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Never in your life had you been so excited. You had been looking forwards to this moment your entire life; everyone does. You were sure that there were other teens around the world, five minutes ‘till midnight that were having the very same thoughts as you, and you found that somewhat comforting, that you were not going through this alone. You weren’t sure if you were more scared than excited or excited than scared. Definitely excited over scared; you were finally going to learn about your soulmate- of course you were happy!
However, there’s always a catch to the situation. For some people, they could have a soulmate in a foreign country with a language barrier, or the soulmate can get lost while in the other’s body, or something like that. There was always a catch.
Four minutes ‘till midnight you were a mess of nerves and joy. Never had you ever felt so confused in your life. You had accidentally been thinking about all of the ways this could have gone wrong; you were so afraid that you would somehow mess everything up. Maybe you would accidentally start a fight with one of their friends or family members, or maybe you were nowhere near your soulmate’s house, lost and alone. Maybe your soulmate was already in a bad situation and things would only get worse from there- the possibilities were endless. You shivered at the thought of something bad happening to yourself, but your body tremored in fear that something bad would happen to your soulmate.
Three minutes ‘till midnight and you were doubting your reasoning to be alone when the switch happened. You wanted to be held in your mother’s arms, with her telling you that everything would be alright. You wanted to hold hands with your father as he would tell you how he would make sure that your soulmate would stay safe. While these options had seemed very tempting, you’d admit that you were a bit afraid that your soulmate would be quite uncomfortable if they woke up wrapped in your mother’s arms. Therefore, that was a no-go.
Two minutes ‘till midnight and you were walking over to your desk, taking out a pen and a pad of paper. You decided to leave your soulmate a quick note, explaining to them who you were and how old you were. You wanted them to talk about themselves a bit, and preferably share their name. You could only hope that your soulmate would do the same for you.
One minute ‘till midnight and you were practicing breathing exercises that you had seen on tv once. You tried to keep your breaths even and measured, but you were failing horribly. Your breaths were shaky and you kept on finding it harder and harder to breathe. Sure, you were excited, but you were so scared that something bad would happen, not to mention the sheer anxiety of anticipation was eating you up from the inside out.
Ten seconds ‘till midnight and you carefully laid down in your bed. You looked at the pale popcorn ceiling for a moment before closing your eyes. You hope for the best...
9…
8…‘Spare me, o great and powerful universe’ you think to yourself
7…‘Please?’
6…‘You know what? I’m over it. No more anxiety’
5… You silently laugh in your head
4… ‘Just kidding’
3… ‘I’m so screwed’
2… ‘Or not’
1
For a moment all you felt was a blast of cold air around you and then you were encased in ice. It had to be ice because your- er- their body was incredibly cold. You tried to open your eyes, but only darkness was revealed. Was this hell?
One long, agonizing minute later your consciousness was transported back into your body, which was now sitting on the desk’s chair. You felt a giant weight lift from your chest as you saw words written under your message. ‘Dear (y/n), I am Steve. I am so sorry that you had to be stuck in my body. I thought I was dead, but I guess I was wrong. You look beautiful in the pictures on your desk. I am-’ The letter ended there. ‘I am’ what? You huffed, knowing that you would have to wait a whole nother year to see what Steve was writing.
***
By the time you were twenty-two, you had collected enough notes to form an actual letter. It read:
‘Dear (y/n), I am Steve. I am so sorry that you had to be stuck in my body. I thought I was dead, but I guess I was wrong. You look beautiful in the pictures on your desk. I am’ ‘glad to know that you are alright and safe with your family (I heard them moving around downstairs, but I need to tell you something of great importance. I am not sure how much time has passed but you need to’ ‘tell Howard Stark that he must not go looking in the ocean. It is too dangerous. I know you must be confused but I promise that everything will make sense soon.’ ‘I woke up in a new room today- did you move? Congratulations if you did! You have a nice apartment (I hope you don’t mind that I looked around, I just felt a great need to stretch and to walk around).’ ‘I am still grasping the concept that I am alive, but I cannot imagine what these minutes must be like for you; I don’t even know where I am. I am so sorry. Anyways, have you talked to Stark yet? I really need to talk to him.’
This was the year that you were determined to find him. You had been doing your research for years after finding out that your soulmate was the Steve Rogers, american hero. At first you were a bit surprised and scared that he would be really old, but you had a feeling that he wouldn’t be- but that’s beside the point. The point was that you had been spending years researching and hacking your way into secret databases to gather as much information as possible on Steve’s ‘death’, which led you to the creation of SHIELD. You hated to admit it, but for any one of your plans to work, you needed the upper hand in order to be taken seriously.
There you were, standing outside Stark Tower. You figured if anyone would know how to locate Steve, Tony could. There were the obvious reasons for your thinkings, such as the fact that he was a billionaire (money would be no object) and that he had his father’s smarts (you couldn’t figure out where Steve was, but maybe he could). But, there was also the fact that Tony had been revealed to be Iron Man recently, so wasn’t he obligated to act heroically now? You weren’t sure, but you decided that you would give it a try.
You walked up to the receptionist faking confidence, hoping to the higher force that you were being convincing. “Hello, I am here to see Tony Stark. It regards,” You leaned in closer to the woman, whispering quietly, “SHIELD.”
The woman’s eyes widened and she nodded quickly before speed dialing Tony’s penthouse suite. ‘Please, please work’ you thought to yourself.
“It seems as though he wants you up right away. Take the private elevator to the right,” She gestured down the right hallway before looking back at you. “Jarvis already knows where to take you, so there will be no button-pressing. Got it?”
“Got it.” You swore that your heart never beat as fast as it did that moment. Your feet clicked against the white marble floors as you made your way towards the elevator, and you nearly broke into a nervous sweat when the doors opened. This was going to fail. You were trying to outsmart the famous Tony Stark, known for his smarts. You knew that you were over your head, but did you care?
The elevator doors closed behind you before jetting up into the sky, passing floors at an outrageously fast speed. In less than fifteen seconds, you stepped into the main room of Stark’s penthouse. By now your hands were starting to shake, and nervous sweat started to stick to the back of your neck.
“You’re obviously not SHIELD, so who might you be?” Tony Stark in all his glory walked out from his living area and into the entrance hall, arms crossed with a frown etched on his face. He’d looked you up and down, obviously noting that your clothing was nothing like the standard issue SHIELD uniforms.
‘Okay,’ you thought, ‘I can do this’. You pushed a lock of your hair behind your ear and looked up at him. “Hello Mr. Stark. I wish we could have met under different circumstances, but that’s not the case. I assume that you are more than knowledgeable with the topic of soulmates?” You inquired, thinking of his right-hand Pepper Potts: his soulmate.
“If you’re here to ask about the science of it, I have already told the media-”
“It isn’t about that Mr. Stark. This is about the fact that my soulmate is legally dead.” You two stood in an awkward silence for a moment, Tony obviously trying to think of logical solutions as to why this would have been happening to you.
“Who are they? How did they die? You have to give me more than that.” You could tell Tony didn’t fully believe you, but even a sliver of belief was good enough for you. After all, a spark can start a fire…
“That’s the thing Mr. Stark, my soulmate- he’s Steve Rogers.”
“You can’t be serious. If this is a joke, I’m not laughing.”
“I assure you this is no joke,” Your voice was sullen, knowing the fact that your soulmate was in pain at that moment was enough to bring down your mood any time of the day. Talking about it was a whole nother problem within itself. “Since I was eighteen I have spent a total of five minutes in what seems to be some sort of airship. Everything is frozen in it- even his body. I don’t know how he is surviving, but I want- I need him to be found. Please, you have to believe me.” Facing Tony’s conflicted expression was hard; you knew there was a possibility that he would send you to the streets with your outrageous story, but you couldn’t help but hope.
***
Tony ended up believing you after you two took the time to sit down and talk. Before long he became like a father to you; he became the one you confided in with your worries about Steve. Yes, you were worried, and yes, your worries increased as time went on. You couldn’t help but worry that one day Steve would die because of the coldness, but Tony told you that if he survived this long, he could survive for years to come.
It was the fall of 2012 when they found him. You were reading the latest book in your favorite series when the call came from Tony.
“(Y/n), we found him. Come to the main base in central New York. I made sure that you were given clearance to come in, so there shouldn’t be any problems.”
“Thank you Tony. Thank you.” You both knew there were a million things you wanted to say to him, but the words couldn’t leave your mouth. You were so overwhelmed with excitement that your mind couldn’t piece even the most basic sentences together.
“Okay, I have to go now- drive safe, okay?”
“Okay, see you soon!”
You grabbed your car keys and were out the door in under a minute, not even caring that you were in your pajamas. You needed to see him. You just needed him. In the car your fingers tapped the wheel impatiently, and you cursed the traffic multiple times. At one point you were beeping your horn at another driver- they were in the way, you thought your actions were justified!
After an hour of driving you were pulling into a large shady looking building with a giant eagle logo on its side. SHIELD. You parked near the front entrance, not caring that the spot you chose was technically an illegal place to park. Your heart beat as fast as your feet ran as you tore down the hallways, following the signs to find where they were keeping Steve. Before long you knew you were slightly lost and a bit exhausted, but you could care less.
“(y/n)!” Your head whipped to the side to see Tony standing outside of a makeshift room where you guessed Steve was being held. Your feet closed the distance between yourself and Tony, and he enveloped you into a tight embrace. “It’s your time, kid.” There was a look in his big brown eyes with an unspoken agreement that you would be careful easing Steve into modern times; you nodded in response.
“Miss (y/l/n), I presume. We know he is about to awaken- you would like to be present for this?” A dark-skinned man with an eyepatch approached you. Automatically you stuck out your hand to give a firm shake before speaking.
“Yes sir. Thank you so much for bringing him to us- to me.” You blushed a bit as you realized the meaning of your words, but you weren’t deterred. “Can I see him now?”
The man, Nicholas Fury you would later learn, walked ahead of you to the door of the set. You tentatively grasped the doorknob and turned it slowly, afraid to wake him suddenly. Your steps were quiet on the white tile floor, and you couldn’t help but hold your breath to refrain from making noises. He looked so pale, lying there under the covers; he was nearly as white as the sheets lying on top of his torso. There was a metal chair waiting for you next to the bed, and though it was far from comfortable, you were the most at home you’d ever been. You quietly reached out and grasped his hand, noting how warm it was despite being frozen for so long.
You nearly jumped out of your skin when the hand tightened around yours. You were quite sure that it was unhealthy for your heart to be beating as fast as it was, but you could care less. You could see parts of his body twitching, first his feet, then his legs, then his arms; his body was slowly waking itself up. At that moment, you swore all of your thoughts left your mind and the world stopped as his eyelids slowly lifted. Though he was looking up at the ceiling, you couldn’t help but oogle at his two beautiful blue eyes. Sure, you had seen the old black-and-white pictures of him, but nothing compared to the real thing.
“Steve?” His name left your lips in a whisper, but you knew he heard it. He took a few measured breaths before turning his head towards you, and in that moment you knew that everything would be alright. His eyes softened as they laid on you, and he looked at you like you were the only thing that mattered to him. All the loss he had, all the suffering he had endured, all the pain he went through- nothing mattered in that moment but the two of you.
“(y/n)?”
Happy tears fell down your face as you nodded happily. “You’re okay now, I promise.” Your other hand went to stroke his cheek- you couldn’t help yourself- and you realized just how soft his skin was. You could get used to this.
Steve tried pushing himself up with his hands, and you guided his back to rest up against the pillows. “We haven’t officially met yet, but I’m Steve Rogers.”
“Hi Steve, I’m (y/f/n) (y/l/n), it’s nice to finally meet you.”