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When Tony got the star on his ankle, his father was over-the-moon. Howard insisted it was the sign of the great Captain America, the war hero he lost in the 1940’s right before the final fall of the Nazis. He started missions to find the Captain again, thrilled that his son was the one who would become the soulmate of Steve Rogers. When Howard wasn’t off trying to find the man, he was at home, Tony on his lap, telling stories about the kind of man Rogers was.
Tony grew up hating his soulmate, even after his parents died in the “accident.” He joked to Rhodey after their death that at least he would be immortal since his soulmate was buried in the ice somewhere — frozen and letting Tony live forever. Rhodey played along, insisting the world was going to eventually just come to crown him the king so his ego would finally be satisfied.
When Tony was close to thirty and really stared at himself in the mirror, he realized one thing — he was aging. There were lines on his face and his hair was definitely a bit duller than it was at twenty-two. He ran his hand over his beard, not quite sure what this would mean. Rogers was still buried, he hadn’t been moved, so why did Tony look his age?
He chose to ignore it and went to Vegas. Not to receive the award Obie insisted he take, but to gamble. There were plenty of women willing to hang on his arm, and nobody seemed to care or notice that he was aging. Some still asked how he kept up his youthful image before laughing at their own joke. He debated going home with the nosy reporter, even made a joke about it, but in the end, he left her at the hotel and let Happy drive him back to the Malibu house.
Getting kidnapped hadn’t been part of the plan. Becoming Iron Man hadn’t been part of the plan. Almost dying from poisoning hadn’t been part of the plan. Sleeping with Pepper — okay, that had been part of the plan, but having that relationship fall apart hadn’t. Coulson interrupting his celebration with Pepper and Happy about the new Tower wasn’t part of the plan.
SHIELD finding Captain America wasn’t part of the plan.
But here he was, standing on a hellicarrier in their small lab next to Bruce Banner, staring at the man who was supposed to be his soulmate. Sure, Captain America was attractive and Tony definitely appreciated a man that could throw him around in bed, but that’s all there was. There was no spark, no recognition. Tony’s only defense was sarcastic comments and cruel words.
It wasn’t until after he fell through the sky, and after Loki was taken back to Asgard, and after Steve returned the tower a year later that Tony realized the most important thing. Steve Rogers wasn’t his soulmate. Once Steve began living at the tower, he got more relaxed, more friendly toward all of them. No longer did he wear what could be considered a full uniform — often they found him in the kitchen wearing PJ bottoms and a tank top. This gave Tony plenty of time to look him over and nowhere on Steve’s body was a star. Instead, he had an anchor on the back of his right elbow.
Overnight, his anger toward the man ended. Tony sat with Steve, feeling guilty about how inwardly cruel he had been to him over the years. He knew Steve wouldn’t want an apology, so he didn’t give one. However, they grew as friends despite their disastrous first meeting.
And then Steve came back to the tower after a mission, an unconscious man hanging between himself and another man (named Sam). It was the Winter Soldier, aka Steve Rogers’ childhood friend, aka the most notorious Hydra assassin, aka the man behind Howard and Maria’s death.
Oh, and as Tony found out by the identical star on the man’s ankle, he was his soulmate.
It all made sense now, and all Tony wanted to do was laugh. Maybe cry a little, but mostly laugh. So he hadn’t been cursed into aging without a soulmate, he had instead been cursed into having a soulmate that didn’t age because of a serum. Tony ignored the pointed looks Bruce gave him and he simply got the best head doctors in to help deprogram the assassin.
Within six months, the Avengers had a few new members — including Steve’s anchor Sam. Wanda and her brother Pietro were brought in after the Ultron incident, and Rhodey was officially added shortly after that. And the Soldier, Bucky, was there. Tony tried to ignore him, but he was always there. Tony tried to avoid him, he tried to put distance between them, but Bucky always found a way.
And then one day, Bucky had enough.
—
Bucky Barnes had Tony up against a wall, arms on either side of the billionaire’s head as he pinned him in place. Tony was scared and more than a little turned on. Okay, he was mostly turned on. All he had to do was shift his hips forward and he could rub against the scary assassin easily. But he didn’t, he couldn’t. What if Bucky was cornering him for something else? What if it were a different reason? What if, what if, what if.
“December 16, 1991,” Bucky said, voice low despite there being nobody else around. “I never finished my mission.”
Tony sucked in a breath, his thoughts stopping. “What was your mission?”
“To get rid of the Starks, including you.” Bucky lowered his arms, but didn’t move away from Tony. “After I…”
“After they forced you,” Tony corrected. “It’s okay, it wasn’t you. What happened after you left the car?”
“I went to find you. You were drunk and skinny dipping.”
Tony smirked at the memory — he and Rhodey had dared each other to sneak into a hotel pool after one too many shots of tequila. The only reason they had left the pool was because Tony saw someone in the shadows, watching them. Tony’s eyes widened. “It was you.”
Bucky nodded, reaching his right hand up to trail his fingers down Tony’s cheek. “I saw the star before I saw you.”
That must have been when Tony thought he could walk across the pool floor on his hands, legs in the air. “Your programming—”
“Can’t really stop when soulmates first see another. I couldn’t kill you, and I’m sure if I had seen you first, I wouldn’t have been able to harm your parents.”
“It isn’t your fault.” Tony took Bucky’s hand, squeezing it gently. “It isn’t your fault.”
A small smile crossed Bucky’s face. “You might have to tell me that a few more times.”
“I’m willing.”
Bucky let out a breath. “Tony Stark, will you go on a date with me?”
Tony leaned forward, pressing a kiss to Bucky’s cheek. “Only because you asked nicely.”
“Such a romantic.” Bucky rolled his eyes and kissed the back of Tony’s knuckles. “I want to prove that I deserve you.”
Tony wanted that as well. He wanted to prove that he wasn’t cursed and that this could work out. So he simply squeezed Bucky’s fingers and gave the man a smile full of as much hope as he could give. Maybe this could work out.