I decided to do the missing three stories anyway. Better not take too much unfinished business into 2020 with me. :) So this one is a continuation of the soulmate-AU.

October 29th: Exulansis
(During The Avengers, Romanogers-Soulmate-AU)

exulansis [ex – you – len – ses ]; noun, English

The tendency to give up trying to talk about an experience because people are unable to relate to it

After they had successfully closed the portal and stopped the alien-attack on New York the Avengers had grabbed something to eat and settled in Tony's tower to get some rest.

Nat, however, didn't feel like resting at all. She paced up and down the halls of the tower, climbed the stairs up and down, watched some workers clear up the damage that had been done to huge parts of the building. She had changed out of her catsuit into some jeans and a t-shirt, exposing her upper-arm partially.

Finally she had climbed down all 1.974 steps from the top floor to the lobby area of the tower. There were still some agents S.H.I.E.L.D. had sent over to secure the scepter, but they were standing in small groups.

She rounded the corner and froze at the sight of the person helping a few of the agents near the door. Steve had also changed out of his uniform, wearing a pair of jeans she could swear were too tight and a night-blue button up shirt. He looked up and stopped talking to the agents mid-sentence.

They looked at him confused and the young woman addressed him hesitantly, "Excuse me... Mr. Rogers, did we do something wrong?"

He quickly shook his head no and looked at the woman briefly. "No, absolutely not. I think you can take care of the matter by yourself now. Please, excuse me."

He didn't wait for an answer and started walking away from them and towards her. Her eyes darted up and down the parts of his skin that were exposed but she didn't see it.

Soon he stopped next to her and sighed. He lifted his left arm in front of his body and pulled the sleeve back just the tiniest bit. "It's small... that's why you couldn't see it."

Nat caught herself staring now. The small letters on his wrist were neat. They formed half of a wristband, only covering the inside.

She tried a small smile and turned slightly so he could see his name on her arm, stretching halfway across her upper-arm, starting just below her sleeve. "This one is not..."

Steve eyed the tattoo-like lettering before glancing sideways to see some of the agents side-eyeing them. Nat saw it too now and glared at them, which caused immediate silence among that group.

She sighed and turned her attention back to Steve. "Maybe this is not the best place to talk..."

He nodded and started walking towards the backdoor. "Let's see if there is still a place where we can grab coffee."

Natasha gladly embraced that idea and followed him to the door saying, "I would like that..."

They walked in silence for about a block. Luckily they dodged the reporters camping out at the main entrance to for sure be the first to get an exclusive interview with one of them, especially Tony Stark.

Now that they were getting further away from the tower there were hardly any people there. Some workers were cleaning up the mess of debris and glass already.

After ten more minutes of walking Steve spotted a small coffee shop that had its lights on. The building was nearly untouched by the battle so the owner had maybe thought it was a nice distraction to stay opened.

They stopped next to the door and Steve opened it up for Nat who rolled her eyes but walked in before him. Natasha immediately fiddled for her wallet but was left frustrated when she realized she hadn't brought it.

Steve just shook his head. "Don't worry... I got this. So..." He nervously scratched the back of his head. "How do you like your coffee?"

Natasha smiled at his try to communicate as if it was a normal day, or a first date or something. She said, "Black, just a bit of sugar, but no milk."

The woman behind the counter stared at them and shifted a bit uncomfortably as Steve addressed her, "Good evening... one black coffee with sugar and one without, please."

The barista nodded and immediately turned around to prepare the order. Natasha chuckled, realizing she recognized them and that's why she was acting like that.

Soon two papercups were placed in front of them and the barista tried a smile. "The... I mean... if you..." She bit her lips before taking a deep breath and trying again. "Sugar is next to the door."

Natasha thanked her, grabbed her cup and walked over there. Steve thanked her too and pulled out his wallet. "How much do I owe you?"

Still in awe she shook her head and stuttered, "No... I... I... you don't need to pay."

Steve smiled and pulled out 10 Dollars. He put it down on the counter and thanked her again before leaving with Natasha.

Nat had started grinning as they walked to a bench nearby and sat down. "We probably scared the shit out of that poor girl."

Steve chuckled before carefully sipping on his coffee and said, "At least she has something to tell once she gets home later."

Natasha also sipped on her coffee before her eyes darted down to his wrist again. She had so much to tell him while at the same time her mind was blank. She had given up on the whole soulmate-thing after years and years of nothing happening. She had been with people before, even had had relationships but none of them were the real deal for her. It had never mattered, but now it clearly did.

Steve was silent all the same, but after taking another sip from his coffee he carefully started talking, "Natasha... I don't really know how this happened... I mean... we can just be friends or something... no pressure... like really, I think... I..." He sighed before looking down. "I don't really know what to think, honestly."

Nat now looked up again. "I don't know either. I have never really thought about this... all of this."

Steve smiled and said, "I would lie if I told you I hadn't too... but I had hoped this would never happen. I was always sure, any woman would be furiously upset to find out some useless prick like me was her soulmate, so better not put her through that."

Natasha shook her head amused. "Seriously? I bet no woman out there would be horrified by that thought. I guess most would dream of it."

Steve furrowed his brow. "Dream of it? I don't think so. A few weeks ago I couldn't have even called her... you... needed to learn how phones worked first."

Natasha now burst out laughing, doing her best not to spill her coffee all over the bench. "This is about the funniest thing I've heard in a long time."

Steve grinned and said, "No! It's true... that's the sad thing about it."

Nat shook her head. "Oh, come on! You try, that's what counts."

Steve shrugged and eyed the coffee again.

Natasha leaned back on the bank and eyed her surroundings. "So... just to clarify, is this a date or what exactly is happening?"

Steve now looked at her again. "I guess that's up to what you want it to be."

Natasha sucked on her bottom lip before letting it go again. "I... I'm not sure. But I guess, I would like it to be a date. This whole soulmate-thing seems serious enough."

Steve managed a smile again. "What a turn of events. Going into it I thought you were with Barton, going out of this we are kind of dating."

Natasha cracked up again and pressed out, "With Barton? Hell no... that guy is my best friend. Alone knowing all the stuff he has done I would not date him."

"I guess that seems legit." Steve emptied his coffee and threw the cup into the bin next to their bench.

Natasha quickly drank the last of hers and stood up. "I guess we should head back... the others can't sleep forever."

Steve nodded and rose from the bench as well. "I guess you're right." They started walking into the direction they came from again, their hands slowly coming closer before they finally met and their fingers entwined.