A/N: This story is a Soulmate AU focusing on an OC, Steve and Bucky in a polyamorous relationship. This will therefore not be for everyone. Don't say I didn't warn you. This story is also under Captain America because of its focus, but will involve the Avengers and some X-men.

This chapter is just a prologue of sorts, and involves James Howlett (Wolverine) and Victor Creed (Sabretooth) - a fundamental knowledge of X-Men/Wolverine might make this chapter more enjoyable, but is by no means necessary! Possible spoilers for Wolverine's backstory. Hope you enjoy! x

Against All Odds: Chapter 1

Prologue

Marilyn Major was a realist. She knew that realistically it was unlikely that she would find her soulmates during the war. She knew that realistically it was a possibility that one or both of her soulmates wouldn't even make it through. And she knew that realistically even if she did meet her soulmates after the war was over, they'd grow old and die and leave her behind, forever young and forever alone. It made her choice to join 'Logan' and his brother in his war efforts a hell of a lot easier.

Logan and Victor were like her – mutants – and had lived almost as long as she had. They'd been together for some time now – since the last Great War. 27 years, and none of them had aged a day. While the boys ran off and played soldier, she hung back and acted as nurse, as even the thought of a woman on the front line put most men into shock – something she'd forever be bitter about, she knew. Logan would tease her about it until the day they died (whenever that might be), but he knew she was more than capable of taking down anyone that crossed her, man and woman and mutant alike.

Marilyn often wished that the inky black letters sprawled down her ribs were in Logan's scrawl. It would've made things a hell of a lot easier for them if it were – they both knew they'd live for centuries to come, and they would never have to worry about the other dying and leaving them alone for the rest of eternity. Logan had often wished the same. As fate would have it, no, neither of the sets of words donning her body were Logan's (or Victor's, for that matter, for which she thanked the Lord above). She knew that it was impossible – after all, her first mark had only appeared in 1917, and her second in 1918, so she knew her soulmates had been born this century, and Logan's hadn't even appeared yet. Still, she had wished. But Marilyn Major was a realist, and soon put a stop to those silly thoughts. Logan hadn't, and often brought it up in the dead of night when Victor was God only knew where and had left the two of them alone.

"Things would'a been so much easier, darlin'." He had muttered one day, one hand lazily tracing the words across the right hand side of her body as she lay beside him, the other holding a cigar to his lips. She shot him a hard look; this was a conversation they'd had many times before.

"But it ain't, Logan, and you know it." She huffed before softening. "We can't keep thinkin' about what could'a been." He didn't reply, and they laid in silence for what felt like hours, content to just be in each other's company. But all good things come to an end, and this moment came to an abrupt halt as Victor burst into the tent like a mad man, eyes set hard on her.

"You gotta go." Now, Marilyn didn't like the man that Victor had become, not one bit, but that didn't mean she didn't trust him with her life. And if he said she had to go, then she knew she had to go. She got up immediately, starting to grab her things from around the tent without question. Logan, however, wasn't willing to let her go so easily.

"Victor, what the hell you mean she's gotta go?" The mutant shook his head at his little brother, jaw set. He may not have liked the girl, but Logan did, and he knew this would hit him harder than anything the war had thrown at them yet.

"Some of the fellas back there are getting antsy, sayin' this ain't no place for a woman and that they were gonna 'make that girl learn her place'." Logan's eyes darkened at that – everyone knew what that meant, and they all knew that the men out there weren't the sort to not follow through on a threat. "Besides, a couple of the guys have been getting real suspect of your healing abilities, darlin'. Apparently there's no nurse out there like ya." The woman snorted, the sound so unladylike it would've shamed an everyday dame all the way to an early grave. But Marilyn had lived long enough not to care too much for manners, and was the furthest thing from a lady you could find.

"Of course they did. Ya save a guy and the thanks ya get is a bullet in the back." It may have been true that sometimes soldiers under her care made a miraculous recovery from a seemingly life-ending injury. Sometimes a man's limb would make a full recovery after nearly losing it, or sometimes a bullet wound would heal in under a month. Sometimes men would go to sleep swearing they'd been shot, only to wake up to no sign of anything at all – only a nice nurse telling them they'd drank too much the night before and had fallen unconscious. Not one man had died under her care since she'd joined the troop. It was suspicious, to say the least, but the men were alive and well thanks to her and her abilities so the least they could do were keep quiet about any suspicions they may have had. But alas, apparently that was too much to ask.

Logan wordlessly got up from where they had been laying and helped her gather the few possessions she had, and if Victor noticed that he slipped the girl one set of his dog tags as they worked silently together, then he didn't say anything about it.

"You find us, ya hear?" Logan told her as she finally stopped in front of him, bag slung over her shoulder and ready to leave. "You wait 'till after the war and then you get your ass back to us. This'll blow over soon and everythin' will be back to normal." He pulled her into a hug without waiting for an answer, and the woman let him, locking eyes with Victor over his shoulder. The oldest brother just nodded minutely, knowing exactly what she was thinking – nothing would ever go back to normal. They could feel it – this was the beginning of the end for them. Logan knew too, if the way he was crushing her body to his was any indication, but he could pretend. James 'Logan' Howlett was not an optimist, but sometimes you can't help but hope.

"I'll see ya soon, Jimmy, don't you worry about me." The two friends separated, and proceeded to just stare at each other, trying to take the other in, hoping to remember because this was it. This was the end. Victor twitched in his place, knowing that if she didn't leave soon it would be too late but also not wanting to break up this last goodbye. The two mutants noticed though and hesitantly nodded, eyes flitting to him for just a second before meeting each other's again.

"Be safe, kid."

"Back at ya, handsome." And with a quick kiss to his cheek and a muttered 'Thank you' in his ear, she was gone, ducking out of the tent and disappearing into the shadows and out of the brothers' lives. Forever. And if Logan's heart broke a little bit inside, he didn't mention it.