Disclaimer - I own nothing you recognise.
Challenges listed at the bottom.
Word Count - 548
In Another Life
Tony picked the dandelion to pieces as he waited. It didn't take long. Sure enough, by the time he was throwing the stem away, there was a presence on the park bench beside him.
"Took you long enough," he said, arching his eyebrow at Steve with a smirk.
"Actually, I've been around since the forties," Steve replied. "It's you that was late to the party."
Snorting, Tony shook his head. "I'm forty one, now. Practically old. I don't think I've ever waited this long for you to show up."
Smiling fondly, Steve asked, "So what are we in this life? Enemies, rivals, lovers, friends?"
Tony shrugged. "I guess we'll find out."
…
Reincarnation was a rare phenomenon, and being aware of past lives, even rarer. Tony and Steve were lucky enough—depending on your definition of lucky—to have met each other in so many lives, and they remembered each one.
The memories were hazy for the most part, fading with each new life they shared, but they were all still there.
Tony remembered Steve being tall and short, bald in one life which hadn't been the most flattering look for him. He remembered him being a warrior, a photographer, an artist and more recently, a baker.
Steve remembered Tony being rich and poor, once with long curly hair, and another time he'd been taller than Steve. He'd been a scientist, a philosopher, a scribe.
With every new beginning, came a new chance to make it work.
It didn't always.
…
Tony stared up at Steve as the shield came down on his chest, and he wondered if, in this life, Steve would kill him.
It had happened before, twice, and Tony had returned the favour in another life. It wasn't that they started out with the intention to hurt each other. Sometimes, life happened, and sometimes, they just wanted to try something new.
Tony thought this life was a bit of a mixture of the two.
When Steve walked away, Tony noticed the way his hands shook and he knew that in the next life, if this one was over, Steve would be scared of even touching Tony.
That was the way it always happened.
…
"At least we have a world to come back too," Steve said, when Thanos was gone and the snap had been reversed.
Tony nodded, his legs swinging. They were sitting on the roof of the semi destroyed compound. "I hope it's simpler next time."
Steve wrapped his arm around Tony's shoulders. "We could make it simpler. Run away from civilisation as soon as we find one another, spend our time just us and nature. Could be fun?"
"I think you've got a secret fetish for being in nature," Tony muttered, tucking his face against Steve's chest. "And don't do the puppy eyes at me. You know what those do to me."
Steve chuckled.
"You know," Tony added. "We're not dead yet. There's still time for us to make the best of this life."
Smiling, Steve pressed a kiss to Tony's hairline. "You're right. There is."
…
In their next life, they found each other early, when they were only teenagers. Tony didn't hate the life they built themselves away from civilisation, but one after that, he demanded more technology.
It was only fair.
Written for:
Romance Awareness, Day 15 - Soulmates reincarnated.
Romance Awareness, Extra - 43. Theme - New Beginnings.
Galleon - 56. Dandelion
365. 175. Fetish
1000. 271. "You know what those do to me."