t know where he is or what he’s doing.”

“It’s stressful being the soulmate of someone in a job like that, but you just have to trust that he’s been given the proper training and knows what to do. He’ll call when he can,” Sam said. Valerie didn’t look convinced or even reassured. He gave her a sympathetic smile.

“How about you come back to my place, and I’ll make you some breakfast,” Sam said, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. Valerie nodded and the two stood and walked towards Sam’s car.

The drive to Sam’s house was short, only about twenty minutes. It seemed very cozy to Valerie, the small yard with a porch that was perfect for sitting on a warm summer day was a wonderful sight to her. The inside was nice too – hardwood floors and enough space inside to entertain but not so big that it was difficult to clean. There were photos on the wall of Sam with friends and family that made Valerie smile sadly, though she was carful to not let Sam see her.

“So what would you like for breakfast? I have cereal and fruit,” Sam said. Valerie smiled.

“Cereal and fruit sounds great, thank you. Would you mind if I used your bathroom?”

“Sure, there’s one at the top of the stairs.” Sam said opening up the fridge.

Valerie made her way upstairs and into the bathroom. When she was done, she splashed her face with water and stared at herself in the mirror. She looked tired, more tired than not sleeping for a night and then going for a run would normally do. She had bags under her eyes and a frown that seemed like it was there permanently. She dried her face and pulled her phone out. No new messages.

Valerie was about to leave the bathroom when she heard a knock coming from the back door. She didn’t know why but she didn’t really want to be out when Sam answered it. A few moments later, she heard a familiar voice.

“I really hate to do this, but we need a place to lay low,” the voice said. Valerie’s eye went wide. It was Steve. She was about to open the door when she heard a second voice.

“Everyone we know is trying to kill us,” the second voice said. It was a woman’s voice, but not Sharon’s.

“Not everyone,” Sam said lowly, “I have a guest but I can tell her to leave, just wait in the kitchen while I…”

Valerie opened the door and bounded down the stairs and into the kitchen, interrupting Sam. Steve and the woman looked up and Valerie and Steve’s jaw dropped. Valerie’s did too once she saw the state the two were in. They were both covered in soot and looking incredibly shaken. The pit that had been steadily growing for the past day in Valerie’s stomach shot up to her throat.

“Valerie…” Steve choked out. “What are you doing here?”

He stepped through the door pulling the woman with him. Sam looked back and forth between the two, confused. The woman on the other hand gave away no emotion besides a quirked eyebrow. Steve looked very worried, his eyes darting all over Valerie. Valerie just stared at him.

“What am I doing here? What are you doing here? And why are you covered in soot” Valerie asked, her voice coming out strained. Steve closed the door.

“SHIELD’s been compromised, and they’re trying to kill us,” Steve answered, still in shock from seeing Valerie. “Val, you shouldn’t be here, it’s dangerous to be out.”

“Well, if SHIELD is compromised, isn’t it good that I’m not in SHIELD provided housing,” Valerie said, her wits finding her again. Steve wasn’t as quick on the developments, just staring at her. The woman interjected.

“She right, Steve, it’s good she not at her apartment. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go clean up,” the woman said. Steve dropped his arm and she stepped away. “I’m Natasha, by the way.”

Valerie nodded then remembered her manners, “I’m Valerie, nice to meet you.”

Natasha gave her a small smile and went up the stairs.

“Wait, Valerie, your soulmate is Captain America,” Sam said slowly. Valerie’s cheeks went red.

“Uh, yeah I guess.”

“Jesus Christ, I can see why you were so worried,” Sam said. Valerie’s cheeks went even redder and Steve looked down.

“Val, I’m sorry I didn’t mean to worry you, it’s just been really hectic and using my phone was dangerous,” he said.

“Yeah, I get it,” Valerie said simply. “You should go get cleaned up.”

Steve sighed and went upstairs. Valerie didn’t have the energy to care about his explanation or to fret over SHIELD being compromised. She saw he was safe, and the tiredness caught up with her. She sighed and rubbed her face.

“I’m sorry, but you were so worried about him that you couldn’t sleep and that was your response to seeing him safe,” Sam asked, incredulously. “I would have thought you’d be overjoyed or something. Maybe even yelling, you seem like the type to yell when someone’s worried you.”

Valerie closed her eyes. “It’s complicated between Steve and me and I’d rather not go into it now. And I don’t yell at people.”

“Alright, you don’t yell, no need to yell at me,” Sam said with a grin, raising his hands in surrender. Valerie ran her hands through her hair.

“Let’s go get breakfast together, they’re probably hungry,” Valerie said, walking into the kitchen.

Thirty minutes later, Sam went up to get Steve and Natasha for breakfast and the three returned. Steve was in a tight white tank top and Valerie did her best to not look at his biceps but that was proving difficult considering they were as big as her head. She turned around to cut up some more strawberries when Natasha came up beside her.

“I saw that,” Natasha whispered. Valerie went red and Natasha winked before grabbing a bowl of blueberries.

Steve sat at the kitchen table and just stared at Valerie, still in disbelief that she was here. Valerie turned and placed the strawberries down before sitting across from Steve. Sam started to pour a bowl of cereal for himself.

“So, how do you to know each other,” Steve said after a moment of silence.

“We met at the national mall. I went for a walk the day after I moved into my apartment, and he sat next to me on a bench,” Valerie said. “How do you two know each other?”

“We went for a run together a few days ago,” Steve said. Valerie nodded.

“So, can you tell me what’s been going on? The radio silence kinda freaked me out,” Valerie said.

“Well, it’s a long story,” Steve said. He looked conflicted like he didn’t want to tell Valerie what happened to him.

“Yeah, well I assumed that when you didn’t call back and then stumble in looking like you just crawled through a burning building,” Valerie said.

“SHIELD has been compromised by HYDRA, the Nazi science division from World War II,” Natasha said. “We thought it went under when Steve crashed the plane back in the 40s. Turns out it grew with SHIELD when the head scientist Arnim Zola, was recruited in Operation Paperclip, a program the Allies implemented to recruit scientists with strategic value.

“Last night we found out that when Schmitt died, he uploaded his brain to a database so he could live as long as he needed to. Zola told us about Hydra and Project Insight, but SHIELD found out we were at the compound he was kept in, and authorized missiles to blow the base up before we could find out about the algorithm, he wrote for Project Insight.”

“What’s project Insight,” Sam asked.

“Fury told me about it the day before he died, it’s three advanced helicarriers that is supposed to eliminate enemies before they have a chance to strike,” Natasha said.

“The real question is who at SHIELD could launch a domestic missile strike,” Natasha said, leaning against the counter.

“Pierce,” Steve said, finally taking his eyes off the speechless Valerie.

“Who happens to be sitting on to of the most secure building in the world,” Natasha said.

“But he’s not working alone. Zola’s algorithm was on the Lunarian Star,” Steve said turning towards Natasha.

Natasha walked around the counter, her normally calm and collected expression giving way to whatever thought process she was working through. She stopped and turned towards Steve.

“So, was Jasper Sitwell,” she said her face hardening. Steve considered her statement and took a deep breath.

“So, the real question is, how do the two most wanted people in Washington kidnap a SHIELD officer in broad daylight,” Steve said. Valerie’s breath caught in her throat. Kidnap? This was insane to her, but not only was she not in her world anymore, she was in Steve’s, in Natasha’s. This was way over her head. She was beginning to wish she didn’t text Sam this morning.

Sam who was off to the side making toast dropped his bread and turned to get something from a file cabinet. He walked towards the table.

“The answer is, you don’t,” he said, dropping a folder on the table. Valerie looked down to see a picture of Sam and another man in what looked like somewhere in the middle east wearing a bunch of tactical gear.

“What’s this,” Steve asked.

“Call it a resume,” he answered, simply.

Steve stood and Natasha grabbed the file from the table. The two looked through the file but Valerie was completely lost. Sure, Sam was fit and the military must have trained him well, but how would that help them kidnap someone? The thought of Steve or Sam kidnapping someone made her nervous.

“Is this Bakmalah,” Natasha asked, looking surprised. “The Khalid Khandil mission, that was you?”

Sam just watched the two look through the file, face clear of emotion.

“You didn’t say he was a Pararescue,” Natasha said to Steve.

“Is this Riley,” Steve asked, turning to Sam. The corner of Sam’s mouth ticked up.

“Yeah.”

“I heard they couldn’t bring in the choppers because of the RPGs,” Natasha said. “What did you use? A stealth shoot?”

Sam shook his head.

“No,” He stepped forward and grabbed the second file that was under the picture the two were looking at and handed it to Steve. “These.”

Steve paged through the file before looking up at Sam with a surprised crooked smile on his face. “I thought you said you were a pilot.”

Sam smirked and shook his head. “I never said I was a pilot.”

Steve looked back down, his brows furrowed. “Sam, I can’t ask you to do this. You got out for a good reason.”

“Dude, Captain American needs my help. There’s no better reason to get back in,” Sam said.

“Where can we get our hands on one of these things,” Steve asked.

“The last one is at Fort Meade. Behind three guarded gates and a 12-inch steel wall,” Sam said.

Valerie took a deep breath. This was insane. First kidnapping, now stealing government property? Valerie didn’t want to move, she didn’t want to disrupt the conversation. She knew logically that they needed to do this – this was their job and they were stopping science Nazis. Valerie had never been a rule braker, or particularly rebellious. She admired the three people around her for being willing to do what needed to be done, it just wasn’t something she could see herself doing.

“Val,” Steve said pulling Valerie from her thoughts. Valerie looked up at Steve whose face was creased with worry. Looking around, Valerie realized the three were looking at her. Valerie felt her checks warm.

“Valerie, it’s too dangerous for you to be out. You should stay here,” Steve said, sitting in the chair next to her. Valerie nodded.

“Yeah, that’s probably for the best. I’m not going to be much help in kidnapping or heist,” Valerie said, fidgeting in her seat. Steve took her hand.

“It’s going to be alright, Val. We’re gonna set things right and then I’m gonna help you get home,” Steve said, giving her that same stern look on his face that he got when he was serious about something. Valerie slouched in her seat.

“Okay,” Valerie sighed. She snuck a look at Sam. He looked confused and she didn’t blame him; She never told him about where she was from. Natasha walked towards Sam.

“How about we start going over the security for those wings,” Natasha said to Sam. He nodded and followed her to the living room.

“I’m sorry I didn’t call, Val, I…”

“I told you it’s fine,” Valerie said shortly. Her ears were red, and her mouth was in a thin line. She was tired of his apologies; she knew that he would do what he needed to then ask for forgiveness later. She didn’t feel the need to be apologized to, she just wanted to stop watching him walk into danger.

“I know, I just could feel your worry and I don’t like going back on my word,” Steve said.

Valerie looked down at her and Steve’s still clasped hands. She didn’t like how comforting it was to hold his hand, but it did feel good. It felt so good, especially after not knowing where he was the past day and a half. She focused on what she could feel from Steve’s mark. A cozy feeling was coming from his name that made her want to wrap herself in a blanket with him. He clearly enjoyed holding her hand as well.

“I tried to not let you feel my worry,” Valerie said without thinking. Steve blushed and Valerie’s breath caught in her throat.

“So, I guess the two of you aren’t together,” Sam said after a few minuets of driving. Steve sighed.

“No, we aren’t,” Steve said. “She’s with someone else.”

Sam’s brows furrowed in confusion, “Oh, okay, nothing wrong with that.”

Steve didn’t want to disclose Valerie’s entire story, that was her business, but he knew the looks he would get from disclosing that they weren’t together. It made him wish he could fight for her, but she was in a relationship – a happy, committed relationship. Steve couldn’t mess with that in good conscious.

“Are you okay with that,” Sam asked.

“I just want her to be happy, and if that’s with her boyfriend, then that’s what I want.”

“That’s very diplomatic of you, but that’s not exactly what I asked,” Sam said.

“No, it wouldn’t be my first choice, but I can’t force her,” Steve said.

“Where is her boyfriend in all of this by the way,” Sam asked. “She hasn’t mentioned a boyfriend to me at all, but she did seem very worried about you when you weren’t answering her calls or texts.”

“They’re long distance at the moment and it’s complicated,” Steve replied, desperately wanting the conversation to be over. Steve saw Natasha’s eyes roll in the review mirror.

“So, let me get this straight,” Sam said. “She wants to stay in her long-distance relationship with some guy and not be with her soulmate.”

“Again, it’s complicated, and I just don’t really want to talk about it anymore. It’s not my place to talk to other people about her life,” Steve said.

“Alright, I get it. I’ll stop asking,” Sam said. “But I think you should at least tell her how you’re feeling.”

“Let’s just focus on figuring out what Zola’s algorithm is,” Steve said. He didn’t want to be distracted when stealing the wings or when kidnapping Sitwell but telling Valerie how he felt did sound enticing. He hadn’t thought about being with Valerie – she was so insistent on going home to her boyfriend that it didn’t seem like a possibility. But her being worried about him had to mean something? Should he not provide this option to Valerie? Why shouldn’t he since fate had determined them to be best matched for each other?

Steve runs his hand over his face didn’t have time to think about this now. He needed to focus on the mission first. If he failed the mission, he might not even be able to see Valerie again, much less talk about their connection.

Valerie stepped out of the large brick school building into the crisp autumn air feeling for the first time that she was living in a normal reality. She had just finished an interview that went better than the one she gave for her old job. The principle even asked if she could start in two weeks after her background check went through. Life seemed to finally be looking up.

 Valerie walked down the steps to hail a cab to the corner store down the street from the tower to pick up ingredients for her favorite homemade meal – her grandmother’s spinach and artichoke chicken casserole. While shopping, her phone rang and without looking at the number, she answered.

 “Hello,” she said. There was silence on the other end.

 “Hello?” she said again, slightly louder. Again, she was met with silence. Valerie shook her head and ended the call. It was from some random number she didn’t recognize. Valerie had gotten a few calls from random numbers in the past few days but she just assumed it was telemarketers looking for active numbers to bombard. Putting her phone back in her pocket, she got what she needed and walked back to the tower.

 Valerie walked into the common room to see Steve hunched over a small black notebook, a crease in his brow and his mouth slightly open. Steve was in such deep concentration he didn’t even notice her set down her bags and sit next to him on the couch. Valerie peaked over his shoulder to look at the book. There was a list of movies, music, and different cultural events from the past 70 years, some of which were crossed out though the majority of the list still needed to be ticked off.

 It had been a week since Valerie confronted Steve about his behavior and since then the two had fallen into some kind of friendship. Every night they’d make dinner together and look through his list to see what they could cross off that evening. It was comfortable and spending the time with Steve always ended up being the highlight of Valerie’s day.

 “Whatcha looking at,” Valerie asked causing Steve to jump slightly. Valerie giggled, proud that she was able to sneak up on the super soldier.

 “I’m trying to figure out what to do next on my list,” he said, sitting back on the couch. His gaze turned to the grocery bags. “What did you get?”

 “I got some stuff to make my favorite meal because I got a new job today,” Valerie beamed up at Steve, who’s face broke out into a proud grin.

 “Val, that’s great!” Steve said, his arms wrapping around her. Valerie’s body stiffened as soon as Steve’s muscular arms touched her, not from discomfort but from what felt like literal electricity that bolted through her from his touch. Her arms wrapped around him in return and Steve’s arms tightened slightly. It was the most comforting hug Valerie had ever had and it was all she could do to pull away and not burry her face in his chest and breath in the earthy notes of his cologne he wore every day. Valerie sat back and smiled slightly; her head bowed slightly in an attempt to not meet Steve’s eyes.

 “Yeah, I’m pretty excited about it,” Valerie said, pushing her hair behind her ear. “I should be starting in about two weeks.”

 “Congratulations, Val,” Steve said, his smile still faint on his lips. “Can I help you with dinner?”

 “Yeah, that would be great,” Valerie said, “And maybe we can cross of one of the things on your list afterwards.”

 Steve nodded and stood from the couch before grabbing the bags from the ground and following Valerie into the common area kitchen. The two began to work on dinner in earnest. Valerie began to chop the vegetables while Steve began to pull out the pots and pans needed to cook everything. She couldn’t help but enjoy the normalcy of it all.

 ‘I haven’t felt this content since the day before I got here,’ Valerie thought to herself, ‘If I closed my eyes, I could pretend that I’m back home cooking with Matt. I didn’t find that ring, I didn’t step into some weird interdimensional portal, and I’m just -’

 “AH!” Valerie yelled, a sharp pain interrupting her thoughts. She looked down and she saw a few drops of her blood fell from the knife. A loud clang rang from behind her and a second later, Steve’s large hands were pulling the knife from her’s and cradling the injured hand.

 “Val are you okay,” Steve asked, his eyes wide and trained on her cut finger.

 “Yeah, I just got distracted,” she said, “I’m alright Steve.”

 Steve gently pulled her over to the sink before pulling out a first aid kit from under the sink. He took out antibacterial wipes and began to clean the cut before inspecting the wound. Steve carefully wrapped her finger in a bandage. His touch was so gentle and soft, it made Valerie feel as though she was imagining the little shocks of electricity that were shooting from his hand and up her arm. Steve looked up for the first time and Valerie had never realized the flecks of green in his eyes or the light spattering of freckles across his nose before.

 “Doesn’t look like you’ll need stitches,” he said but Valerie was too distracted by the feeling of her hand in his. She felt something in her yearning to lean in and –

 Valerie stepped back suddenly, pulling her hand away.

 “Right, thanks,” she said shortly. She walked back to the cutting board and picked up the knife to wash the blood off.

 “If you want, I can cut the artichokes,” Steve said. Valerie’s back was to him, but she could from the tone of his voice that he was confused by her sudden abruptness. She shook her head and turned to face him.

 “No, it alright,” she said trying her best to be breezy and relaxed, but there was no masking the flush of her cheeks. “Besides my blood got on them and we don’t have anymore. Why don’t we just order in?”

 “Uhh, yeah that sounds good too,” Steve said. He turned to put away the pan he dropped on the floor while Valerie went to go order pizza. An hour later the two were sitting at the kitchen counter eating pizza, trying to decide which movie from Steve’s list to watch.

 “Well, have you not seen any of these movies?” Steve asked. He held out the little black notebook to Valerie and she scanned the list of movies. They were mostly classics like Back to the Future, the Rocky movies, and the Godfather trilogy.

 “To be honest, I haven’t seen most of these,” Valerie said, “I didn’t have much time for movies when I was a kid or in college.”

 “Really? Why not,” Steve asked.

 “Well, my parents were really strict about how my brother, and I spent our time,” Valerie said, “We had to be in a sport and play an instrument both of which took up 20 hours a week easily. Plus, they put a lot of pressure on us to get As and be as involved in school as possible in order to get into good colleges. Then when we got into college, we both had jobs and again our parents pushed us to be as involved in extracurriculars as possible in order to pad our resumes. All of that added up didn’t leave much room for movies.”

 “That just sounds overwhelming,” Steve said. Valerie shrugged.

 “They just really wanted us to be successful and that was the only way they knew how to do it I guess.”

 “Honestly, my mom was just glad when I made it through a week without getting in a fight,” Steve said.

 “You fought that much?”

 “I swear I didn’t try to, I just couldn’t stand bullies,” Steve said, “But I was so skinny and sickly, my teachers thought I was trying to compensate for something, so I generally didn’t get in too much trouble for it.”

 “Were you trying to compensate for something,” Valerie asked. Steve shrugged.

 “I don’t think so, I really just couldn’t stand watching people harass others when I knew I could say something. Still can’t if I’m being honest,” Steve said.

 “No, you can’t,” Valerie said through a sideways grin. Steve looked down at his pizza trying hide his own smile.

 “So what sport and instrument did you play,” Steve asked.

 “I played the violin, and I was in soccer,” Valerie replied. “I didn’t really like either after a while though.”

 “Did you ever try to quit?”

 “No, I knew that I wouldn’t be allowed to,” Valerie said, “I won awards for violin and my team always when to state. If I had gone to my parents and tried to quit, they would’ve said I was too good to quit and that dedicating myself to both for as long as I did would look good to schools.”

 “Was there anything else you wanted to do instead?”

 “I always thought it’d be fun to try art or audition for a play, but my parents always said that those were only helpful to kids who were going to major in art or theater in college and since I wasn’t going to major in either of those, I’d be wasting my time,” Valerie replied.

 “I loved drawing when I was a kid,” Steve said, “I even went to school for a bit for art. Bucky worked his ass off at the docks to help pay for it, but it became too expensive. I thought I’d go back to it eventually but then the war broke out.”

 Steve’s brows furrowed in the way they do anytime he talked about Bucky before his face dopped as though he just realized something.

 “Did your world have world wars?” Steve asked suddenly, “I mean you acted like you didn’t know who me or Tony were and if you don’t know us then maybe the wars didn’t happen! Or at least the second one.”

 Valerie’s eyes went wide, surprised at the question, “Umm, yeah, we had both World Wat I and II. There was just no Starks involved in the Manhattan Project that I know of, or any plans to make super soldiers. Hydra also never existed.”

 Steve sat back in his seat; the color had left his cheeks.

 “No Hydra?” he whispered so quiet, Valerie thought he was talking to himself. “Bucky would have made it out of the war if we were in your world.”

 Valerie reached over the counter to take Steve’s hand firmly in hers.

 “Steve, it doesn’t help to put yourself through this hypothetical,” Valerie said firmly. Steve looked up from his lap. “You don’t know how or even if Bucky would have gotten through the war if Hydra didn’t exist. He might not have even been born or met you. Hell, you might not even have been born. There’re too many factors that went into how we got here to do hypotheticals.”

 “I know,” Steve sighed, “I just had that thought and I couldn’t help myself.”

 “It’s alright,” Valerie said, giving his hand one last squeeze before letting go. “I think about what could have been different if I hadn’t come here.”

 “We wouldn’t have met,” Steve said. Valerie shook her head.

 “No, we wouldn’t have met,” she shrugged. The two of them sat in silence for a moment. Neither said it, but they both knew they didn’t like that thought. Steve cleared his throat.

 “You’ve never mentioned a brother,” he said. Valerie smiled sadly.

 “Yeah, I have one older brother,” she said. “His names Ryan he’s about three years older than me. He’s a dork but I love him.”

 “You two were close then?”

 “Oh yeah,” Valerie smiled, “We make sure to hangout or have dinner or something once a week. His wife, Callie, joins us most of the time too. She’s nice but sometimes I think they settled for each other too.”

 Steve looked confused, “What do you mean?”

 “Well, it just seems like it was convenient for them to be together. Both of them faced pressure from their families to get married and start a family soon after college and they just happened to be together. Honestly, I’m surprised they don’t have a kid yet. Plus, whenever I see them interact with each other it feels like I’m watching two people in a rut that shouldn’t exist in the first two. The both of them are great independently, but I don’t know, I never got the feeling they were getting the best out of life together.”

 “Were you getting the best out of life with Matt,” Steve asked. The words seemed to catch him off guard because as soon as the words left his mouth, he was trying to pull back his words. Valerie, however, was only surprised at the fact that she didn’t mind the question. In fact, this entire conversation would have been too much had they had it just two days before, but now it felt natural to talk to Steve in this way.

 “Steve,” Valerie interrupted his rambling, “It’s alright, I don’t mind the question.

 “I’m not sure if I was. It was just easy to be in a relationship with him, you know? My parents always talked about how we should meet certain milestones by certain ages and the marriage one was coming up. The morning before I came here, I found a ring in our sock drawer and the thought of being married to Matt made me feel like I had taken a wrong turn somewhere – like I was heading towards something I wasn’t ready for.”

 “So, if he had proposed, you would have said no?” Steve asked and Valerie could feel a hopefulness coming from his mark, but it quickly retreated as soon as she gave a noncommittal shrug.

 “I’m not sure. Being here has given me time to really think about it and my relationship with him,” Valerie said. “There’s a good chance I would have felt too much pressure to say anything but yes.”

 Steve nodded and the two fell into a comfortable silence again as they finished their pizza.

 “Can I ask about your relationship with Bucky?” Valerie asked attentively, “It’s alright if you don’t want to talk about it.”

 Steve just shook his head with a slight eagerness, “No, please ask anything!”

 “How did you two meet?” Steve smiled wide and his eyes softened as though the memory was rushing over him.

 “We met in elementary school,” Steve said, “Bucky and his family moved to Brooklyn from Indiana right before the start of sixth grade and he found me in some ally in Hell’s Kitchen trying to fight off some punks from the junior high school that liked to pick on me. He stepped in and I guess the rest is history.”

 Steve looked down at his empty plate with a sad smile. Valerie felt she might overstep but she couldn’t help herself when she asked, “Was it hard being soulmates with the two of you being boys?”

 “It depended on who was around,” Steve said, “Really, we just had to look out for extremely religious people. Once the war broke out though, no one could really fault us for trying to find some kind of happiness where we could. The big thing was people finding out we had a third name.”

 “Really?” Valerie didn’t know why she was surprised, polyamory wasn’t common back home either. Steve nodded.

 “Yeah, my parents weren’t too concerned about it, but Bucky’s parents made sure we were careful to not show anyone,” Steve said.

 “There’s a stigma against having multiple soulmates?” Steve’s face reddened and he didn’t quite meet Valerie’s eye.

 “Yeah, there are some people who believe that those with more than one soulmate was…promiscuous,” Steve said, obviously trying to be delicate. “They’re wrong, of course, and it seems as though that stereotype isn’t as prevalent.”

 Valerie nodded but made a mental note to not wear clothes that showed both her marks at once.

 “When did you find out that Bucky was your soulmate?”

 “Oh, we were 13 when we got our marks,” Steve said a shit eating grin crept over his face. “At first, Bucky didn’t realize my name was on him so he came running over to my place yelling about how excited he was to meet you one day and that the two of us would all be the best of friends and I got so nervous that I wasn’t his soulmate that I hyperventilated and started having an asthma attack. When Bucky saw his name on me, he ran to the bathroom to check for mine. When he came out, he was so red faced and apologetic. I don’t think he’s ever been so embarrassed.”

 Steve’s shoulders shook with laughter and Valerie couldn’t help the giggled that fell from her lips. The two sat at the kitchen counter laughing and trading childhood stories for another hour before they made their way to the couch to really settle on a movie.

 “Alright, I haven’t seen Star Wars,” Valerie said, flipping through the movie section of Steve’s notebook. “How about that?”

 “Yeah, sounds like a plan,” he said before leaning back into the couch and telling Jarvis to play Star Wars: New Hope.

 Valerie sat next to Steve, a bowl of popcorn in hand and her knee touching his. Steve’s arm rested against the back of the couch behind her, and Valerie had to try to stop herself from thinking about what it would feel like if Steve had wrapped it around her shoulders or waist instead. As the movie went on, Valerie’s eyes became heavy and in her sleepy state she didn’t realize her head lull to the side or Steve pulling her closer into his side. All she felt was the warm of his body and the comfort of his arm around her.

 Steve looked down at Valerie’s sleeping form burrowing into his chest and a warmth overtook him that he hadn’t felt since the night before Bucky fell from the train. He was so transfixed by Valerie’s relaxed face and soft snores that he almost missed the foot steps coming up the stairs in the emergency stairwell. Almost.

 The footfalls were nearly silent – anyone else would have missed it completely. They were slow and deliberate, like the person was sneaking up the tower. Steve carefully removed himself from Valerie’s arms and reached under the coffee table where he knew Natasha kept a spare gun. He stood and looked up to the ceiling.

 “Jarvis, who’s coming up the emergency stairwell?” Steve asked. There was a pause that went on a little too long for Steve’s liking.

 “I’m sorry, I can’t detect anyone in there, Captain,” Jarvis said. “It seems I have been cut off from that area of the tower.”

 “Is anyone in the tower,” Steve asked making his way towards the door next to the elevator. He had his gun trained on the door, his shield in his apartment.

 “No, everyone besides you and Ms. Jones has left for the evening,” Jarvis replied, “I have already alerted Mr. Stark of the apparent breach.”

 The footsteps were getting closer, seemingly only one story below. Steve carefully opened the door, trying his best to not wake Valerie with any sudden noises. He walked in and the footsteps stopped.

 “I know you’re here,” Steve said firmly, walking down the stairs and trying to look over the railing to see the intruder. “Why don’t you just come out and we can talk.”

 No words came. Only the sound of Steve’s careful steps down the stairs. Just before Steve could finish the first full flight down, the intruder took another step. The footfalls were less careful than before. When Steve rounded the corner, he nearly dropped the gun in his hand and his eyes went wide.

 “Bucky?”

Chapter 12

tags

It was quiet in Valerie’s apartment, the only sounds to be heard were cars passing by, the quiet chirping of a grasshopper outside the kitchen window and a faint sound of swing music from down the hall. The unit was dark except for the kitchen light above the table illuminating just where Valerie was sitting, hunched over a note pad writing a letter to Matt. To her left, a pile of letters was stacked haphazardly, each one addressed to a family member or friend.

 Valerie’s face was scrunched up, her mind thinking deeply about what she wanted to say to Matt. It was her second day in the apartment – her sixth in the new world. With nothing but walks and reading to occupy her time, Valerie’s day was spent largely by thinking about home. She figured whatever processes were in place for missing persons were well under way by this point. Her brother Ryan and his wife Callie might have been at her parent’s house to keep them company, same with Matt. Her family was always close; Their highest priority was always each other and when significant others came into the picture, they were welcomed with open arms. After nearly five years, Matt was definitely comforting her mother in the wake of her disappearance. These thoughts plagued Valerie all day, so she decided to write them all letters. It was a habit she picked up when her grandmother died six years ago and again when her uncle died a year before. She’d write to those she couldn’t call and seal them away in an envelope.

 The words seemed to spill out when she was writing to her parents, brother, sister-in-law, and friends, telling them all about what she had experienced, asking them about their weeks and telling them how much she missed them. But when it came time to write to Matt, she didn’t know what to say. ‘Hi, love, I miss you but it’s complicated because I am not ready to marry you and now, I have soulmates who are not you,’ didn’t seem right. She kept coming back to her connection with Steve and the ring she found in the sock drawer. Both made her nervous, she didn’t want either of them. But the connection made her want to want Steve. The ring was just unwanted.

 A knock on the door pulled Valerie out of her thoughts. She shook her head and noticed that it had gotten dark around her brightened kitchen and that the clock on the microwave now read 11 o’clock. She got up from the table and went to open the door.

 Steve was standing on her doorstep in a white t-shirt, leather jacket, and jeans. He was slouching in a way that only happens when a person just had a very long day. He stood straighter when his eyes met hers.

 “Valerie, hi. I’m sorry for knocking this late but I saw your light on when I got back and wanted to check in,” Steve said, shoving his hands in his pockets.

 “Yeah, I couldn’t sleep,” Valerie said wrapping her zip-up around her body, suddenly aware she hadn’t showered or brushed her hair that day. “You just got back?”

 “I had some paperwork I needed to do before I left.”

 Valerie nodded. The two stood in silence for a moment not sure what to say. Valerie cleared her throat and asked, “Did you want to come in?”

 “Yeah, uh, if that’s alright with you,” Steve said, surprised by the offer. Valerie had never been rude, but she wasn’t as open as she had been with anyone else. Valerie wasn’t sure what made her extend the invitation, but it just felt right. Whether that was because of the connection the two shared or her midwestern sensibilities, she didn’t know. Valerie stepped aside to let Steve in.

 “Do you want something to drink? I have water, tea, uh, I also have milk,” Valerie said, leading Steve into the kitchen. Seeing Steve at the door made the letters slip from her mind. She quickly gathered them and placed them face down on the counter.

 “Water is fine, Valerie, thank you,” Steve said. Valerie grabbed two classes, filled them with water and sat at the table across from Steve. “What were those papers?”

 “Oh, I got a little homesick today, so I just wrote my friends and family letters,” Valerie said, her face getting red. Steve nodded.

 “Yeah, it’s been about a week, I’m sure they are missing you a lot,” he said, “I’ve been here for over a year now and I gotta say missing your own place doesn’t really go away.”

 “I’m sure it’s all a lot to take in,” she said.

 “It’s still a learning curve, but I’d rather hear how you’re doing,” Steve said, resting his elbows on the table facing her squarely. “How do you like your apartment?”

 “It works.”

 “Are you comfortable here?”

 “As much as I can be.”

 “I’ve heard you’ve been researching soulmates and soulmarks, how are you feeling about those,” Steve asked. “I know you didn’t have them in your world, and it must be confusing.”

 Valerie sighed; this was feeling more like a therapy session than a conversation. “The concepts are pretty straight forward, actually. And as for how I feel about them, I’m not sure. I’m supposed to be getting engaged to Matt when I get home and now, I might have the names of two men written on my shoulders forever.”

 “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you,” Steve said, his face now red. “I just wanted to see if there was anything I can do to help. I really hope we can get you home and I hope that mine and Bucky’s names don’t cause too much of a problem between you and Matt.”

 Valerie rolled her eyes. “They most likely will.”

 Steve looked down; this was not how he wanted this conversation to go. This wasn’t how he wanted meeting Valerie to go. He wished Bucky was here, he had always been better than Steve at talking to people. Steve could do big speeches about big ideas, but interpersonal relationships and connecting with individual people? That was all Bucky.

 “I’m sorry, I don’t know what to say to make you feel better, but I am here if you want to talk or vent,” Steve said, softly. Valerie took him in. His shoulders had rounded more and more as the conversation went on, until his usual rectangle shape turned into more of an oval. His bright blue eyes even seemed to turn a more stormy color. She could feel doubt and longing coming from his mark. She ran her hands through her hair.

 “Thank you, Steve,” she said, her tone calmer. “I’m grateful for your help, I don’t mean to be rude.”

 “I don’t think you’re being rude,” Steve said quickly.

 “No, I am,” she sighed, “This whole situation is just insane and being your soulmate is just something I can’t even wrap my head around. I’m just scared that you have these expectations from me and our connection that I just can’t live up to.”

 Steve moved to the chair next to Valerie and grabbed her hand. He looked at her with a stern face that would have been intimidating if he hadn’t started to stroke her hand with his thumb that left tingles in its wake.

 “Valerie, when Bucky and I talked about what being with you would be like, the one thing we always came back to was just doing right by you. I just want to ensure that you have a happy life and if that’s doing what I can to get you home, then I’ll do it. You don’t need to worry about living up to my expectations, Val,” Steve said, his voice determined but had a loving edge.

 Valerie pursed her lips. It sounded wonderful, if a bit dramatic for a relationship between two people who had effectively only spent less than one day together. But she read what usually happened between soulmates when they meet – they may go on a few dates initially, but on average people move in with their soulmate by the end of the first month or two. She read that in the 40s, people would move in the day they met their soulmate. She didn’t buy that he had no expectations.

 “Really? You have no expectations from me or our connection? And why do you even want to make sure I have a good life? You don’t even know me,” she said, skepticism dripping from her lips. Steve sighed.

 “To be honest, all my expectations of even meeting you, let alone being with you went out the window when I went in the ice, maybe even when Bucky fell. We promised each other that if one of us died in the war, we would go on for you and I tried but there was no way out of that last mission. Just the fact that you’re here exceeds everything I could have hoped for,

 “And as for wanting to help you, why wouldn’t I? We’re soulmates - fate has determined that we’re good for each other and that makes me want to help you. I know you want to go home and if that is what will give you a good life, then I feel obliged to get you there. I did what I could to make Bucky’s life easier when he was alive, but for most of our time together, I was sick and scrawny, and we were both broke. I can do better for you; I promised him that I would.”

 “You must really miss him,” she said after considering his words.

 “Yeah, I do,” Steve said, simply. “I think about him everyday and I carry his picture with me everywhere. Despite being soulmates, being two men in love wasn’t exactly allowed. He would have loved being here and being able to just hold hands in public without risking a beating. I’d give anything to just kiss him or even just look at him one last time.”

 Valerie gave a sad smile to the grieving man. He was clearly in love with Bucky, and it broke her heart to hear his words. She squeezed his hand.

 “Can I see the picture?”

 A smile slowly stretched across Steve’s face, and he pulled out his compass. He pulled his seat closer to Valerie and opened it up. Valerie looked down to see a black and white photo of a handsome darked haired man smirking up at her. His eyes had a gleam in them she often saw in the eyes of kids who had just done something mischievous. “He’s very dashing.”

 Steve gave a laugh, “Yeah, he was, and he knew it. This was originally a photo of the two of us. It was Christmas 1944 and he had just snuck a kiss from me while the other commandos had their backs turned. That’s why he looks like he’s up to no good. He loved sneaking in touches or even kisses when no one was looking.”

 Valerie looked to Steve, who had his eyes trained on the picture. Tears were forming in the corners of his eyes, and she snaked her arm around his waist and put her head on his shoulder. His breath caught in his throat, but he wrapped his arm abound her and put his head on top of hers.

 “I’m sorry, I didn’t think I’d get emotional. I don’t get to talk about him very often,” Steve said quietly.

 “It’s alright, it seems like you needed it,” Valerie said.

 The two stayed like that for a few more minuets until Steve noticed Valerie yawning. He got up from the table, saying he needed to get to bed and thanked her for the water. He left her apartment and walked down the hall when a blond woman walked out holding a laundry basket and talking on the phone. She quickly ended the call and turned to Steve.

 “My aunt she’s kind of an insomniac,” Sharon said, throwing her phone into her hamper.

 “You know, you’re welcome to use my machine, might be better than walking all the way down to the basement,” Steve said. He had talked to the woman a few times before and she seemed nice enough.

 “Oh thanks, but I already have a load in. Besides you don’t really want my scrubs in your washer – I just finished a rotation in the infectious disease ward,” she said. Steve chuckled and raised his hands.

 “Well, then, I’ll keep my distance.”

 “I’ll see you around,” she said smiling. He went to walk away but she stopped him, “Hey, I think you left your stereo on.”

 Steve looked back to his apartment door with a furrowed brow. Sure enough, he could hear the faint sound of a record playing one of his albums. He gave Sharon a crooked smile and excused his forgetfulness to her. She walked down the stairs and Steve’s shoulders straightened. He hadn’t even been listening to music when he left his apartment.

 He made his way back outside, climbed the fire escape and slowly opened his kitchen window. His apartment was shrouded in darkness, the only light coming from the streetlamps and traffic lights outside. The music was louder and covered Steve’s light footfalls as he made his way through the kitchen and down the hall to the living room, grabbing his shield on the way. He reached the doorway and peered into his living room to see a shadowy figure sitting in the corner.

 Nick Fury was lounging in the corner chair, looking like a man who knew and seen too much of everything. Fury turned his one good eye to Steve who sighed and slumped against the door frame. “I don’t remember giving you a key.”

 “You really think I’d need one,” Fury said grunting as he sat up in the chair, “My wife kicked me out.”

 “I didn’t know you were married,” Steve said coolly.

 “A lot of things you don’t know about me,” Fury said.

 “I know Nick. That’s the problem.” Steve said stepping into the living room. He turned on the light and saw Fury’s face bloodied and bruised. Steve’s breath caught his forehead creasing with concern. Fury put his hand up then turned the light off. He typed something on his phone and turned the screen towards Steve. It read ‘EARS EVERYWHERE.’ Steve’s tense posture loosened as he looked around the room. Fury spoke again.

 “I’m sorry to have to do this, but I had no place else to crash.” Fury showed Steve his phone again – ‘SHIELD COMPROMISED.’

 “Who else knows about your wife,” Steve asked. Fury stood from the chair, holding his side with one hand, his phone in the other reading ‘YOU AND ME.’ He stepped closer to Steve, the light steaming in from outside across his face.

 “My friends,” he said simply. Steve’s mouth became a thin line.

 “Is that what we are?”

 “That’s up to you,” Fury said. A moment later bullets shot straight into Fury’s body. He cried out in pain and fell to the ground. Steve grabbed his arm and dragged him away from the living room. He looked out the window and saw a man on the rooftop next door with a large gun. He laid Fury in his kitchen and Fury grabbed Steve’s arm before he could turn away. Steve looked down to see Fury’s hand outstretched with a long silver thumb drive with the SHIELD logo in his palm. Steve grabbed it.

 “Don’t trust anyone,” Fury wheezed out. Steve looked at him in shock when the front door burst open.

 “Captain Rogers,” a woman’s voice called out. Sharon, still in her scrubs, appeared holding a gun. “Captain, I’m Agent 13 of SHIELD, Special Service.”

 “Sharon,” Steve said in disbelief. Sharon ignored him and walked into the kitchen.

 “I’ve been assigned to protect you and Valerie.”

 “On whose order?” Sharon stopped when she saw Fury laying on the floor covered in blood.

 “His,” she said before dropping to the ground and checking for a pulse. She pulled out a radio. “Foxtrot is down, he is unresponsive. I need EMTS.”

 Steve turned to look back at the man on the rooftop when Valerie appeared in his front door.

 “What’s happening, I heard shots,” Valerie said, eyes wide. Steve didn’t look at her; he watched the man start to run.

 “Valerie, stay with Sharon. Sharon, tell them I’m in pursuit,” Steve said. With that he gripped his shield tightly and ran out the window, jumping into the next building.

 Valerie stood in the door with her mouth open. Sharon pulled her from her shock.

 “Valerie, I need you come here and help me put pressure on these wounds,” Sharon said, calmly.

 Valerie took a shaky step into the kitchen and gasped when she saw the damaged body of a man she’d never met before. His black clothing had a wet shininess to it that could only be blood and in his chest and stomach were two gapping bullet holes. Sharon was pulling gauze out of her pocket and handed some to Valerie.

 “Help is on the way, but we need to put pressure on these wounds until they come,” Sharon said, making Valerie look at her. Her tone was so set and determined – it grounded Valerie, who had never seen a wound worse than a nosebleed. Valerie nodded and kneeled across from Sharon. She grabbed the gauze from Sharon’s outstretched hand and pushed it down onto the man’s body as hard as she could.

 The next five minuets felt like the longest of Valerie’s life. She could hear the faint sound of windows breaking and eventually and gong like sound coming from the direction Steve ran off in. Sharon talked to Valerie, but the words didn’t seem to stick, all Valerie could think about was Steve. Was he okay, had he gotten the guy that did this? She didn’t have long to dwell on any of this before the EMTs showed up and took the man away. Sharon turned to her.

 “Directory Fury is going to be escorted to the hospital with other agents, I’m gonna stay with you,” Sharon said. Valerie didn’t hear her though; she was staring at the blood-stained kitchen flood where the man had just been. Sharon grabbed her shoulder.

 “Valerie,” she said, sternly. Valerie turned her head towards Sharon, her eye prickling. “Let’s go back to your apartment, okay?”

 Valerie nodded wordlessly and let Sharon walk her to her apartment. This was not how she expected this night to go. After Steve left her apartment, she began to get ready for bed. She was brushing her teeth when she heard the shots. She had to do active shooter training for her job back home, but she never thought about being in this type of situation outside of school. It was terrifying and to watch Steve run after the shooter without hesitation? Something in her hated to watch him run out the window.

 “Valerie, are you okay,” Sharon asked. Valerie turned to her slowly, her eyes darting across the room.

 “Steve just ran after him, alone. Shouldn’t someone go help him,” Valerie asked.

 “Steve is the greatest soldier in history, he can handle an assassin. Besides, he’d much rather I stayed with you,” Sharon said, putting a kettle filled with water on the stove.

 “I’m guessing you aren’t a nurse,” Valerie said. Sharon gave her an apologetic smile.

 “No, I’m a SHIELD agent assigned to protect you and Steve, though I probably will be reassigned after tonight.” Valerie nodded. She took a moment before asking, “How does your soulmate handle watching you charge into dangerous situations?”

 Sharon looked surprised by the question, her brows raised, and her hand paused over the jar Valerie kept tea leaves in. She composed herself, opened the jar and put tea bags into mugs.

 “I haven’t met my soulmate yet, but I’ve heard from colleague’s partners that it can be very difficult, though they usually don’t actually see them go into these kinds of situations.” she said carefully. Valerie nodded and rubbed her face. The pit in her stomach that opened up when Steve jumped out the window had been growing the entire time and Sharon’s answer wasn’t exactly helping. The kettle began to whistle, and Sharon poured the water into the mugs. She sat next to Valerie at the kitchen table and placed the mugs in front of them.

 “I just think he should have some kind of back up,” Valerie said, quietly. Sharon gave her a sympathetic and knowing look. Valerie sighed, if Sharon didn’t know the two were soulmates, she knew now.

 “If he doesn’t come back or call in the next 15 minutes, I’ll send someone after him,” Sharon said, softly placing a hand on Valerie’s arm. “He is very good at what he does, so we shouldn’t worry too much just yet.”

 So, the two waited at the kitchen table, sipping on their tea. Valerie would have preferred to be waiting for the EMTs than waiting for Steve to show up; time seemed to slink by so slowly her own movements seemed to slow down. She didn’t want to worry, didn’t want to take calming breaths in order to make her mark on his body radiate a calming energy through him, but she did. She’s never been more worried about a person before, no one had ever given her a reason to. She didn’t even want to imagine what she would be feeling if she was actually with Steve. In this moment she really missed the normalcy of her own world. Valerie couldn’t take the silence after five minuets.

 “Did you know when you were assigned to protect me,” Valerie asked in a whisper.

 “That you were Steve’s soulmate? No, I didn’t, my superiors just said you were a friend in trouble and should be near him,” Sharon said. “When did you guy meet?”

 “About six days ago.” Sharon nodded.

 “Pretty early in the relationship then,” she said. Valerie shifted in her seat.

 “We aren’t together, and we probably won’t be together,” Valerie said, avoiding Sharon’s confused gaze.

 “It’s none of my business, but can I ask why?” Valerie sighed.

 “I’m not from here – this world I mean,” Valerie said. She gave a condensed version of what happened to her, and Sharon sat quietly.

 “I’m sorry you’re going through this, it must be very overwhelming,” Sharon said.

 Valerie sighed, that was what pretty much everyone said when she told her story and it never comforted her. Before she could respond, her front door opened quickly. Valerie’s head whipped to the front door where Steve was walking though, breathing heavily. He dropped his shield in the hall and Valerie stood from her seat and walked towards him. She wanted to hug him, but she stopped herself before she threw herself at him.

 “Valerie are you okay,” Steve asked, putting his hands on her shoulders, looking her over. She looked him up and down – no bleeding or breaks. He was fine and her worry hardened into annoyance.

 “I’m fine, I didn’t jump out a window into the next building and run after an assassin with no backup or anything,” she said pushing his hands off his shoulders. “Why did you do that?”

 “I needed to try and get the guy, that’s my job,” Steve said carefully. “I’m sorry I worried you, but he needed to be pursued.”

 Valerie huffed, her ears turning red. She knew he was just doing his job, but she couldn’t help her anger that he would just run off after someone so dangerous alone. “So, you go alone?”

 Sharon was still sitting in the kitchen listen to the argument. She got a message from Maria Hill that Fury had gone into surgery, so she stood and walked towards the couple.

 “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to interrupt, but Fury just went into surgery,” she said. Steve’s lips formed int a line and he nodded.

 “Valerie, I’m so sorry I worried you, and I want to talk this through, but I need to go to the hospital,” he said. Valerie rubbed her eyes and nodded.

 “Yeah, go,” she said softly, tiredness overcoming her suddenly. Steve looked at her apologetically.

 “I’ll call you in the morning, Val,” Steve said. He grabbed his shield and walked out the door. Valerie crossed her arms over her body looking at the door. Sharon stepped next to her.

 “He was never in any danger he couldn’t handle, Valerie,” she said.

 “I know, I don’t know why I was so worried or why I got so mad when I saw he was okay. I just couldn’t help it,” Valerie said turning back to the kitchen.

 “The connection is – “Sharon began, but Valerie interrupted.

 “Hard to ignore, I know. I’ve heard and read it more than I’d like. I don’t want to worry about him or feel anything for him but despite barely even talking to him, I do. It just feels like I’m betraying Matt or at least I’m about to betray him,” Valerie said, taking a sip from her now cold tea.

 Sharon didn’t know what to say to that, she’d never met someone who didn’t want their connection. How did you comfort someone who wanted to go against something that was supposed to be natural? She sat next to Valerie and took her hand.

 “I don’t think there’s anything I could say to make you feel better about everything, but I’m sure some sleep will make you feel better,” Sharon said. Valerie nodded and stood from the table. She thanked Sharon and went to bed.

Valerie sighed and looked around the lab. Everything was so high tech and expensive looking, the smell of oil and grease potent in every corner. She spent most of the past two days in here with Tony researching and asking about the new world she found herself in. From what she found, soulmates nearly always found each other, and the connection was next to impossible to ignore. Every time she read about it, she couldn’t help but think of Matt. She missed him and how safe and normal he was. She knew where they were both going, what the next five years looked like. In this place, she didn’t know what the next hour was going to be like. Doctors and agents have been in and out of the tower, asking her to explain herself over and over again. It was calming to watch Tony work in between the interviews and testing.

“So, does everyone have a soulmate,” Valerie asked Tony who was working on some type of technology that seemed way too complicated for Valerie.

“Yep, everyone has at least one special someone to go through life with,” Tony said absentmindedly. Valerie had taken full advantage of being in his company, seeing him as a neutral person to ask about soulmates and marks.

“What happens if someone doesn’t want to be with their mate?” Tony’s fingers stilled for a moment at that question. He didn’t mind answering her questions, he just did not want to explain to Steve why his soulmate had suddenly figured out how to break their connection. He resumed his work.

“They’ll either reject the connection or try to be platonic,” Tony replied, “But both can be difficult.”

“How so?”

“Well, rejecting the connection really only happens if the relationship is really dysfunctional and being just friends with your soulmate goes against the connection in a way that just feels wrong.” Tony said. Valerie considered his answer; It wasn’t impossible to not be with a soulmate, that should make things a littler easier until she can go home.

“Do both people have to reject the connection for it to work?” she asks.

“You know, you might want to actually talk to Cap before you start trying to reject your connection,” Tony said, fully stopping his work to look at Valerie.

“It’s nothing personal, I just have a boyfriend back home who was going to propose. Making Steve think I have any interest in going forward with the connection isn’t fair to anyone,” Valerie said.

“You didn’t look too displeased with Steve the other night,”

Valerie’s ears went red. Steve had consoled her for the better part of an hour. She would have fallen asleep in his arms if Tony hadn’t walked in to try and get Steve back to his lab to finish whatever they were doing before Valerie appeared. Steve was a perfect gentleman that night; He came back to her room after going with Tony and offered to sleep in the cot the room provided so she wouldn’t have to be alone. Tony had no problem bring that night up anytime Valerie mentioned her boyfriend or not wanting the connection.

“It had just hit me that I woke up in an alternate reality and I was sad, I would have clung to anyone for comfort,” Valerie said crossing her arms in a huff. Tony gave an unconvinced mumble. “When can we start trying to get me home?”

“SHEILD is gonna work on that, I’ll consult on some of it probably, but as soon as Steve told them about you, you’re their responsibility.”

“They’re good, right? Like they’re actually going to help me,” Valerie asks.

“Most likely,” Tony said. Valerie gave him a skeptical look. “They aren’t always the most forthcoming with information, but with you being Steve’s soulmate they’ll probably more straightforward with you.”

“Do you think he told them? Why would he tell people something like that,” Valerie asked.

“I don’t know if he did or not, but they’ll find out soon enough. Your marks can be hidden pretty easily but they’ll want to do some testing on you considering you’re all… not from here,” Tony said, gesturing in her general direction.

Valerie nodded, her ears going a light pink. She didn’t like the idea of more people knowing her connection to Steve. She wanted to leave as little trace behind but having a soulmate was making that goal difficult. Tony had assured her that none of the agents or scientists would tell anyone about her that didn’t need to know. It wasn’t as comforting as she made him think it was.

“Sir, Ms. Jones, Doctor Selvig and Doctor Foster are here to talk about Ms. Jones’s situation,” Jarvis said, startling Valerie out of her thoughts.

“Alright, send him in, Jarvis,” Tony replied. A few moments later a middle-aged balding man and a small, brown-haired women came into the lab, both pulling large cases behind them. The woman stepped right up to Valerie.

“Hello, you must be Valerie. I’m Jane Foster,” she said, sticking her hand out to shake Valerie’s hand. Valerie took it. “And this is Erik Selvig.”

“Hello, Valerie,” He greeted. “Welcome to our version of Earth. I imagine this must be very overwhelming for you.”

“Yeah, to say the least. So, I’ve heard you two could help me get home?” Valerie asked. Jane was opening up her case pulling out notebooks and a laptop and instruments that Valerie couldn’t even begin to describe what they did. She stopped setting up and looked at Erik who took a deep breath at Valerie’s question.

“We’re going to see what we can do for you,” Erik said slowly. “If nothing else we’re gonna try to find out what happened.”

Once they were both set up, they asked her to recount her story, and she did. She told them about walking down the school hallway to just appearing in Tony’s living room and how here world was also in the middle of a convergence. They were listening intently, writing down notes and stopping here periodically to ask questions. Both were surprised to find out her world didn’t have superheroes or soulmarks but kept the conversation on topic. When she was done, Selvig began paging through a notebook and Jane waved some kind of device around her.

“I’m looking for any residual particles or really anything left from your world or the transition between worlds,” Jane said when she saw Valerie eyeing the device. “Ideally, I would have done this the day you got here, but I was in London.”

Valerie nodded. “Do whatever you need to do.”

The next hour was just answering questions and being subjected to different tests. They explained what each one did, but after seeing so many people, the purpose for every test and conversation just ran together for Valerie; As long as it would help her get home, she was game for anything. Tony largely sat off to the side and just observed, though he did ask Jane about how she made her equipment. Jane and Erik began packing their cases soon after finishing their tests.

“So, I know it’s only been two days, but how are you adjusting,” Jane asked. Valerie shrugged.

“I guess as well as can be expected. I mean, I guess it was lucky that I appeared in Tony’s living room in front of cameras instead of in a random ally or in the middle of nowhere,” Valerie said. “But if I was really lucky, then this wouldn’t have happened at all.”

Jane nodded with a sympathetic look on her face. “I also stepped through a portal a few days ago. It’s a weird sensation, though I’m pretty sure I stayed in my own universe, and I came back. I’m sorry you’re going through this.”

“It is what it is, I guess.”

“Are there really no soulmarks where you’re from? Does that mean there aren’t soulmates?” Jane asked. Valerie looks at her, brows lifting in surprise. No one had asked her about her home yet.

“No, we don’t have soulmates and we definitely don’t have marks. Mostly we just date people we like and if there’s someone really special, you stay with them.” Valerie said.

“Did you have someone special,” Jane asked Valerie considered the question for a moment before Jane gasped.

“I’m sorry, I’m sure that’s very personal. I just can’t imagine just aimlessly dating trying to find someone special. Thor is my soulmate and I don’t know if we would have gotten together if we weren’t soulmates – This distance is a lot.” Jane gave a breathless laugh and Valerie shook her head.

“It’s alright, no one has really asked about my home it just took me by surprise,” Valerie said. “I have a boyfriend, Matt. We were going out to dinner the night I came here; I had a feeling he was going to propose.”

At that Jane gave a sad smile and told Valerie she and Erik would do what they could to help her. Jane and Erik finished packing up and said their goodbyes. Valerie and Tony were left in silence in the lab. He was looking at her with a look that Valerie couldn’t quite place, so she looked back down to the article she started a few hours before hand on how the connection between mates can be used to sooth distress. She unintentionally reread the same line five times before Tony broke the silence.

“Is this Matt your special someone,” Tony asked. Valerie’s eyes stilled. Truthfully, she wasn’t sure, but was nervous that doubt would affect how hard Tony would try to get her home.

“Yes, he is. We’ve been together for about five years, and I was excited for his proposal. And if you mention me crying into Steve’s shoulder one more time, I might pull my hair out,” she said.

“Alright, I won’t mention that again, but are you really telling me you feel nothing from Steve’s mark?” Tony asked with a pointed stare. Valerie gave an exasperated sigh.

“I actively try to not focus on Steve’s mark,” Tony’s look got even more pointed. “Alright, fine. Yes, I do feel something when I do focus on the mark, but it doesn’t matter because I am going home, and I am going to marry Matt.”

“Okay, Val, just making sure. But a word of advice, it seems like you’re lying when you talk about how happy you are with him when you aren’t being pushed.” Tony said, hands up in surrender. “And when you are being pushed, it feels more like you’re being stubborn.”

Valerie rolled her eyes. “And why would I have to prove my love for Matt to you? Or prove why I would want to go home?”

“You don’t,” Tony said and went back to working on his project. Valerie looked at him. He hadn’t been that intrusive before. He hadn’t even really asked her anything besides things related to stepping into his living room.

“Why are you asking me then,” Valerie asked.

“Just curious, I guess,” Tony said with a shrug.

“About what?”

“About what you think is gonna happen if you stay here verses if you go home,” Tony said. Valerie scoffed.

“I’m going home and I’m gonna marry Matt and go about my life,” Valerie said. Tony nodded, his lips pursed.

“And what if we can’t get you home. The convergence is over, and we haven’t exactly figured out inter-universal travel yet,” Tony said, looking up at Valerie.

“I’ll cross that bridge if it comes to that,” Valerie said with a huff.

“So, what happened to your dream theory,” Tony asked.

“I could never dream up something with this much detail,” Valerie said, quietly. Tony nodded.

“Fair enough. Reality tends to be much more vivid than dreams,” Tony said, returning to his work.

They sat in silence again, their conversation hanging in the air. Valerie tried hard to not think about Tony’s question – What if she couldn’t get home? It was a big question; one she really didn’t want to have to answer. She knew there was a possibility it would happen, but it was too early to think of that. They hadn’t even started trying to get her home. She shook the thoughts from her head. It was too early to be thinking like this.

Tony’s phone began to ring, and Jarvis announced Steve was calling. Steve had left the previous morning for D.C. to get help and accommodations made for Valerie.

“Tony, is Valerie there,” Steve asked.

“Yep, she’s right next to me,” Tony said.

“Valerie, an apartment will be ready for you by tomorrow afternoon. Some SHIELD agents will be at the Tower to get you in the morning at 9 o’clock,” Steve said. “I won’t be there or in D.C. when you get here, I have a mission.”

“Okay, I’ll be ready by then,” Valerie said.

“I’m sorry I won’t be there to help you move,” Steve said. Valerie could feel a faint sense of guilt come her left shoulder.

“It’s fine, Steve, it’s not like have really have anything to move,” Valerie said. Steve could faintly feel annoyance coming from her. He sighed.

“I know, it’s just, I’m sure that this is a lot for you and I just -” Valerie interrupted Steve.

“You just want to help, I get it Steve and I appreciate that. I just want to get through this.”

Steve sighed. He didn’t know how to talk to Valerie. He just wanted to help her, even if it meant sending her back home to her boyfriend. He and Bucky would talk endlessly about how they would do right by Valerie Jones. He was fulfilling his promise to Bucky.

“Alright, Val, we’ll get you through this,” Steve said.

The smell of antiseptic filled Valerie’s nose as the steady sound of a heart monitor and soft whispers filled her hears. Her eyelids were heavy, and her shoulders still ached with a dull burn. She let out a soft groan, trying to crack her eyes open to see where she was. She figured she was in the hospital since she had a very vivid hallucination before collapsing but she like something was off in the pit of her stomach, like the explanation she gave herself wasn’t convincing her. The one thing that lessened the pit was the thought of pushing off Matt’s impending proposal for at least one more day; Surly he wouldn’t ask her to marry him while she’s in the hospital.

Valerie manages to open her eyes just to see the two men from the elevator and a doctor standing at the end of her bed staring. She groaned and closed her eyes again. She was dreaming, she was sure of it. How could she possible be in New York City with Robert Downey JR and Chris Evans? It just didn’t make sense. She heard a shuffling of feet and felt a hand grab hers.

“Hey, Valerie, can you please open your eyes,” said a soft voice. Valerie pulled her hand away and opened her eyes to see Chris Evans staring back at her with a worried look on his face.

“What’s happening,” Valerie asked, “Where am I and how do you know my name?”

“You’re in the medical bay of Avenger’s Tower. You passed out, and we needed to know who you were, so we had to look through your bag,” Steve said, “Besides, we have each other’s names, so it really wasn’t that hard to figure out who you were.”

Valerie’s brow shot up and her head pulled back. Had each other’s names? What did that mean? This was a very strange dream, Valerie thought to herself. She hoped whoever found her body would wake her up soon. The doctor coughed lightly.

“Valerie, I’m Dr. Hank Miller and speaking of the soulmarks,” he said, “I think it would be best to take some blood samples to figure out why yours appeared so late.”

Valerie’s eyes went wide at that, her surprised face becoming even more animated. Soulmarks, what does he mean by soulmarks? Her eyes darted across the room. This was the most vivid dream she’s ever had. The white walls and tiles looked so real, the soft chattering out in the hall where the nurses’ station was sounded so clear. Her breath became more labored, and her heart monitor sped up a bit.

“What’s wrong,” Steve asked

“What’s wrong?” Valerie croaked out, in credulously, “I’m in a dream that’s way too vivid and you’re saying we have each other’s names, and this doctor is asking why my soulmarks showed up late. I don’t know about what you’re talking about I just want to wake up this is too much.”

It was the men’s turn to look surprised. They expected her to be confused about her marks appearing out of the blue but not seemingly unknowledgeable about them all together. The all looked to each other for guidance, but it was Tony who bit the bullet.

“So, one, this isn’t a dream,” Tony said slowly, “and two, how do you not know about soulmarks?”

“Why would I know about them, Robert,” Valerie said, rolling her eyes and rubbing her face.

“Um, my name is Tony Stark. Doc, I think she might have a concussion,” Tony said. The doctor nodded bewilderedly and went to go order a CT scan.

“Oh right, of course,” said an exacerbated Valerie throwing her hands into the air. “And you’re Steve Rogers.”

“Ah, yes I am,” Steve said slowly. “Valerie, do you know what soulmates are? Have you ever heard of soulmarks?”

“Soulmates, yes. Soulmarks, no,” she replied.

“Soulmarks are how you know who your soulmate is, they’re always the names of your mate. Why don’t you know about soulmarks?” Steve asked.

“Why would I know about them, I don’t have any because soulmates aren’t real and neither are marks for that matter,” Valerie said. She put her hands over her face tiredly, “I just want to wake up from this dream.”

Steve looked to Tony whose eyes narrowed and brows creased. Soulmates and marks don’t exist? What is she talking about? Tony was thrown completely by this woman. If she was a spy sent to infiltrate the tower, she’s doing a very good job at playing incredibly dumb, he thought. He shook his head and made his way over to Steve. He bent down and whispered in his ear, “I’m going to check the footage from when she appeared, maybe I can figure out how she got here.”

Steve nodded and looked to his soulmate whose face was still buried in her hands. He heard small sniffles and saw her shoulders shaking. He sighed. He wished to just climb into the bud with her and wrap his arms around her – to take all her worries away. He gave up on the idea of finding Valerie Maria Jones the minuet he realized he’d been missing for seventy years. And yet here she was but didn’t even seem to know that she had soulmates to begin with.

“Valerie, you do have marks, they showed up late, but they are there,” Steve said, reaching out his hand to her knee to comfort her. He pulled away when she tensed. “Would you like to see them.”

Valerie looked up at him with red puffy eyes. He looked sincere, she thought, though why wouldn’t a figment of a very vivid dream look earnest in their story. Might as well go along with it, she concluded. Valerie nodded.

“They’re on your shoulders,” he said.

Valerie pulled her hospital gown down over her left shoulder and gasped. In black loopy cursive, Steven Grant Rogers was written (more like branded) into her skin. The skin around the name was red and irritated and slightly shiny. No wonder her shoulders had been hurting, it was as if she had an infected tattoo. She pulled up her gown and when to look at her other shoulder. James Buchanan Barnes was written in sharp block lettering but had the same look of an infected tattoo. Again, she pulled her gown up and took a shaky breath.

“Marks don’t usually look like that when they appear,” Steve said, “Normally, they start out very faint and then get darker over a few days. The doctor isn’t sure why yours came in like that but is hopeful that they’ll be less irritated over the next few days.”

“So, who’s James Barnes,” Valerie asked. She wasn’t sure how to deal with this new information, but in the spirit of going along with the dream, she’s just rolling with the punches. Steve looked down and crossed his arms.

“Everyone called him Bucky, he was my soulmate too,” Steve said, “He died during World War two, fell off a train during a mission.”

Valerie nodded. She never really followed the Marvel movies, or any superhero movies for that matter but in college she tutored a girl who loved them and talked about them all the time. She told Valerie about Steve Rogers and how he was a great war hear and saved the world by crashing a plane and wasn’t found for 70 years. It sounded like a very lonely story to Valerie.

“I’m sorry for your loss,” said Valerie.

“I gave up on finding you when I woke up here, I figured you were back in the forties or something. Bucky and I always talked about meeting you – during the war we talked about making it out and….” Steve said quickly before trailing off. “I’m sorry that was a lot. Look I don’t know how you got here or why your soulmarks showed up like that, but we are soulmates and I want to help you.”

Valerie took a deep breath. He was right, that was a lot. What does being soulmates mean? Did he expect to be together just because she had this weird mark on her? She was still with Matt and even though she was unsure of marrying him, she did love him. And how was she supposed to respond to him and his dead lover imaging her as a way to coup with war? It was too much. This dream was officially the wildest she’d ever had.

“Steve, this is crazy. This morning I woke up in my apartment in Madison, Wisconsin and by the end of the day I was hallucinating and now I’m in a coma dreaming about soulmates being real. That’s the only logical conclusion here, so if you want to help me, you’ll help me wake up.” Valerie said. She ran her hands through her hair. “Oh god, Matt’s probably freaking out by now.”

“Who’s Matt,” Steve asked. He wasn’t sure how to address her dream theory, that seemed like it would talk a lot more than just saying she wasn’t dreaming for her to believe it. Valerie gave a humorless laugh.

“Matt’s my boyfriend. I found a ring in our sock drawer this morning. I bet this is just a reaction to not being ready to talk to him about not being ready for marriage. God, maybe I need to go on antianxiety medication if this is how stressed I am,” Valerie said.

Steve sucked in a breath. She had a boyfriend that she lived with? Dating wasn’t uncommon these days, but it never got to be so serious as to move in with each other and they definitely did not propose, not unless both people knew their soulmate had passed or the connection was broken. He really didn’t know what to make of Valerie. She was so unaware of social norms and customs; it was like she was from a different planet. Steve was so lost in thought he didn’t realize she was still talking.

“…Today was supposed to be so good and now it’s just a complete dumpster fire. It was my first day teaching you know, and it went so well. So, well it made me forget about the ring and my mom…” Valerie was interrupted.

“Does Matt not have soulmarks?” Steve asked. Valerie looked at him like he was crazy and shook her head.

“Soulmates aren’t real, Steve.”

“Yes, they are, Valerie,” Steve said. He rolled up his left sleeve to his armpit revealing the same sharp block lettering that was on Valerie’s right shoulder, but Bucky’s name was on his bicep. Right under Bucky’s name Valerie saw her name in her round bubbly handwriting. “All three of us are soulmates, we are meant to be together. Now I understand if this is too much right now, but you’re clearly in need of help and I want to help you.”

Valerie’s ears turned red, and her mouth tightened into a line.

“I told you what would help me, Steve,” Valerie said her tone sharp, “I need to wake up.”

“You are awake!” Steve yelled. Just as Steve was about to open his mouth, Dr. Miller ran in with Tony a few steps behind him.

“Captain Rogers, you and Mr. Stark should see this,” he said, his face white. He turned on the tv and a news report was showing London in chaos. A giant spaceship was in the middle of the River Thames and people were running everywhere. In the middle of a courtyard with tall staffs emitting a blue light, Thor was charging towards the ship and fighting began. The camera cut to a side street where aliens were running around and a darkhaired woman with glasses just appeared out of nowhere.

The room was in a state of shock, the only noise came from the tv and Valerie’s heart monitor. Valerie didn’t know what to make of it, she had never seen anything so crazy and wasn’t even sure if she could come up with something like that in her dreams. She shook her head. Of course, this is a dream, she thought.

“Are we going to help him, Tony,” Steve asked, breaking the quiet.

“It seems like he’s got a handle on it,” Tony said as huge tornado swirled around the ship which had crashed into the middle of the courtyard. “I will definitely be calling Selvig after this is over.”

Steve nodded. He looked at Valerie, whose eye were wide and glued to the screen. Her ears were no longer red, and he could help but feel like her sudden appearance and what was happening in London was somehow connected. He was pulled from his thoughts when Tony clapped his hand on Steve’s shoulder.

“Cap, I need to talk to you out in the hall,” Toney said. Steve nodded and got up, walking behind Tony until they were outside.

“You need to watch the footage, she appears out of thin air like that woman on the news did,” Tony said pushing a tablet into Steve’s hands.

Steve looked down and saw Tony’s living room empty and after a minuet, Valerie just steps into the room as if she had been walking through it the entire time. He watched her stop dead in her tracks before dropping her bag and slowly looking around the room. He looked to her shoulders and saw faint black lines beginning to form after she had taken her sweater off. When Steve and Tony rushed off the elevator, he saw the marks turn and angry red before she clasped her hands over them. Steve looked up.

“I did some digging on people just appearing out of thin air,” Tony said. “And apparently conspiracy theorists have this theory that when the planets are aligned, much like they are right now, the veil between worlds is very thin. So thin in some places, that people can even walk through them.”

“And you think that that’s what happened to Valerie?” Steve asked.

“Maybe, but is there a world where soulmates don’t exist? I mean even Thor had marks, they seem to be pretty universal,” said Tony.

Steve ran his hand through his hair letting out a sigh. This was all too complicated and not at all how he expected to find Valerie. It would make sense if she was from a different world, even a different universe; she was so unknowledgeable about soulmates, her being from a different world seemed like the most logical conclusion, Steve thought.

“It would make sense. I mean she told me that she has a boyfriend that she lives with and that he had plans to propose to her,” Steve said. Tony winced.

“Tough brake, pal. Can you not feel your connection then?”

Steve thought for a moment. He hadn’t tried to sense their connection yet; everything was too hectic that he forgot to try. That and it had been years since he’s felt one himself. Since Bucky’s fall, Steve hadn’t felt anything from his mark but coldness. A few people had told him that was a common feeling from the marks of dead mates. Steve sighed and shook his head to get Bucky out of his thoughts. He focused on Valerie’s mark, and he felt faint feelings of anxiety and fear. Because the bond hadn’t been assured through declarations of love or even the acknowledgment of the marks, the connection between them was fairly weak, but it was still there. It was reassuring for Steve that despite Valerie’s disbelief, the connection hadn’t been severed.

“No, I can feel her, it’s faint but the connection is still there,” Steve said. “I guess you can’t really reject something you don’t think is there to begin with.”

Tony nodded his head and took the tablet back.

“Either way, I should confirm our theory with Selvig and we should tell SHIELD. They’ll want to know some woman from a random universe just showed up on my doorstep.” Tony said.

“I’ll call SHIELD, I’ve already been here longer than I told them I would be,” Steve said. Steve looked back into Valerie’s room. He just wanted to make everything better so he could try to be with her. She was beautiful and she seemed so levelheaded in such a strange situation, he wanted to get to know her. Tony patted him on the arm before walking away.

Steve walked back into the room. The doctor had left while he and Tony were talking and Valerie had turned off the tv, not wanting to see the destruction anymore. Steve took a seat next to her again.

“Valerie, I know you think you’re dreaming, but I can assure you, you aren’t,” Steve said. “Tony and I think you somehow walked through worlds and ended up here. Did you know if the planet back home were aligning today?”

Valerie looked at him with eyes wide and her brows arching towards her hair line.

“Yeah, one of my students told me that the planets would be in a line at four today,” She replied.

“Do you know what time you showed up here?” Steve asked. Valerie’s face slacked and she took a deep breath.

“Four o’clock. I was walking out of my room at school to go home and I just appeared here.” Valerie said. This was crazy, she thought to herself, there’s no way she wasn’t dreaming. “Steve, this can’t be real.”

“Valerie, we don’t know for sure, but this is the most logical explanation. Tony is going to talk to a scientist who might have some more insight on this. In the meantime, I have to report this to my superiors so that you can get help. They can set you up with a place to live and maybe even set you up with a job.” Steve said.

Valerie wasn’t sure what to say. Clearly, she wasn’t waking up soon, so she just nodded her head.

“There’s a good chance that they’re gonna move you to D.C. since that’s where their headquarters are and since we’re soulmates they’re gonna try to keep us near each other.” Steve said.

“We aren’t going to live together, are we?” Valerie asked. Steve looked down quickly before looking at her again.

“Not if you don’t want to,” he said. Valerie nodded. She felt relieved but something in her felt rejected and she had a feeling it wasn’t coming from her. Steve stood up and left saying he needed to make a few calls.

Valerie really didn’t know what to think. She still clung to the hope that she was dreaming, but that belief was becoming harder and harder to maintain. She sighed and allowed herself to indulge in Steve and Tony’s theory that she was in a different universe. Would that mean she had to be with Steve, a man who was still very heartbroken about Bucky? Is there any possibility for her to go home? What were Matt and her friends and family thinking had happened to her? The security cameras as school would only shoer her vanishing into thin air, what could police do with that? She thought of her parents and her brother. They were all so close and that thought of hurting them by just disappearing without a trace made Valerie start crying again. All of these questions raced through her head, and it was too overwhelming. She didn’t want to be here; she would much rather be sitting at dinner with Matt no matter how awkward it surely would have been.

Steve walked back into the room about an hour later to find Valerie staring blankly at the wall, tear falling down her cheeks. He could feel her distress when he was gone, but he knew what she was going through needed time to mend. Waking up in a new century had been discombobulating enough, he couldn’t imagine waking up in a different reality. She needed time and people to talk to. He was determined to be there for her. He walked up to her bedside and sat down next to her. He put his arm around her shoulders, and she curled herself into his side and sobbed.