Full Summary:
Tony and Pepper are finally settling down to have a family when some shocking news turns their world upside down. Pregnant with their first child, neither of them are ready for the change this news brings. Can they survive the trials of being thrown into something they never expected or will this be what breaks them?
Meanwhile, Peter Parker is trying to live his best life but finds the ache of being alone hard to bear. He still hasn't found either of his soulmates and watching his friends and family with theirs is growing bittersweet as he struggles with the idea of never finding his. But is he truly ready for what he'll find when his soulmate does come along or will finding what he's always wanted become his biggest nightmare?
None of them are prepared for Rosalind, the girl that brings more questions than answers. Just trying to survive from one day to the next, she has long lost hope of anything better than the abusive home she shares with her uncle. Can she ever learn to trust that people have anything but bad intentions towards her or will the fear of opening up keep her from finding something real?
A soulmate au that explores what happens when everything you knew was a lie and how finding love is never easy.
"When deep down in the core of your being you believe that your soulmate exists, there is no limit to the ways he or she can enter your life."
– Arielle Ford
Watching her was second nature, Pepper Potts had a way of commanding a room with understated grace, and Tony couldn't help smiling as he watched his wife talk animatedly with the interviewer. She had always been so good with things like this, while he preferred to give a shocking sound bite here and there just to get the press off his back. But upon her insistence, they were giving an interview today.
Sliding in next to her on the couch, he leaned close and whispered, "Why did I agree to this again? I'd much rather just spend the day with you. Besides, that kid doesn't look old enough to have hit puberty, are you sure he's qualified?"
Shaking her head and leaning into his touch, Pepper whispered back even softer, "Because, we've been avoiding this for years and if we do this now then it will be easier to avoid them later. And yes, Andrew is one of the younger reporters at the Sun but I figured it would be better than giving in to the Bugle."
Knowing she was right as usual, he rolled his eyes and returned his attention to the squirrely kid sitting across from them.
Clicking his recorder on, Andrew said, "So Tony, how is it that you can forget what your soulmate is allergic to when it's been tattooed on your arm since birth? Maybe that genius label is a bit overstated."
Tony bit back a grimace, he was the only one allowed to be a cocky ass in this tower and this gangly weasel of a reporter wasn't making a great first impression even if he was trying to break the ice by an attempt at being funny.
Turning slightly Pepper gave him a look, silently convincing him to just let it go as she grabbed his forearm where the cluster of strawberries curled around his arm. Sighing dramatically he placed a hand on her shoulder, right on top of the stylized bear tattoo that was just visible through the transparent material of the shirt she wore.
"Yes, on more than one occasion," Pepper said, trying not to smile as she squeezed his arm for a second, "but then again I didn't put the irony of my soulmark together until there was a twenty-foot teddy bear in our living room so I guess we all have our moments."
Clearing his throat, Andrew sensed the awkwardness of the moment and quickly moved on to his next question as he asked, "Right, so the two of you tied the knot back in 2013 but sources say you realized there was a soulmate bond between you much further back, is that right?"
Trying his best not to tune out completely at the same old questions, Tony nudged Pepper to let her take the lead on this one.
"I started having the dreams a few weeks after Tony hired me, but I didn't realize they were soulmate dreams until he had been kidnapped. I thought they were your general stress dreams one has about a nearly impossible boss," she said, laughing slightly.
Tightening his grip on her shoulder ever so slightly, Tony felt the tension in her shoulders as she recalled how those dreams had been instrumental in the search continuing and eventually being the reason he was found out in the desert. This was all public record, but it always seemed to come up when the two of them were interviewed together, but it was to be expected when the story was as sensational as theirs was.
"Rhodey and I weren't ready to give up on him, and I'm so glad we didn't," Pepper said, glancing over at Tony with a soft smile.
"Speaking of Colonel Rhodes, the two of you have a special friendship don't you," asked Andrew.
Grinning she nodded, "Not many other people could understand what it's like, having to worry about him every time he walks out the door. I couldn't be luckier that Rhodey is Tony's platonic, he's one of my closest friends."
Interjecting, Tony said playfully, "It's not fair really, both of them are always teaming up on me. Buzzkills both of them, absolutely no fun at a party."
"It's got to be an interesting dynamic, what with you all being so close," Andrew said, watching them carefully.
Not liking the gleam in his eyes at all, Tony furrowed his brows as he said, "Never a dull moment when all three of us have literally helped save the world so not sure what you mean."
Gaze turning to Pepper, Andrew said, "Well, losing a platonic soulmate usually creates a divide between romantic soulmates, especially when the other platonic is still in the mix. How has that affected your relationship?"
Feeling Pepper stiffen, Tony started to move to get up—intending to end the interview—but she put her hand on top of his, stopping him.
"We all have things that cause bumps in the road, just like every other pair of soulmates we struggle. But if I've learned anything," Pepper said, pausing to look at Tony, "there's nothing we can't figure out together." Voice thick she continued, "Even the things we can't fix. But ah, why don't we talk about the new non-profit we just set up? I'm sure you want all the details on that."
Tony wondered again how someone so poised and graceful had agreed to marry him, the last time a reporter pushed the topic of his guilt regarding Rhodey being paralyzed, he had them thrown out and banned from coming back. Rubbing her shoulders, he sent the boy a warning glare; he respected Pepper too much to step in when she had handled it so well but one more wrong move...
A more seasoned journalist would pick up on the tone shift, a smarter journalist would know that the last person you would want to push was Pepper Potts, and a journalist that wanted a future in the field would know better than to push someone this powerful on something like the death of a platonic soulmate.
But Andrew was hungry for a scoop that no one had gotten before and he hadn't fought for this interview just to throw away the chance to use the information he'd dug up. People ate up any scrap of news about celebrity soulmates and this was too good to pass up.
Leaning forward he asked, "Of course, but I have to ask…Prior to her death in the invasion, your half-sister was working at a restaurant in a low-income part of Queens. Do you think Charlotte's death could have been prevented if you hadn't been so busy with running Stark Industries and had been closer with her?"
The silence that followed was thick and tense, Pepper's hand finding its way to the now faded and grey ribbon on the inside of her left wrist that was once a vibrant blue.
"I...how did you…"
Furious to the point of smiling, Tony stood immediately as he said, "Right, so this interview is over now. I'll be in touch with your boss, time to go. Friday, if you could send this asshole to the lobby and let the front desk know he is banned from coming back that would be great, thanks."
Putting a hand up to keep the flustered boy from saying another word, Tony said, "Don't, I know what a fuck up looks like and this is definitely it. Just go and hope I don't decide to ruin you."
Watching him leave, Tony was back on the couch with his arms around Pepper the moment the elevator doors closed.
Tears running down her face, Pepper put a hand to her face as she said, "I should have bee—
Cutting her off and pulling her closer, Tony murmured, "Don't you dare do that, we've been through this. It is not your fault, she wouldn't want you blaming yourself."
Swallowing thickly, she looked up at him.
"I know, I just...I miss her more than I can say. Charlie insisted on doing things on her own after the hearing, I should have pushed her to let me help, but she said me paying for the lawyer was already too much."
Shifting he moved a hand to wipe the tears from her face; he could only imagine the pain she felt.
Sniffling, she blinked away another round of tears as she said, "And my god Tony, little Roz would be looking for colleges by now. She was so bright and full of hope, you would have loved her."
Frowning he simply stroked the back of her head, knowing there was nothing he could say. By the time the two of them had figured out their own issues, it was too late for him to meet the people in the world that meant the most to her.
Shaking her head she looked down as she said, "I should have introduced you, then maybe you would have at least known them."
Smiling softly, he brushed his hand on her face gently.
"Pep, you were doing what you thought was best. And in my experience that is always the right thing, I was a disaster and we were still—I don't even know what we were but it was a mess and you protecting your family from it was the best thing."
Returning his smile with a watery one, she asked, "Now why did it take you so long to figure that out?"
Grinning, Tony leaned down and kissed her forehead.
"Probably because I'm actually right all the time and I'm just humoring you right now."
Rolling her eyes, Pepper pulled away as she stood up, "Well in that case, if you're always right then why don't you tell me what I'm thinking right now?"
Pouting slightly, Tony reached for her again but missed as she stepped away, a barely hidden smile on her face as the sadness started to leave.
"It could be one of two things," he said, eyes sparkling playfully as he stood as well. "You think I'm an idiot." Coming behind her, he circled his arms around her waist, hands coming to rest on her middle gently as he said, "Or you've conceded that it's totally a girl, because I know I'm right."
Leaning into his touch, she couldn't hold back the smile.
"The universe must really like you because I was going to wait until later to tell you but I went ahead and got the bloodwork done so we could know sooner."
Spinning her around in his arms, a shocked expression on his face Tony looked at her in surprise.
"You're shitting me right now, right? It's a girl, really?"
Reminded again of why she loved him so much at the excitement and hope in his eyes, she nodded.
"I got the email from the doctor's office this morning, you were right Tony," breaking out into a grin as she said, "I do think you're an idiot."
Brows scrunching up in confusion he started to say, "What, I thou—
Cutting him off with a kiss, she pulled away for a moment to say, "Yes, it's a girl. Now humor me."
The thrill of pure happiness that went through Tony was the kind of feeling he wished he knew how to make in a lab because it was the best thing in the world. Beaming at her, he pressed kisses all over her face, only smiling wider as she laughed. This, this was where he wanted to live, in this moment, and never have it end.
Pulling her into his arms, he started to move back to the couch intent on doing exactly as she'd instructed.
The sky was getting dark, streaks of pinkish-orange fading by the minute as the dirty street lights flickered on. The leg braces creaked in rhythm with the thump of the cane on the sidewalk as the girl made her way to the house that was just as worn down looking as the street sign on the corner.
Sighing, she looked at the broken porch stairs with resignation. Asking him to fix them was a useless act, nothing that would make it easier for her would be on any sort of priority list. Using the cane she whacked the first step making sure the loose step wouldn't trip her again and then carefully made her way up the steps, hoping that the lack of lights on in the house meant it was empty.
Opening the creaky front door, she glanced around and felt a weight leave her at the empty front room. The audible growl from her stomach made her wince as she started towards the dingy kitchen with the intent of seeing if there was enough food to make dinner.
"You're late."
Freezing at the sound of his voice, she blinked as he flipped on the kitchen lights.
Standing in the corner glaring at her, he crossed his arms as he said, " I thought I told you to be back by six, it's almost eight."
Shrinking back she shook her head, "I tried to hurry but twelve guys showed up instead of four, and then I had to walk back because my subway pass ran out of money and I was exhausted after healing all of them."
Taking a step forward he scoffed, "Look, that's not my problem. The deal is you heal my guys, I stay in the boss's good graces and then you have a place to stay. The least you could do is follow my rules."
She needed the braces to walk, her healing powers had never worked when she tried to fix her legs, the inability to move feet like everyone else kept her stuck here with him instead of running and not looking back. Wishing not for the first time that she hated him more than she feared him, she looked down.
"I'm sorry, it's just not easy to get back on time when I have to walk," she said, gritting her teeth, "If I had braces that weren't older than I was and falling apart then it might not be a problem," she said as she motioned to the chipped leg braces with barely concealed venom.
Narrowing his eyes, he said, "I know you're giving me lip, not unless you want it to bleed. None of those guys were hurt bad enough to exhaust you, so quit complaining and don't piss me off by being late again tomorrow."
Anger washed over her as she met his gaze, looking at her like she was a stain on the floor.
"You don't have to feel it, I need at least three days to recover from this one. Three of those guys were about to OD, I'm going to be feeling it for a while," she said, the after effects of whatever drug they had been hopped up on making her bolder than she normally was. This time she didn't back away as he got closer.
Growling at her, he said, "You will do what I tell you to, or you're going to feel something else, do you understand me?"
Shaking, but not moving she said, "I can't do it, I...I won't!"
Darting forward he grabbed her arm and squeezed it hard until she let out a pained groan.
"Ungrateful bitch, you are nothing without me! Unless you want to be out on your ass, you'll do what I've said," he hissed, spittle hitting her in the face as he pulled her closer to him.
Balance unsteady now, she tried to back away but he wouldn't let her.
Eyes wide and fearful she said, "I'm sorry! Please, I'll try to be ready by tomorrow night but I need a day to recharge."
Shaking his head, he gripped her wrist sharply.
"That's not good enough," he said, smiling darkly as she cried out.
Shoving her back harshly, he left the kitchen and she gasped as the small of her back hit the broken corner of the kitchen counter. Pain shot up her back, her legs folding under her as she fell to the dirty linoleum floor, the jagged wooden corner of the counter scraping her back as she fell. Vaguely registering the slam of the front door, she slowly reached a hand to touch her back and blinked at the blood on it when she pulled it back.
Trying to get up, she realized with mounting horror that she couldn't. Feeling herself grow faint, she quickly reached in her pocket for the burner phone she had swiped from him last week and dialed 9-1-1.
"Hello, 9-1-1 what's your emergency?"
"I...I can't feel my legs," she said, pain starting to fade as shock began to set in.
"Okay, what is your location? I'm going to send an ambulance," the calm voice asked.
"457 Yancy St," she said, feeling dizzy as she looked at her blood coated hand.
"I'm dispatching someone right now. Can you tell me what happened?"
Turning her hand over in her lap, she tilted her head, the thought that blood never looked like this on TV entering her mind.
"Blood looks funny on your hands, I've never seen this much of it," she murmured, seeing it start to pool around her.
"Miss, there is someone very close. Keep talking to me, tell me where the blood is coming from."
"Please hurry, before he comes back," she managed to say, before passing out from the pain.
Hey guys! This story idea wouldn't leave me alone and I thought I would post the first chapter to see what y'all thought!
I'll try to keep this short but here are a few notes on what kind of story this will be.
Firstly, this is a Soulmate AU of my own design. I've never seen one that follows the rules I've set up so this will be a bit different than other AU's of this nature. I'm really excited about what this will allow me to do and would love to hear what you think about it. If you have questions about it feel free to ask and I will get back to you.
Second, this is a fixit fic and will NOT follow Endgame cannon, I have a lot of thoughts about how that went and have decided to do my own thing instead. The snap did not happen therefore ages of certain characters will be older. The timeline will become more clear and I am happy to answer any questions about it.
Lastly, I have almost completely outlined this fic. So I know all the plot arcs, twists, and most importantly the ending! I am in the early stages of writing it but I wanted to throw it out here to motivate myself to work on it and to get a read on what you guys thought of it. This is a new style of writing I'm trying out as well as a deeper and darker storyline. I will do my best to put any trigger warnings as they come along but for the most part, I try to keep things T rated aside from possible language that will come up.
To keep this from getting super long, I really hope you guys like this and look forward to sharing this story with you. It has a special spot in my heart already and I can't wait to get it all out there! I am still working on edits for my other marvel story but being in grad school makes writing time harder to come by. All of the support and love I've gotten from you guys means the world to me!