Chapter Text
It was just another fancy party. Another fancy Stark party, her cousin Darcy told her. Her cousin had begged to her to come along because 'this could be the party where you meet your soulmate, Amelia!' Unlikely, she thought, but Darcy always liked to drag her along to these things so she wouldn't third wheel with her boss Dr Jane Foster and the Avenger/God Thor while her soulmate made necessary business chats, using the excuse that she was helping Amelia find her soulmate.
Wrapped around her wrist, the words "Excuse me, Miss, but you seem to be enjoying this party about as much as I am." are scribbled in what appears to be black pen but no matter how much you scrub it it could never come off. A simple gold bracelet cuff covers the first sentence Amelia's soulmate will ever say to her, matching the woven gold necklace that encompasses the base of her neck. The image she stares at in the mirror does not feel like her, this beautiful woman in a black floor length dress that hugs her (barely there) curves in all the right places with a slit a quarter of the way up her thigh is not her. Amelia Lewis would never be so bold.
The longer she looks at herself, though, the more she can see herself in this woman. The small scar on her forehead from when she busted her head open as a kid running into a low tree branch that you can't see unless you're looking for it, is as clear as day to her. Amelia sees the fading bruise on her exposed knee from where she hit it on her desk the other day as she tried to cross her legs. The basic black heels the woman in the mirror wears are no taller than three inches because her ankles would shake in them otherwise. Amelia sees her soft brown hair twisted into an elegant bun on the back of her head, she sees the gold cocktail ring with the oval shaped black diamond on the middle finger of her right hand that her grandmother gave her on her 18th birthday, she sees the french manicure on her nails that she loves because it matches everything she wears, she stares in to the dark brown eyes of her mother that she inherited. Amelia slowly watches the mirror as the parts of herself that she recognises bloom in the image of the woman she though she didn't know. She feels a confidence she has never felt before while getting ready for a party inch its way into her mind.
"Amelia! You ready yet?" Darcy exasperates as she enters her cousins apartment without knocking.
"Yeah," Amelia clears her throat as she grabs her evening clutch off the bed. "I'm coming.”
“Good, let’s get this party started!” Darcy exclaims as Amelia walks out of her room and follows her cousin out of the apartment.
“Where the hell did you get that Acura? Darcy, you didn’t steal Tony Stark’s car, did you?” Amelia, genuinely worried that her cousin might actually have stolen the car, turns her burning gaze to her cousin’s smirk.
“No, of course not. He’s letting me borrow it so we can show up to the party in style.” The look on her cousin’s face exudes cockiness.
Amelia says nothing in reply but smiles at Darcy’s antics anyway. The dark haired science wrangler struts over to the driver’s seat of the sleek, two-door, black beauty while Amelia slides into the passenger seat beside them. As much as she tries to deny it, the car gives her a little boost of confidence knowing that some of the A-Listers that will be at this party are going to see her, a nobody Public Relations lackey, roll up in a multi-million dollar car looking like she belongs on the red carpet.
The ride in the gorgeous car didn’t last near as long as Amelia hoped it would. Before she knows it, the car is rolling to a stop in front of a red carpet walk that leads into the Avenger’s Tower. There are two young men working the valet station so each of them open the women’s doors and offer a hand to help them slide out of the car. Darcy throws the key at one of the valet boys and bounces over to her cousin, hooking her arm through Amelia’s.
“Just ignore the cameras, they will probably be creating little side articles for tomorrow's tabloids about how Tony Stark’s favourite intern is gay or something.” Darcy waves her hand in dismissal when she notices her cousin become uneasy with all the camera flashes.
“Do you know how conceited you just sounded?” Amelia can’t help it, if she didn’t keep Darcy grounded then nobody would.
“I know, but that’s what the tabloids have deemed me. I’m not even an intern anymore, I’m the personal assistant to the Scientists Three.” The bubbly woman laughs.
The elevator that Darcy and Amelia were ushered into, when they had entered the building, opens onto a wide open penthouse floor where people were laughing and dancing and having a good time. Amelia’s shoulders tense and Darcy gives her an encouraging smile as Tony Stark spots the pair and rushes over.
“Lewis, so glad you could make it. Hello again, Amelia.” Tony grins at the pair and shakes Amelia’s hand.
“Darcy, Jane was wondering when you’d be here so you might want to go over and let her know.” The awe-inspiring Pepper Potts informs the personal assistant, who flashes a smile to the three and practically skips off to find her best friend, before turning to the other woman.
“Amelia, lovely to see you again.” Pepper gives her a tight hug.
“You too, Pepper. It’s been a while since that last PR disaster we worked together on.” Amelia grins at Tony and the woman.
“I’ve been keeping him on a tight leash,” The strawberry blonde winks. “Listen, I have a proposition for you. I know that I always tell Tony not to conduct business at non-business parties but I’m going to anyway. The Avengers, now that they’ve become such a media sensation, will need someone to handle their public personas and I couldn’t think of anyone better for the position. If you’re interested, swing by my office tomorrow around noon.”
Amelia stands starstruck as Pepper gives her a nod and smile before gliding back into the party and Tony laughs at her before doing the same. She shakes her head to clear it and spots Darcy with Jane and Thor so she makes her way over to the trio. Darcy gives her a quizzical look when she sees her cousin's star struck face.
"Pepper Potts just offered me the job of a lifetime." Amelia tells the three, barely above a whisper.
Darcy laughs, "Get used to it, dear cousin. The Stark power couple is a generous pair."
"Have I told you you're the best cousin ever?" The lighter haired young woman asks, still in a daze.
"Yes, but it's nice to be reminded." The other girl grins.
The four party-goers make pleasant conversation before Thor leads his Doctor girlfriend onto the dance floor and Stark whisks Darcy along right behind them for their traditional 'Intern-Stark' dance for the the joy of messing with the press. Amelia makes her way over to the bar and sits at a tall stool. The bartender looks up at her and gives the usual 'What can I get you?" so she tells him she'll have a Manhattan which she inwardly laughs at, considering where Avenger's Tower is.
Amelia shifts herself so she is sitting sideways where she can keep an eye on her drink and also watch the people dancing happily in the middle of the room. She watches her cousin and the reformed playboy philanthropist spin around, giggling like children. The young woman is so busy watching everyone else have fun with their friends and soulmates that it makes her wish she could find hers already. She's 27, most people find theirs between 14 and 23 and those who don't end up with soulmates they find in old age more often than not. She finds herself spinning the gold cuff around her wrist.
"Excuse me, Miss, but you seem to be enjoying this party about as much as I am." Speak of the devil and he shall appear.
Amelia turns and just stares at the man to her left for moment before she realises she needs to reply. "Please tell me you aren't the mind reader my cousin was telling me about."
The man blinks at her before a grin slowly stretches onto his face. "No, your cousin must have been telling you about Wanda."
"Oh good, because I was just thinking about how... well, how I really wish I'd meet you soon because I felt kind of out of place here and then you sort of just appear out of thin air..." Amelia rambles off in a breathy voice that clearly states her nervousness while her really-actually-there soulmate looks as confident as he can be.
"I saw you over here and thought you might want some company but you being a beautiful lady on her own, sitting at the bar, told me that." The soft blue eyes of the man, staring into her eyes makes Amelia blush.
"Thank you," The younger woman gives a small smile.
Across the room, Darcy Lewis is conferring with Tony Stark, Sam Wilson, and Natasha Romanov.
"How did you know?" The Russian red-head asks the small brunette.
"I am the master of setting people up." The assistant grins.
The Falcon laughs beside her, "Really, Darcy. How did you know they'd be soulmates?"
The young woman takes a serious look to her face and considers her answer before she tells them. "I know them, well I know my cousin better than she knows her self and I know him well enough. Their dispositions balance each other out."
"How intuitive, Lewis. I've now lost interest. Has anyone seen Pep?" Tony's eyes glance around the room and walks off before anyone can answer his question.
"I think that's the first time I've seen him this at ease since I've known him." Sam pipes up as the three watch the newly acquainted soulmates.
Darcy gives a contented sigh. "My work here is done. I'm going to find my man and drag him onto the dance floor."
Natasha gives a light nod to Darcy and Sam smiles at her before she takes off to do just what she said she would.
The Black Widow cracks a rare smile and announces to the other Avenger, "I'm glad he's found his soulmate. After all the pain he's had, it would be cruel of the world to make him live his life fearing he might have killed his own soulmate."
Sam Wilson just nods in appreciation as the Widow walks over to Pepper and Tony, leaving him to keep his gaze on the Soldier and his soulmate. In that moment, he appreciates the blonde civilian that he's finally introduced to his unconventional colleagues and he feels luckier than ever that he met her before the full importance of a soulmate entered his ten year old head. Not everyone gets to go through life with the full confidence that their soulmate would be waiting at home to welcome them with open arms.