"WRITING."

"SIGNING."

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"No. Absolutely not. Not my baby girl. No!" Clint broke the awkward silence that had descended after Steve's words. I was still in a state of shock, frozen in place, staring at the two super soldiers. Bucky and Steve just looked at each other, adorably confused.

"What?"

"What's going on?" They both asked simultaneously. Natasha sighed in aggravation and grabbed both Clint and I and began dragging us into the kitchen while Bucky, Steve, Bruce, and Tony watched on in varying states of confusion and amusement.

"Excuse us for just a minute. Family meeting." Natasha said briskly as she pulled us into the other room. She turned to me and asked me the fateful question in sign language, presumably so the others wouldn't be able to ease drop on our conversation. "Those are your words, aren't they Angel?" I nodded, still trying to get over my shock.

"No. No, no, no, no! I am not allowing my baby girl to be swept away by Mr. Apple Pie and a Russian assassin super soldier!" Clint's entire body was tensed and in protector mode, his eyes constantly sweeping our surroundings as if there was a threat that he needed to take out. As he and Natasha continued to sign back and forth, my mind was working overtime, trying to process everything.

Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes, the famous super soldiers and men out of time, had just said the words that had been tattooed on my hips since I was born. Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes were my soulmates, the ones who were destined to complete me on every level. We were soulmates. I could have squealed with delight. I had finally found my soulmates, and they were Steve and Bucky!

Just as soon as the excitements crept up on me, the doubt slipped in and doused me with reality. I surely wasn't good enough for them. I was just a normal mute girl; how could I measure up to two of the world's greatest heroes?! Besides, they were happy without me. That fact sucked the rest of my joy out of me.

They didn't need me.

Me being mute, they wouldn't have a mark to suggest that they had another soulmate. They had grown up knowing they were meant for each other and that was that. They didn't need someone like me butting in and ruining their perfect relationship. They both had been through so much in their lifetimes and now the universe just wanted to throw in another wrench to make their lives more difficult: me. All I would be to them would be an inconvenience. Just another weight on their shoulders. I couldn't do that to them. Wouldn't do that to them. They deserved so much more than whatever measly offering I could give them.

"Angel? What's wrong baby girl?" Clint snapped me out of my thoughts and I found myself the focus of two concerned assassins. It wasn't until then that I realized that tears had welled up in my eyes. I quickly wiped them away and put on a brave face, reluctant determination thrumming inside me. I could do this. For my soulmates.

"I'm not going to tell them."

"What?!" They both signed to me, eyes wide.

"I'm not going to tell them. It will just cause problems."

"How on earth do you figure that?! Angel, you're their soulmate! You are as far from a problem as you can get! Look, if this is about how I responded to it as first, I'm sorry. I was just shocked, but I'm happy for you!" Clint signed quickly. I shook my head.

"No, no, it's not that. They don't know that they have another soulmate because they don't have my words. They're happy with their relationship and I'm not going to ruin that for them. As far as they know, they're a part of a pair. A completed pair, not a triad. They don't need the added burden of a surprise soulmate thrown into their lives." Both of them frowned at me.

"You are anything but a burden, Angel. And I'm sure they would agree. Now, you're going to walk in there and tell them that you are their third soulmate!" Natasha signed, giving me a frim look that dared me to argue with her. I glared back.

"It's my choice, Natasha. You have no say in this. If I choose not to tell them, then you are going to respect my decision and keep it to yourself." I turned my glare over to Clint. "That includes you as well." Clint shared a worried look with Tasha.

"Angel, if you're part of a triad that means you need all of its members to be complete. So, even if Bucky and Steve seem perfect on the outside, they have to have some issues behind closed doors if Fate decreed that they need you to balance them out. And, now that I really think about it, you really are kind of perfect for them. You need to give this a chance, Angel." I shook my head.

"I'll be their friend. Nothing more."

"You'll be miserable!"

"No, I'll be thankful that I even get to spend time with my soulmates at all, considering my decision."

"You won't last long. Once your words are spoken, you are drawn to your soulmate. This isn't something you can just brush off. They'll be fine because they don't know and they have each other, but you will be hurting." Natasha signed knowingly.

"I'll be fine." I signed stubbornly. She shook her head and sighed.

"Alright. If this is how you want to do this, then you're right. It's your choice. But just know that we don't support this decision. You deserve happiness too, Angel. And you'll only get that with Steve and Bucky." She cupped my cheek in her hand and I leaned into the contact, giving her a weak smile.

"I'll be okay. If… if it gets too bad then I'll tell them. How about that?" They both seemed only slightly mollified by my words, but I knew that it was enough that they would agree to my terms – for now.

"Now we have to go back in there and explain what just happened and try to get everything back to normal so they don't all think I'm crazy right off the bat." I reached over and snatched the pad of paper and pencil I had placed on the counter when we entered the kitchen and took a deep breath. Now to go back in there and face everyone after that weird scene. So much for making a good first impression. I hesitantly stepped back into the living room, Natasha and Clint following silently. I gave the two soldiers a half apologetic, half shy smile. I gripped my pencil and began writing out an apology. Thank God that my handwriting was readable and not chicken-scratch, like Clint's.

"Sorry about all that. It was just a family thing, nothing to worry about. Anyway, I'm Angel, it's nice to meet you." Neither one of them looked entirely convinced, but they must have decided to let it slide because neither of them pressed.

"It's nice to meet you, Angel. Clint has told us a lot about you." Steve smiled down as me and I inwardly winced at the implication. He waited patiently for me to write out my next note, and laughed when he read it.

"Whatever he told you, unless they were good things, isn't true."

"They were all good things." Steve assured me easily, and I relaxed at his easy-going nature. Bucky pushed off the wall where he had been leaning, garnering my attention.

"I don't know. I seem to remember him mentioning something about a party when you were eighteen?" He grinned as I blushed and shot a glare Clint's way. He made a big show of not seeing it and whistling innocently.

"That was one time…" I wrote in small lettering, trying to convey my sheepishness. The two men in front of me chuckled.

"What's this about a party that our little Angel got involved in?" Tony jumped in from the couch where he and Bruce had begun cuddling sometime during the talk in the kitchen. It was adorable, really. Big, bad Ironman got cuddles from the Hulk. Clint perked up from the chair he had perched on and I groaned.

"Well, you see –"

"Friends! Where is the Lady Barton? I must meet my comrades in arms' daughter!" Boomed a boisterous voice as a man that I could only assume was Thor stepped out of the elevator, followed closely by three women and a another man. While I wasn't exactly sure who the three woman were, I knew that the black man had to be Sam Wilson, The Falcon, as he was the only other member of the Avengers that I had yet to meet besides Thor. If I thought Steve and Bucky were huge, Thor was just a poster-boy for steroids. What was in the water on Asgard?! Before anyone could say anything, Thor spotted me. I braced for impact, knowing that he was a very physical kind of guy from the stories Natasha and Clint had told me. "Lady Barton! It is so good to meet the family of the fierce warriors Eye of Hawk and Widow!" He exclaimed before picking me up in a huge, crushing hug. I swore I heard a rib crack. Not being able to say anything, I patted his shoulder, trying to convey my greeting as well as my plea to let me down before I suffocated.

"Thor! She can't speak to tell you that you're hugging her too tight! Put her down before you crush her!" One of the women hurriedly spoke up, seeing my predicament. Thor immediately put me down gently, belaying his earlier strength, and apologized profusely as I stumbled. Warm hands caught me before I fell and I looked up into Steve's worried eyes.

"Are you okay?" Not wanting to write something out, I simply nodded my head and gave him a thumbs up, gulping down deep breaths to my oxygen-deprived lungs.

"You sure, doll? I know Thor can take a lot out of a person." Bucky said, coming to stand next to Steve and giving me a once over. He smirked. "But you look fine to me." He winked as I blushed at his double meaning. Steve sighed in exasperation, but I couldn't help but notice that he, too, gave me a quick once over. My blush deepened at the thought that both of them were checking me out. While I was still determined to keep things strictly platonic between the three of us, I knew I would definitely struggle if they were always like this. Even before they had said my words I had been attracted to them, this just made their handsomeness stand out even more. I gripped my pencil and, to distract myself from the delicious super soldiers standing right next to me, I turned back to the newcomers, my hands flying across the page.

"It's nice to meet you all. I'm Angel, as everyone seems to already know. I know you're Thor." Thor grinned at me and nodded. He might have been huge but I was already viewing him as a big 'ole teddy bear. "And I'm guessing your Sam." The man in question gave me a sweet smile and nodded as well. "But I'm afraid that I don't know who you three are." I finished, turning to the three mystery women that had entered with Thor and Sam. The woman who had saved me from suffocating spoke up first.

"I'm Jane, Thor's soulmate. It's nice to meet you as well Angel." She gave me a small smile and Thor indulgently swung his massive arm around her shoulders, bringing her in for a loving squeeze.

"I'm Pepper, CEO of Stark Industries and one of the only ones that can put up with the man himself." Pepper winked as Tony snorted from over on the couch.

"If Thor ever gets too enthusiastic with his hugs again, don't be afraid to hit him over the back of the head. That might be the only way he'll listen to you." The last woman piped up, grinning and holding out her hand for me to shake. "Let me introduce myself in the proper way as only I know how. I am Darcy: babysitter of the SCIENCE! Triad, epic poli-sci major, and she-who-tasered-Thor." I laughed as I heard Tony mumbling that he didn't need a babysitter and Bruce telling him to shut up.

"So that's why your floor button has a taser on it, huh? I kind of wondered about that. Nice to meet you she-who-tasered-Thor." She looped her arm through mine and dragged me over to the side of the couch that wasn't taken up by the Bruce and Tony cuddle-fest.

"I can tell we're going to be great friends already." I was thinking of something to write when she cried out. "WAIT! I must know, do you like music? I know you can't sing, but do you like listening to it?" I nodded hesitantly, not sure where this was heading. "Perfect. If you didn't like music I was going to have to end this friendship before it began." She nodded sagely, as if the liking of music was the only thing that meant a friendship could survive. And, I had to admit, I had never known a friendship that didn't have at least one song that they'd always sing along with.

"Of course I like music! I love all kinds, not just one genre. While you're obviously right in saying that I can't sing in the normal way, I can sing through sign. It's more like dancing with your hands than singing, but I personally think it has a kind of grace to it." She seemed thoughtful at my words and then dazzled me with a brilliant smile.

"Hey! We could have a concert! I can sing and you can sign! That would be so cool! Okay, we're totally doing it now, no questions. Who's coming to Angel and I's concert?!" Everyone, already used to Darcy's, well, Darcy-ness, merely grinned and RSVPed indulgently.

"I'm looking forward to seeing someone sign-sing. I've never seen anything like it that I can remember. Have you, punk?" Steve shook his head as Bucky collapsed on the couch next to me and Darcy, jostling us and making us giggle. He threw his arm over the back of the couch comfortably, smirking. Yep, this was definitely going to be hard. From the smirks Natasha and Clint were sporting, they knew exactly what I was thinking. I chose to ignore them.

"Ug. There is too much super soldier love over here. Capsicle, come join Buckaroo. Brucie and I will move to the loveseat. I'm getting fangirl all over me." Tony complained good-naturedly as he dragged Bruce away from us. Steve chuckled at my confused expression, having not understood Tony's actions.

"Tony likes to act as if he doesn't like me and Bucky and says that we get too lovey around him. But we're actually all good friends here, like a family, and he and Bruce are ten times worse than Bucky and I are." He winked at me as Tony squawked indignantly in the background. Steve ignored him and sat down next to Bucky, shifting so the other man could lean against his chest. It should have looked weird, one super buff man leaning casually on another, but they made it seem right. I glanced over at Natasha and Clint, trying to tell them with my eyes that this was exactly what I was talking about. They were perfect without me in the mix. They just frowned and shook their heads, silently telling me that they still didn't agree with my decision. But it didn't matter. I was me and they were them, they didn't need me in the mix.

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AN: Okay, so you'll notice that I veered off from the original in this chapter, because I never really liked the way it played out in the original version. I'm hoping this is better.

How was my characterization? I realized the second time through that Thor might not be the hugging type, he might be the kind that kissed her hand, but I kept it in because we got a little more interaction between Angel and her boys because of it. Other than that, I think I did pretty well.

As a side note, you should all go look up people signing songs. It's actually pretty cool and it really is like dancing with your hands. Check it out!