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“Don’t do anything stupid until I get back.”
Those were the words written on the inside of Steve’s left arm. He had them since the moment he was born, in sloppy and rushed writing. They were the first words he learned how to read, he could trace the letters perfectly without even looking, and he cried when he realized what they meant.
The last words. The last thing he would ever hear his soulmate say were marked into his skin forever. It could have been worse, he figured. He heard horror stories of people who had the words ‘see you tomorrow’ or something equally as common and they spend their whole lives afraid every time they hear those words. Steve hated his words, it was a promise to come back. The last thing his soulmate would tell him would be a lie.
~~~
The first time he heard the words spoken he was eleven, lying sick in bed. It was winter, he was sick every winter. A horrible combination of colds, flus, aches, and pains. And just like every other winter, Bucky sat in a chair by his bed daily and read to him from a book he brought from home.
“What is it this time, Buck?” Steve muttered when Bucky entered and sat down, his legs swinging.
“The Great Gatsby. I heard it’s not that great, but I like Fitzgerald so I’ll give it a shot.” Bucky said. He opened the book and started reading.
It was a nice story from what he could tell. Bucky’s voice was smooth as he read it and Steve felt better hearing it. His breathes came easier and he could feel himself relax into the mattress as the story went on.
“Can one of you boys help me with the dishes?” Steve’s ma called from the kitchen. She was calling for Bucky, Steve was too sick to get up right now.
Bucky looked up from his book, eyeing Steve carefully. “Don’t do anything stupid until I get back.” He said before jumping up from the chair and dashing out of the room.
Steve inhaled sharply. Those were the words, his words. If Bucky said them that must mean he was the one. He was happy, Bucky was his best friend, he loved him more than anything, and this meant he was the one just for him. Steve tried to sit up in bed, call out to him so he could be as excited as he was, but then he remembered. Those words only meant they would be the last ones his soulmate would ever say to him. Bucky was coming back, he only went to the other room.
“So I leave for five minutes and you just try to get out of bed and escape. No, sir.” Bucky said as he walked back in, gently pushing Steve back down until he was laying back against his thin pillow. “Now where were we?”
Bucky picked his book back up and began reading. Steve wasn’t listening anymore, he couldn’t focus on the words. Bucky had said it, but he came back. Maybe that meant he would say it again, maybe it meant that he wasn’t Steve’s soulmate, maybe he had just said the to mess with him. No, Bucky wouldn’t do that. Besides, no one knew what his words were, they were private.
~~~
“Don’t do anything stupid until I get back.”
Steve froze, for just a small moment as Bucky said the words. He was leaving, backing away slowly is his uniform to take the girls out dancing. He would be gone in the morning, off to fight a war half a world away. If it meant what it was supposed to then Bucky would die over there and Steve would never see him again.
“How can I? You’re taking all the stupid with you.” Steve said quickly. Bucky had to say something back. He couldn’t handle it if Buck died.
Bucky shook his head, Steve was terrified. “You’re a punk.”
They were hugging, it was warm and comfortable and held everything he loved. Bucky would be okay, he would survive long enough for Steve to get over there and fight with him. He had no doubt in his mind that Bucky was his soulmate. As long as those weren’t the last things he heard Bucky say, then it would all be okay.
~~~
They were in a firefight. Steve, Peggy, and Dugan were ducked behind a truck as several HYDRA soldiers kept them pinned down. Back up was coming, they just needed to survive that long. Steve’s shield was lying just on the other side of the truck, out of his reach. HYDRA was firing their tesseract weapons too frequently for him to retrieve it.
“Darling, don’t do anything stupid until I get back.” Peggy said as she ran out into the open, leaving the safety of the truck.
Steve wanted to call out to her, beg her to come back. This couldn’t be the end of Peggy, he loved her, she was everything to him. His stomach dropped as energy beams and bullets flew by her as she fired at their attackers. She wasn’t going to make it.
Then it was quiet. Peggy stood victoriously, a smug smile crossing her face. She was alright, she wasn’t leaving him just yet.
“That wasn’t so bad.” She said as she walked back up to the truck. “You can thank me later, love.”
~~~
Bucky fell. Steve did nothing but watch, screaming and begging Bucky to grab his hand. But it was too late, it wasn’t enough. Bucky was gone.
“I had ‘em on the ropes.”
Those were Bucky’s last words and they weren’t his. Bucky didn’t say Steve’s words. He wasn’t the one. Steve felt so much loss, the man he loved deeply and fully in every way one can love was gone and the universe said he wasn’t his.
Peggy was there, comforting him. Maybe it was her all along, Steve loved them both so deeply that it had to be one of them, and it wasn’t Bucky. It didn’t matter though, he didn’t need Bucky’s words on his skin to love him.
~~~
Steve hated the future. HYDRA had 70 years to better their weapons and Steve barely had 5 to get used to them. He thought the fight had ended all those years ago when he crashed that plane into the arctic, but it seemed to have started up just where it left off.
But he had Bucky back, his hair longer, words sharper, and a shiny metal arm in the place of his flesh one. Bucky’s words had been torn off with his arm and with his memory still slowly coming back he probably didn’t know what they were. Bucky was here again and Steve was happy, his heart felt lighter.
“Don’t do anything stupid until I get back.” Bucky said before darting into the HYDRA base.
Steve ran after him quickly. He shouldn’t have brought Bucky along, no matter what the man had said he was still recovering from everything that had happened to him. He couldn’t lose Bucky again.
There were HYDRA agents everywhere and as he darted through the halls he could see flashes of red and gold from the iron man armor or arrows whizzing by. They were winning, the team could handle it, he just needed to save Bucky.
He found him hiding behind a pile of crates, firing at a handful of men across the room. His eyes widened when the found Steve and he waved his arm out to tell him to duck. It was too late though, three bullets lodged themselves in his chest and Steve went down. Bucky rushed out from his cover and grabbed him, dragging him back to the crates.
“Sorry,” Steve whispered, wincing in pain. “Couldn’t let the words take you from me again.”
Bucky paused, his face morphing into one of pain and recognition. That was it, he was the one. The universe had given him Bucky and he would forever be grateful. He reached up slowly to wipe away the tears forming around his soulmate’s eyes. It was pointless, new tears formed faster than he could clear them away. So he gave up, moving his hand from Bucky’s face to curl into his hair.
He pulled Bucky down for a kiss, their first and last. Warmth exploded through his face and chest as their lips touched, his skin tingling from where they made contact. It was right, it was perfect. He closed his eyes with a smile.