AN: Welp, I tried to expand more and, although I came up with some ideas, I couldn't seem to work them into the story. So, I hope those few new chapters were enough to satisfy, because apparently I am incompetent at actually writing things.

Anyway, here's the pick up from the original text.

"WRITING."

"SIGNING."

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My life seemed to slip into a routine. I would wake up and have breakfast with the whole group – I learned Steve made the best pancakes and Tony just threw cereal at us – before I was dragged out by Darcy for our concert practice. I enjoyed spending time with Darcy and she quickly became my best friend in the tower. She was wild, quirky, and talked enough for the both of us.

After a couple of hours of practice, goofing off, and Once Upon a Time, I would help Darcy deliver lunch to the SCIENCE! Triad and then hang out with one, two, or all three of them for about an hour as we all ate. While I got along well with Jane and fantastically with Tony, it was Bruce that I really just seemed to click with. After that first talk when we realized the Hulk liked me, he became something of a mentor and confidant to me and I became a safe zone for him, where he didn't have to worry about the Hulk getting loose. I thought Tony might get jealous of how much time I was spending with his mate, but I couldn't have been more wrong. On one of the days that Bruce was in a haze of science-y things, Tony quietly confided in me that he was glad that Bruce had another friend, another connection to the real world, and that I was good for him. Of course, right after that he immediately went back to being the playful Tony Stark that everyone knew, but I was touched that Tony thought so highly of me.

After lunch was over, I almost always seemed to run into Bucky and Steve coming back from their own meal after their gym workouts. I had a sneaking suspicion that Clint or Natasha were somehow behind that, but didn't say anything as I found I really enjoyed my time with the super soldiers. After that first trip to the Statue of Liberty, we agreed to go back and forth on what we would do. Sometimes we stayed in and I continued to educate them on modern movies and games – I would always regret joining in a nerf gun war with them – and sometimes we went out so I could sight-see. Though a lot of things had changed since the forties, they still somehow knew where all the best tourist spots were – and the best places to get a hot dog or a burger if we got hungry later on. As the three of us got closer and closer, I began to really get to know them and fall for them, not just as my soulmates but as people I knew and respected. It was hard, knowing I could never be with them on the path I was choosing to follow. I knew Clint and Natasha still wanted me to tell them about my marks, but at this point I was so afraid of rejection and the pain it would bring that every time I had a chance to tell them I chickened out. I tried not to let my growing romantic feelings towards them get in the way of our friendship, but it was hard when they always managed to do things that set my heart a-flutter. Like when Bucky would pull me into his warm chest so I could lean against him on movie days, or when Steve would tuck my hair behind my ear when I looked down to blush, smiling gently at me. And they had taken to calling me 'doll' and 'sweetheart. They also always seemed to know when I needed someone to talk to, always appearing at my side and asking what was wrong and if they could help. I couldn't help but wonder if they were subconsciously drawn to me as I was to them, despite the fact that they didn't know we were soulmates.

After my fun, yet heart-wrenching afternoon with my oblivious soulmates, we went up and had dinner with the rest of the team. Dinner was always an interesting affair with stories – and, more often than not, food – being thrown around and laughter warming the atmosphere. While breakfast was a family event as well, it was not as energetic as supper, as almost everyone had yet to have enough caffeine in them to hold a proper conversation. Dinner, however, was never a quiet affair, with Thor's booming voice telling of his battles past, Tony snarking back and forth with Darcy, Bruce, and I, Steve and Bucky teasing and joking with each other and me, and Clint and Natasha whispering to themselves about old missions. I loved it.

Usually after that we all went our separate ways to spend time alone or with soulmates, but I started a tradition of, once a week, having a movie night with everyone together. Those nights were the best, as well as the worst. Mostly because of, of course, Steve and Bucky. No matter how far away I seemed to sit from them in the beginning, I always ended up curled into one of their chests by the end of the film. On one occasion, after an especially tiring day, I actually fell asleep on Steve's chest. I woke up the next morning in my own bed and, when questioned, JARVIS informed me that Steve had helped to put me to bed with Natasha's blessing. I swear I blushed every time I looked at Steve that day, much to his and Bucky's amusement.

This pattern kept up until the night of the concert. Darcy and I had practiced until we had it perfect, her voice complimenting my dancing hands beautifully. Even JARVIS seemed to like our practice performance, saying it was 'quite enjoyable'. While everyone had been super supportive about it, assuring me that I would do fine and it'd be great, I was still nervous.

"We'll do fine! Stop freaking out! And stop wringing your hands, you'll hurt the moneymakers." Darcy said with a wink and I rolled my eyes. I couldn't help being nervous with the thought of everyone watching me. I wasn't like Tony, who adored attention. I sat on the couch, on edge, waiting for everyone to show up. We were performing right before supper that night, so everyone would be here.

"Relax, doll." Bucky whispered in my ear from where he was sitting next to me and I couldn't help a slight shiver from rolling down my spine. If Bucky's smirk was anything to go by, he noticed it too. I blushed.

"I can't help it! What if I screw up?!" I wrote quickly, trying to distract myself from how close Bucky had gotten to me. I had learned fairly quickly that Bucky had no sense of personal space, at least when it came to me. From the other side of Bucky, Steve grinned.

"Sweetheart, you'll do fine. And, even if you do mess up, most of us wouldn't realize it." I laughed as he gave me a mock scowl. Both Bucky and Steve had pleaded with me to teach them sign language, but I had declined, saying that it would be easier for them to learn from someone who could talk them through it. It was a legitimate reason, but I was really just worried that if they learned sign language that they would catch my conversations with Natasha and Clint, who were getting more and more emphatic that I should inform the two super soldiers that I was their other soulmate. Not to mention my talks with Tony and Bruce, who had both figured out pretty quickly by the blushes and attempted subject changes that something was going on between me and the soldiers. Tony constantly teased me about 'wanting to spice up the Capsicle and Tin Man's sex life' and even Bruce was beginning to push me towards revealing my growing feelings. Between Clint and Natasha on one side and Bruce and Tony on the other, it seemed that everyone wanted me to get with Steve and Bucky.

"Actually, a little under half the people watching know sign language. So, it's more like half the people wouldn't know if she messes up." Darcy pointed out, making me sigh and causing Steve to shoot her a frown. Before he could say anything though, Tony waltzed in with his usual swagger, followed closely by the rest of Darcy and I's audience.

"Okay, let's get this show on the road! I'm expecting this to be a showstopper, because I was working on my suit and Brucie dragged me away so I hope this will be worth it!" Tony complained good-naturedly. I held back a snicker as Bucky grumbled under his breath that Tony should 'be grateful that anyone would want to entertain his smartass'. Bruce rolled his eyes and gave a small smile directed at me and I couldn't help but smile back.

"Okay, let's do this! Angel, stop flirting with Bucky and get your butt over here!" Darcy exclaimed, causing me to blush a deep cherry red and Bucky to chuckle.

"Go on. You'll do great, doll." Bucky whispered as he gently pushed me off the couch to go stand with Darcy in the center of the room. I imagined that I looked like a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming car, but Darcy seemed perfectly at ease as the center of attention. She cleared her throat importantly, making me huff exasperatedly at her antics. I knew the speech that would come next.

"Ladies, gentlemen, and Thors! We have dragged you from your various loser past times for you to listen / watch Angel and I's fantabulous performance of 'A Thousand Years'. Please, no flash photography, as it startles the angel," I gave her a glare at that improvised line. "And no snarky side comments to your neighbors… that means you, Stark." After giving Tony a couple of moments to play up his mock offence at being called out, Darcy continued with her fanfare. "Now, without further ado… JARVIS, start the music!"

"Right away, Ms. Lewis." JARVIS calmly spoke and the lights dimmed everywhere but where Darcy and I were standing. The piano began playing in the background and I braced myself, telling myself that this would be no different that practicing with Darcy in her apartment. As the words began and I started signing, my eyes caught on Bucky and Steve's and I suddenly couldn't look away.

"Heart beats fast
Colors and promises
How to be brave?
How can I love when I'm afraid to fall?
But watching you stand alone,
All of my doubt suddenly goes away somehow.

One step closer.

I have died every day waiting for you
Darling, don't be afraid I have loved you
For a thousand years
I'll love you for a thousand more."

Darcy's clear, dulcet tones spilled into the air as everyone listened to her and watched my hands flow over the words of the song. Steve and Bucky never once looked away from me. I could still hear the music, I still understood that Darcy was next to me and the others were watching me, but it really just seemed to be me signing my heart out to the two men I had grown to love over the past month or so.

"Time stands still
Beauty in all she is
I will be brave
I will not let anything take away
What's standing in front of me
Every breath
Every hour has come to this.

One step closer.

I have died every day waiting for you
Darling, don't be afraid I have loved you
For a thousand years
I'll love you for a thousand more."

My hands flowed across the signs with practiced ease, and I silently tried to convey my true feelings to the soldiers without having to really tell them. My doubt held me back. I wished I was as brave as the woman that was described in the song by Christina. I truly felt like I had waited forever to find my soulmates, and now that I had them all I had to do was step closer and tell them. That's all I had to do, and yet I resisted. Why was I doing this to myself?

"And all along I believed I would find you
Time has brought your heart to me
I have loved you for a thousand years
I'll love you for a thousand more.

One step closer.
One step closer.

I have died every day waiting for you
Darling don't be afraid I have loved you
For a thousand years
I'll love you for a thousand more."

For the first time, Bucky and Steve broke eye contact with me, only to glance at each other. My heart, that had slowly been filling since the song started, burst. Of course they weren't looking at me like I was the girl in the song. The song must have reminded them of each other. Why else would they look at each other so long after listening to the song. My hands faltered at my thoughts, but I came back strong. Who cared? Well, obviously, I did, but I didn't need my soulmates to be happy. I had lived all these years without them, I could live my life without them. This was the plan. Not to intrude in their lives. I was their friend.

"And all along I believed I would find you
Time has brought your heart to me
I have loved you for a thousand years
I'll love you for a thousand more."

Even though I told myself that, I couldn't help looking away from the soldiers when they finally returned their sights to Darcy and I's performance.

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AN: Awwwwww…poor Angel. As to the song, I actually found a video on Youtube of someone signing "A Thousand Years" and I highly recommend you all go watch it! You can find it by searching "A Thousand Years – Christina Perri – American Sign Language", posted by Olivia Fray. Go watch it people!