Day 3: Soulmates AUÂ
No Warnings, Platonic Ironhusbands, Pepperony, Angst and Fluff
The first time Tony feels the skin of his arm tingle is when heâs 15 years old.Â
Heâs just moved into his dorm room at MIT, still unsure of his fatherâs decision to send him here at this age. He doesnât feel like he belongs and the confused, judging and even angry looks heâs received from other people on campus do little to ease his worries. They must know who he is and arenât all that happy about it.Â
Tony is sitting on his bed, studying the unfamiliar items that give him a vague idea about his roommate when he hears the door open. Jumping up from the bed, he prepares himself for the worst. He only hopes that the other guy wonât request to change rooms upon realizing who he has to share his space with.Â
The man that enters is a few years older than Tony and bafflingly handsome. He seems surprised upon seeing a stranger in the room but recovers quickly enough and, to Tonyâs surprise, smiles pleasantly while stretching out his hand.Â
âNice to meet you. Iâm James.â
It takes Tony a moment to catch up with everything thatâs happening.Â
âTony,â he says lamely, reaching to take Jamesâ offered hand.Â
Thatâs when he notices the weird sensation on his lower arm. He gasps and pulls away, ignoring the other manâs confused look in favour of pulling up the sleeve of his hoodie. Tony watches with wide eyes as the smooth blue lines write out a name.Â
James Rhodes
Only when James makes a similar surprised noise is Tony able to tear his gaze away from the writing to look up. Indeed, the other man is clutching his arm as well and even though his hand covers part of the mark, Tony can see his name engraved in his roommateâs skin in the same beautiful blue colour.Â
âHoly shit,â is the first thing to come out of his mouth.Â
James simply nods, his eyes still fixed on his mark. Tony isnât sure what to make of the manâs expression, heâs always been awful at reading people. Is he disappointed? Sad? Angry? He canât imagine the discovery of having Tony Stark of all people as your platonic soulmate to be a thrilling one.Â
âIâm sorry,â he apologizes when James fails to speak up. He doesnât know what heâs apologizing for since heâs had nothing to do with this. People donât get to choose their soulmates, the universe does - or at least thatâs what his mother tells him. Still, he already feels bad for the guy. âI didnât know-â âOf course you didnât,â James interrupts him, the words causing Tonyâs blood to run cold. âYou didnât do this. Itâs fate, I guess. And why are you apologizing in the first place?â The older man finally looks up at Tony and immediately frowns at what heâs seeing. âDude, are you okay? Youâre pale as hell.â âIâm fine.â âAre you sure? Did I give off that bad of an impression for you to be scared?â âNo!â Tony shakes his head. âThatâs not it. Iâm not disappointed or anything.â
âThen whatâs with the long face?â
âI thought that⌠you might be,â he admits, weakly gesturing at his arm. âI know my dad isnât a very popular man and I wouldnât blame you for thinking that I-â
âIâm not thinking anything here. I donât know you, man.â James takes a step forward, which brings him close enough to rest a hand on Tonyâs shoulder. âWhich weâll have to change. Have you already eaten dinner?âÂ
Tony opens his mouth but besides an incoherent unintelligible gurgle, nothing comes out. The grin James shoots him is enough to make him blush and he quickly shakes his head before he gets the chance to make an even bigger fool of himself.Â
âGood. How does pizza sound?âÂ
âI love pizza,â he says in a quiet voice.Â
Frankly, he has still trouble believing that heâs being accepted like this. James is right, he doesnât know Tony but when has that ever stopped anyone from judging him? Itâs almost impossible that heâs gotten this lucky with at least one of his two soulmates.Â
Thatâs the exact reason why he is your soulmate, a small voice in the back of his head reminds him.Â
âLetâs go then.â James squeezes his shoulder once before letting go and turning back towards the door. âI know this great place right around the corner. Youâll love it.âÂ
Tony says nothing as he follows his new friend but the smile on his face says it all.Â
~*~
The second time Tony feels the skin of his arm tingle is when a stranger barges through his office door to tell him that a mistake has been made in accounting.Â
Truth be told, heâs pretty hungover and not entirely sure if this is whatâs happening or if his imagination is to blame for all of it since the woman does look like something that could very well come out of his dreams. But sheâs too angry for that, doesnât even acknowledge Tony when he shoots her one of his very special grins and threatens Happy with a can pepper spray.Â
That certainly isnât part of his usual dreams.Â
âItâs already, Happy. I got this,â he tells his distressed security guard. The man nods and quickly exits the office, leaving the two of them alone. Tony gets up from his desk, hissing at the pain that erupts inside his head. He rubs his temples while addressing the stranger. âAnd you are?âÂ
âVirginia Potts,â the woman with the remarkable red hair says.Â
Sheâs clutching a file in her hands, apparently the one with a critical mistake. Tony doesnât really care about this kind of stuff and normally lets Obadiah take care of it. His godfather has always been much more interested in the company than Tony ever was - but the older man is away on a business trip and asked Tony to have an eye on everything until his return.Â
âListen, Potts. While I have no doubt that whatever youâre here for is important-â âIt is. Â â âYeah, Iâm sure of it. But the thing is that my head hurts and all that yelling earlier didnât really help with that, so how about you come back some other time and-â
He never gets to finish his sentence, too distracted by the sudden sensation on his right arm. Only once has he felt this soft pressure on his skin and even through the fog of his hangover, Tony realizes whatâs happening.Â
With absolutely no grace or elegance, Tony shoves the sleeve of his expensive suit out of the way to watch as a second name appears on his skin. This one is red, much like her hair, something he would take the time to admire if he wasnât positively freaked out.Â
Virginia PottsÂ
There it is. His soulmate is standing right in front of him, frozen in place. He frowns at her rigid figure, unsure if she understands what is happening. She certainly hasnât made any move to look at her own wrist and from the way sheâs still holding onto that file, Tony canât see if she has his name, or any name for that matter, on her arm.Â
âDid youâŚ?âÂ
He trails off mid-question but thatâs alright because Virginia (yeah, theyâll have to do something about that name - it doesnât fit her at all) is nodding her head slowly. Upon her confirmation, Tony lets out a long breath. Heâs heard about people not receiving their mark when meeting their alleged soulmate and although Tony never cared too much about it in the past, itâs a relief that heâs not so unlucky.Â
âMr Stark-â
âTony, please.â âI donât think thatâs appropriate for me to call you,â she says carefully and itâs enough for Tony to laugh.Â
âWeâre soulmates. My name is literally tattooed on your arm. I think we can let this pass.âÂ
âBut-â
âNo buts, Pepper. My name is Tony. Mr Stark was my father.â
âPepper?â
âNo offence but Virginia is a rather boring name. Not that I donât enjoy having it on my arm! But I think after that little stunt you pulled on poor Happy, this is a very fitting nickname.âÂ
Pepper (yes, this is so much better) rolls her eyes at his childishness but her posture relaxes and she finally drops the file on the table separating them, revealing her mark. Tony canât describe the feeling rising up in his chest upon looking at it but heâs certain that heâs never felt it before.Â
âAm I allowed to call you something completely absurd as well?â she asks, a slight twinkle in her eyes as she looks down at his mark. Sheâs trying to be subtle judging by the way she blushes when Tony turns his arm to show give her a better view. âIâm sorry that youâre stuck with such a boring name.â
He clicks his tongue.
âI told you that I donât mind. I donât mind it one damn bit.â His comment earns him another eye roll. Tony doesnât know if thatâs a good sign, although sheâs still here. She hasnât run away cursing and screaming much like he has expected her to do, and heâs counting this as a win. âHow about you? I know my name is fascinating but people tend to dislike the person itâs attached to.âÂ
Itâs supposed to come out as a joke but something in his voice must give him away because Pepper looks at him in surprise. That isnât good. He doesnât like it when people can look through his facade. It makes him feel exposed and he already toys with the idea of reaching for his glasses that are laying on the desk in front of him.Â
Then again, there is a reason that this woman is his soulmate - or at least Tony thinks so. Maybe itâs not the best idea to hide from her.Â
âI thinkâŚâ Pepper pauses, either because she actually has to think about her following words or because she simply likes to watch him squirm, which he visibly does. âIâll have to find out for myself.âÂ
Her answer catches Tony off guard, taking him back to all those years ago when he first met Rhodey. He told Tomy something similar, had given him a chance instead of judging someone heâd never met before - and Tony canât believe that the same thing is happening again. âRight, that makes sense,â he says quickly, afraid that Pepper will change her mind if he gives her too much time to think about it. âWhat do you say about dinner? Tonight? I can cook, or nearly burn down the house and then order us something.â
She doesnât laugh but Tony is almost certain that she wants to.Â
âHow about tomorrow? Itâll give you time to get rid of your hangover and take a look at that accounting errors.â She points at the file on his desk.Â
Heâs nodding before she has even finished speaking. Heâll look over anything she puts in front of him, not only because anyone determined enough to get past security must actually be passionate about their job but also because sheâs giving him a chance. A real chance.Â
Tony doesnât get much of those.Â
âItâs a date.â He immediately corrects himself when noticing Pepperâs glare. âNot a date?â âWeâll see,â she says before turning around and walking towards the door. âLook at the file!â is the last thing out of her mouth and then Tony is left alone in his office, the headache coming back full force once his brain registers that the moment has passed.Â
He falls back in his chair, clutching head and groaning loudly but there is a smile on his face and he has a feeling that this will be the last hangover heâll have to















