This is being cross-posted from Ao3. It was originally posted on 6 November 2021.

Huge thank you to GaeilgeRua for allowing me the use of her Grammarly subscription to read this over. Any other mistakes are definitely my own.

Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to JK Rowling, Bloomsbury, and Warner Bros. Marvel belongs to Disney. No copyright infringement is intended.

Prompt: #31DaysOfWriting Fall 2021 - October 17th: Fake Dating
#CastTheDice - Sixes: Curse
#MMFRollADrabble - March 2021: Tony Stark/Theodore Nott/Soulmates
#ExcelsiorBingo21 Square N1: Stark Tower

All his life, Theodore had known the mark on his wrist was that of a Soulmate bond. For the most part, it was easy to ignore. Theo didn't take much stock in the whole soulmate theory. Was there actually someone out there in the world meant only for him and him alone? After watching both his mother and father ruin their marriage by sleeping around half the Pureblood population and then some, Theo wasn't so sure.

If anything, the mark was more of a curse than a blessing.

Anytime Theo dated someone or needed a date to an event, it never felt real. His friends told him nothing would feel real until he found the person who shared a mark that meant something to him. Theo was difficult, though, and ignored their words, continuing to fake dating witch and wizard after witch and wizard just to shut them all up until he figured out what to do to remove the damn thing.

It wasn't until his thirtieth year that he started to have a change of heart. One morning he'd woken up to burning on his wrist. Irritated, he'd glanced at where he knew the mark to be only to find that there was now more detail. The curved lines now pictured a building, but certainly not one that Theo had ever seen before. Wishing more than ever that the mark would just go away, Theo threw back the covers and began his day.

However, more and more detail was burned into the skin throughout the day until his entire arm felt aflame. Nothing he did allowed him peace or the chance to ignore what was so blatantly staring him right in the face. A single word was now visible on the building soulmate mark, and it was more than a word. It was a name.

Theo knew that building, of course. It was famous, and all the way in New York City. Stark Tower. Was the mark trying to tell him to go there and find his soulmate, or was it trying to say to him that the insufferable Tony Stark was his soulmate? It had to be the former because the latter was absolute insanity. But, nevertheless, Theo knew that the curiosity of the entire situation had pulled him in for the long hull.

He booked a Muggle flight to the States for that evening and quickly packed a duffle. Telling no one of his plans, Theo boarded the aeroplane and arrived in the States the following day. Finding a cabbie to take him to Stark Tower was easy, and that was how Theo found himself staring up at the intimidating piece of architecture.

Taking a deep breath and letting it out, Theo said, "Here goes nothing," and then entered the building. People wandered this way and that, intent on getting to their destination. For Theo, it was like a string was attached to his heart, guiding him to the lifts and up toward his one true mate. People gave him dirty looks as he passed by, not excusing himself for bumping into them, but now that he was here, he had only one thought in his mind.

Find him.

So that is what he intended to do. Theo took the lift up to the penthouse, ignoring his pounding heart. The lift dinged on, and the doors opened, revealing one of the most luxurious flats Theo had ever seen. Hardly any of the surroundings registered once his eyes found the man across the room… His previous worries about being bound to the owner of this building flew from his mind as the magic of their connection took over completely.

"Tony Stark?" Theo asked, knowing full well who this man was. He tried to close the distance slowly, despite wanting to run to his soulmate.

"Who's asking?" the man inquired in reply, setting down his tablet and quirking a single eyebrow.

"My name is Theodore Nott," Theo explained, now a mere foot from Tony, "and I am exactly what you've been missing in your life."

Confusion clouded Tony's face for a moment until he saw Theo hold up his wrist and show the tattoo. Then, he slowly raised his own hand to show a mark of a wand identical to the one currently tucked in Theo's coat pocket. "Do you happen to know what this is then? I've had it for years, but only the past few days it's been burning and driving me out of my mind."

"It's a soulmate bond mark," Theo said, his hand wrapping carefully around the man's wrist. He pulled the mark close and then gently kissed it. When Tony's eyes fluttered shut, Theo knew he understood. He felt it, too, the magic of their bond, showing them just how much they were meant to be together.

"Thank God you're here," Tony muttered and pulled Theo close. "I don't know how I survived without you for so long."

"Me either," Theo said and then kissed Tony lightly. "Me either."

They spent the rest of the day getting to know each other, and for the first time in a long time, they were both utterly content with their lives. For the first time ever Theo was able to admit that the mark wasn't a curse, but rather a blessing.