Steve Rogers stood in the main plaza of Avengers Tower, sipping on his beer as he watched his soulmate get a drink from behind the bar. Natasha Romanoff wore a flawless gown of the purest silk, her fiery red hair now cut short and wavy, her lips covered in bright red lipstick. Dear God, she was so beautiful.

The soldier felt a chill run down his back as Bruce Banner walked over to the bar, causing a smile to spread the Black Widow's face. They had been getting very close ever since they invented the lullaby technique. Too close, in Steve's opinion. Then again, he wasn't even sure he had right to an opinion anymore. Steve sighed. How did things get so bad? He knew that all relationships had their ups and downs, even a relationship between soulmates, but he never expected something like this. As he took another sip from his beer, Steve thought back to happier times, remembering the first time he told Natasha he loved her.

Natasha Romanoff lay in bed late that evening, her eyes suddenly snapping open as a chill ran down her back. She felt cold. She never felt cold. The was only one explanation. Steve. The Black Widow quickly got out of her bed, wearing only a black tank top and yoga pants as she left her room and made her across the Tower. Natasha knew something was wrong with Steve, she just didn't know what. When the two of them were together, Natasha always felt like she was walking in a gentle winter, with a cool icy breeze whisking through the air. But this...it was like she had been dropped into the middle of a blizzard without a coat. Natasha didn't know why this was happening, but she knew what it was: a call for help. The closer she got to Steve's room, the colder Natasha felt. The colder she felt, the faster she walked.

The former Russian spy opened the door to the first Avenger's room, where he lay asleep in his bed, the blue light of his soul shining bright. Too bright. Natasha could barely look at him. And the more she tried, the colder she got. The former KGB suppressed a shudder as Steve tossed and turned in his sleep, a harsh icy wind whipping at Natasha's skin.

"Steve." The female Avenger reached out and placed a hand on her soulmate's shoulder, gently shaking it back and forth. Dear God, he was cold as ice. "Steve."

The soldier woke up with a gasp at the sound of his soulmate's voice, his eyes filled to the brim with tears.

"It's okay." Natasha quickly wrapped an arm around her soulmate as he sat up in his bed, his hands shaking as a river of tears ran down his cheeks "It's okay, sweetheart. It was just a dream."

"The kids," Steve sobbed, with trauma-filled eyes "I couldn't save the kids."

"What kids?"

"The ones from the camps."

Natasha's eyes widened as she realized what he meant. During World War Two, Captain America and the Howling Commandos would often aid the Allied Powers in shutting down the Axis concentration camps across Poland.

Steve squeezed his eyes shut as tried to force the horrors of the Holocaust out of his mind, the image of countless little bodies piled high in mass graves forever burned into his skull. "I couldn't save them all."

"No one could've saved them all Steve," Natasha insisted softly "but you saved as many as you could and you made sure no one else would ever have to go through that again." The Black Widow gently wiped the tears from her soulmate's face "There was nothing more you could've done."

"They were just kids, Nat."

"I know." Natasha gently lowered Steve's head against her shoulder, the soldier weeping into her chest as she held him in her arms.

Steve couldn't remember when they fell asleep, only that when morning came, they were still holding each other, the soldier's head resting on the spy's chest while she used his only pillow. Steve smiled as he looked up at Natasha's face, the sunlight shining through the bedroom window giving her a warm heavenly glow. She looked like an angel.

A moment later she woke up, a peaceful smile spreading across her face as she looked down at him. "Good morning."

"I love you." Steve just said it. He didn't plan on it. He didn't even think about it. He just said it the moment he knew it was true.

After a moment of silence, Natasha said the most wonderful thing Steve had ever heard. "I love you too."

"Ahem."

The two soulmates jumped as Thor appeared in the doorway to Steve's room, a teasing grin on his face. "Am I interrupting something?"

After making sure that Thor would keep his mouth shut, Steve asked Tony to help him find an item from his past. A gift for Natasha. After two endless weeks of searching, they found it. A week later, everything fell apart. That was over a month ago. Steve took another sip from his beer as he watched Bruce make Natasha laugh, trying to fight the growing cold the absence of his soulmate had left behind. Where did it all go wrong? Why didn't she come back? Steve should've gone after her when she left, but Clint convinced him that she needed space. So Steve gave it to her. And now he had no idea how to close the distance between them.

The soldier blinked as he felt a hand clasp against his shoulder, looking over to see Thor Odinson standing beside him. "You seem troubled, my friend."

"Does it show?"

The prince of Asgard came to a realization as he noticed the soldier's gaze was locked on the female Avenger. "Ah. The pain of a broken heart. Come my friend. Solitude will bring no levity to what ails you."

Steve took another sip of his drink as he allowed to lead him a couch among the center of the party, where Tony Stark, Clint Barton and Sam Wilson all sat.

"Well if it isn't Captain Language," Tony teased, taking a sip from his martini.

"You alright Cap?" Sam asked in a concerned tone "You seem a little out of it."

"Woman troubles," the soldier answered, right before taking another sip of his beer.

"It appears Rogers has fallen in love with the lovely lady Romanoff," Thor revealed "Before my last patrol of the Nine Realms, I came across the two of them professing their love. After a night of unbridled passion in Rogers' bed."

"Whoa. Whoa. Time out. Cap finally let Nat pop his cherry and didn't say anything?" Tony flinched as Steve gave him a murderous glare.

"Nothing happened. Nat walked by my room when I was a dream about the war. She woke me up and helped me get back to sleep."

"Yes. By letting you use her breasts as a pillow," Thor chuckled, right before he took a long sip from his giant mug of ale.

"Careful Point Break," Tony warned "Cap is very protective about his darling Natasha's honor. I learned that the hard way."

"You speak as if you knew of their love affair already."

"Are you kidding? Clint and I caught them having dinner months ago," Tony said with a laugh.

"I caught them making on my bed," Sam commented.

"So I am the last to know about this?" Thor asked in an offended tone "I'm hurt."

"Nat wanted to keep things private," Steve explained "for what it's worth, there's one person who doesn't know about us."

"You mean Banner," Clint realized, noticing how the soldier was always glancing at the Hulk as he flirted with the Black Widow "You guys never told him?"

"If he knows, he never heard it from me."

"So Banner has no knowledge of your love affair with Romanoff?" Thor confirmed.

"Oh it's worse than that," Tony said with a chuckle "They're soulmates."

Thor's face shifted into a menacing scowl. "Take my hammer," he demanded, handing Steve his beloved weapon "Take it and bash Banner's skull in!"

"Oh my God!" Clint gasped.

"Bash his skull in?" Tony repeated

"Are you out of your mind?" Steve demanded.

"On Asgard, the bond between soulmates is most sacred," Thor explained "anyone who would dare defy that bond does not deserve to draw a breath."

"You're telling me that according to your extremely violent yet strangely romantic space Viking logic, you can kill anyone that flirts with Jane and get away with it?" Tony asked.

"Without question," the prince as Asgard confirmed "Richard can't hide from me forever."

"Who's Richard?"

"A dead man walking."

Sam rolled his eyes. "So what happened, Cap? Why'd you two break up?"

"We didn't."

"Come again?"

"We never really broke up. There was an...incident," Steve explained tentatively "she spent the weekend at Clint's, and when she came back, Natasha said she needed space."

"Space that Banner's trying to fill," Tony concluded "And FYI, I think 'incident' might be an understatement for what happened to you two."

"Why?" Sam asked "What happened?"

"Cap, it was an accident," Clint reminded "You know Nat would never do something like that on purpose. She was a mess when she showed up at my place."

"I know it was an accident and I know she's sorry," Steve stated "I forgave her the moment after it happened. I just wish she'd forgive herself."

"Easier said than done, buddy."

"Excuse me," Sam interrupted in an annoyed tone "but would any care to clue me and Thor in on what it was Natasha did?"

"She shot him."

Steve sat on the couch at Avengers Tower with Natasha, Tony and Pepper, the Russian spy resting her head on the soldier's shoulder as she slept. After Tony crashed their date at the restaurant, the billionaire informed his soulmate that Captain America and the Black Widow were together, and the four of them would have little double dates at home from time to time. After another successful mission, Pepper had suggested that they all watch a movie. An act that resulted in Tony and Natasha falling asleep, the billionaire now using his girlfriend's lap as a pillow. Not that Pepper could blame them. The Avengers had taken down three Hydra bases in the past month and were borderline exhausted. Even Steve was starting to doze off.

As the super soldier fought to stay conscious through the end of the film, something strange happened. Steve felt hot. Very hot. He never felt hot. The soldier quickly glanced over at the beautiful woman resting on his shoulder, the bright red light of her soul causing him to squint. Was this what she felt the night he dreamt about the camps?

"Natasha." Steve brought a hand to his soulmate's shoulder as he attempted to wake her, becoming more concerned as he realized she was burning up "Natasha."

The spy let out a small whimper as she stirred in her sleep, nuzzling her nose into the crook of his neck; her facial expression shifting from peaceful serene to pained and frightened.

Steve had never seen that face before. "Nat. Darling, wake up."

As the soldier continued to try and wake her, Natasha started to talk in her sleep. Soft, terrified words whispered in Russian. Steve wasn't fluent yet, but the words he did recognize only made him more worried: "Help. Please. No. Stop."

"Natasha," he called, placing his hands on both her shoulders as she started to toss and turn, her frightened whispers turning into panicked screams. "Natasha!"

Tony groaned as he finally woke up and raised his head, spotting Natasha Romanoff squirming under Steve Rogers out of the corner of his eye; the soldier repeating the spy's name over and over as she screamed in her native tongue. "Thought I told you two to keep the hanky panky in your rooms."

"What's wrong with her?" Pepper asked.

"I don't know. Natasha!" Steve shouted "NATASHA!"

BANG!

Before anyone could react, the Black Widow pulled out a gun and fired, the sound of the gunshot finally pulling her out of her nightmare. Natasha's heart stopped as she watched her soulmate fall back to the floor, a growing blood stain spreading across this side.

"Oh my God!" Pepper shrieked as she ran over to the captain's side, grabbing one of the throw blankets from the couch and pressing against Steve's stomach.

"Natasha," Tony gave his teammate a shocked look as he asked "what did you do?"

"I...," The Russian spy stayed silent as her eyes filled with tears, dropping her gun and running off down the hall.

"Natasha. Wait!" Steve winced slightly as he forced himself to his feet, chasing after his soulmate as she ran for her room. "Nat!" The soldier came to a skidding stop as she slammed the door in his face, trying to turn the knob only for to realize that it was locked. "Natasha," Steve spoke in a gentle voice as he asked "Nat, please open the door."

The soldier felt his heart start to break as he heard the sobs of the soulmate as from the other side of the door.

"Nat, I'm okay. It's just a flesh wound."

The bullet barely grazed his skin. Steve had been hurt worse by a bad razor during his morning shave.

"Darling, I know you didn't mean it. I just want to make sure you're okay." The soldier felt a lump form in his throat as he begged "Please let me in."

"I found Cap camped out by her the door the next morning. Natasha must've slipped out when we all went to sleep because when we woke up, the only she left behind was an apology note," Tony concluded "Still don't know how she snuck out of here so easy."

"You and me both," Steve commented.

"Have you thought about talking to her?" Sam suggested "Ask her about what happened?"

"More than I care to count. But everytime I try, she gives me this look that makes afraid that if I mention it, I'll scare her away again." The soldier sighed as he took a final sip from his beer "I just wish I knew what her dream was about. The look on her face," Steve felt his the pain in his heart flare up as he remembered his soulmate's terrified expression.

"Red Room." All eyes turned to Clint Barton as he spoke up "It's the KGB program that trained Nat. They took orphan girls off the street and turned them into assassins."

"She never told me that."

"Can you blame her?" The archer glanced at his best friend out of the corner of his eye, as she and Bruce went their separate ways. "Cap, I've known Nat a long time. And I have never seen her more happy than when she was with you. For what it's worth, whatever's going on between her and Banner, I'm pretty sure it's one sided."

"You didn't see that lullaby they pulled off in Sokovia."

"All the more reason to use my hammer," Thor encouraged.

"I am not going to force Natasha to be with me and scare away anyone she might be interested in. If she truly believes she'll be happy with Bruce, than I need to accept that."

"If you love something, set it free," Tony quoted "Tell me Cap, how's it feel to be a red white and blue angel on Earth?"

"Like I need a drink." Steve replied, grabbing a bottle of whiskey off the table "How old is this bourbon?"

"About fifty-whoa!" Tony's eyes widened as he watched the soldier take a massive swig from the bottle "That stuff's older than me. You alright?"

Steve swallowed the last few drops and sighed. "You know I've been drinking all night? I've had three beers, two Old Fashioneds, a shot vodka," he listed off "and now a double shot of bourbon. And I'm still sober as a preacher on Sunday."

"How is that possible?" Sam asked.

"Because not only does the super soldier serum make me able to survive being frozen in the arctic for seventy years, it also makes it impossible for me to get drunk," Steve answered "No matter how hard I try."

"That sounds like a challenge," Thor said with a smile "Come with me."

The prince of Asgard led the super soldier over to the bar, where he pulled out an old, dust covered wooden cask.

"This is Asgardian mead," Thor explained as he poured them each of them a glass "aged for five hundred years in the finest oaken barrels before one would even consider consuming a single drop. This particular cask is from my father's personal collection. Where it sat untouched for another three hundred years. Clearly, it is not for mortal men. But you are no mortal man, Rogers. If you were any mightier, I daresay you would be an Asgardian."

"Thanks." Steve took the drink in his hand and quickly gulped it down, the ancient alcohol burning harshly down his throat. "Now that just might be able to get me drunk."

"Splendid. Tell me Rogers, do you think you survived that plane crash by accident?" Thor asked as he poured them each another shot "that it was a coincidence?"

"Sometimes."

"You're wrong. It was fate. You are alive because fate wants you alive. Because fate bound your soul with that beautiful woman right there," he answered, pointing to Natasha as she mingled with Maria Hill "You and Romanoff are warrior soulmates. Destined to fight side by side throughout glorious battle after glorious battle until you ride off into the sunset and your children carry on your good work. Fate wills it so."

"I hope you're right. Because right now, fate seems to like kicking me when I'm done."

"Have patience Rogers. Fate has bound you and Romanoff together. It will bring her back to you," Thor promised, handing his friend a drink "when the time is right. Until then, let's see if you can drink like an Asgardian."

Steve managed smile as he and Thor raised their glasses high. "You're on."

That night, Captain America got drunk for the first time in years. But it didn't make him feel any better.