A/N: The first half of this chapter was a bitch to write, but it's super important! Also, there's a review reply at the end. Enjoy!
Chapter Six
Evasion
When I woke up the next morning, my first thought was Oh, shit.
Why? Because it suddenly occurred to me that there was a very real possibility I wasn't actually dreaming. And I needed to test that out straight away.
"Jarvis, can you tell me who the first five presidents of the United States were?"
"Certainly, Miss Clarke." Jarvis's pleasant voice floated through the room. "The first five presidents were George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and James Monroe."
"Okay, wow, thanks."
I didn't even know the first five prime ministers of Australia, let alone the first five US presidents. The names George Washington and Thomas Jefferson were familiar, but I'd never heard of the other guys. My brain didn't know this, so I couldn't dream it.
Ugh, I needed coffee.
Almost falling out of the too-soft bed, I slipped out into the silent apartment and headed for the kitchen. I shuffled through the cupboards, but couldn't find a single tin or jar of instant coffee.
"What the fuck?"
With a long groan, I stumbled to the elevator and hopped in when the doors opened.
"Jarvis, take me to wherever there's coffee."
"To the common room then, Miss Clarke."
Common room? I figured that's the living room from yesterday. Calling it a common room did make more sense, I suppose.
When the doors opened, I walked out into the now familiar living space. There was a table with some stools near the window-wall, where Pepper and Natasha were chatting amiably with steaming mugs in their hands.
"Coffee," I stated, announcing my arrival. "I need coffee."
Pepper raised an eyebrow but smiled anyway. "Good morning to you too."
"Don't the old men have coffee?" Natasha questioned, taking a sip of her own.
"No," I grumbled, dragging myself onto a stool at the table. Thankfully it had a backrest. "The fucking assholes don't have any fucking coffee in their whole fucking apartment."
"Do you think you can curse any more in a single sentence?"
"Probably. I'll try harder next time."
"I'll get you some coffee." Pepper said, getting up from her seat. "You look like you need it."
I snapped my head up to look her quickly. "Oh no, that's alright. Just tell me where it is and I'll make myself some."
"It's fine. Let me get it." Pepper headed over to the bar, where I saw a pot of coffee sitting. She grabbed a mug from under the bench and poured a cup. "Cream and sugar?"
Cream? Why the fuck would I want cream in my coffee?
"Just some milk is fine. Thanks Pepper." The red-head poured the milk in my coffee, stirring it and bringing it over. I sipped at it and sighed contentedly. "You're a life saver."
"I'm glad I could help."
"You're up early," Natasha pointed out. "It's not even six yet. Stark and Banner are already in the lab, but nobody else will be up for a little while yet."
I shrugged, gulping down more coffee. "Last night I was so tired I went to bed not long after dinner. Bedsides, my body clock still wakes me up early from when I had a job."
"You worked the morning shift?" Distaste flashed across Natasha's face. Don't know why it would, it's not like she worked normal hours either.
"Yeah," I laughed. "I didn't mind it, though. There were less annoying customers, and I never had to worry about those people who loved to buy a armfuls of shit two minutes before closing time."
Pepper grinned, shaking her head. "I worked in retail one summer during high school. I always had to close the store and I hated it. But now I look back and think it helped me learn how to deal with people like Tony."
"Speaking of Tony, how long have you two been together?" I asked, looking at the mark on her wrist. "The movies didn't say when exactly you met or started working for him."
Pepper rubbed at the mark absently, a smile lighting up her face. "If you're wondering when we became soulmates, it wasn't until after Tony's kidnapping."
"Wait, what? After the kidnapping?"
"I guess it can be confusing to someone who didn't grow up in this world." She laughed.
"Soulmarks don't always just appear the second you meet the person, like it did for you, Steve, and Bucky." Natasha explained. "Sometimes the people know each other for a long time but aren't ready to be soulmates yet."
"Tony became my soulmate when his whole outlook on life changed. We weren't entirely compatible before then." Pepper finished.
"Okay, yeah, I guess that makes sense." I smiled into my coffee, before turning my attention to the other red-head. "What about you and Clint?"
She smirked. "It wasn't instant, but we didn't have to wait long to be marked either. Are you aware that he was sent to kill me?"
"Uh-huh, but he made a different call."
"He did," Natasha's eyes glazed over as she relived the memory. "He saw something in me that showed potential, and once my life had been spared, the marks appeared."
"That's so cute." I have her a goofy smile and she rolled her eyes, but smiled back. It instantly brightened her features, unlike her usual smirk, and I decided that Nat should smile more often.
My lips pulled down into a frown when something quite depressing occurred to me.
"If some people never change, does that mean they never meet their soulmate?"
"Thankfully not," Pepper looked deep in thought, her finger tracing the rim of her mug. "But while most people get a soulmate, nobody is guaranteed one."
"That's why Bucky said he never thought he'd get one." Natasha added.
"Well I'm glad it worked out for all of us in the end." I said, standing up with my now empty mug and heading for the bar. I tried not to think about the fact the some people went their whole lives with no soulmate while everyone around them had one.
"More coffee already?" Natasha's smirk was back, and I laughed.
"If there's one thing you should know about me, Nat, it's that I love coffee more than anything else in the world."
"Nat?"
My turn to smirk. "It's two syllables shorter than Na-ta-sha, and I'm lazy."
I wandered back over to them with my fresh mug of heaven, resuming the seat I'd been sitting on before.
"So how are Steve and James?" Pepper asked conversationally, surprising me with her use of Bucky's real name. "And how are you handling having soulmates?"
To be honest, I hadn't thought about the soulmate thing with them since yesterday, and I told them as much. I examined the white star on my wrist, rubbing my thumb over it slowly.
"I… I don't know what to think about all of this. I mean, out of everyone I could've been marked to, I definitely won the soulmate lottery. But… Ugh, it's just so insane and I'm still a bit overwhelmed. It hasn't sunk in yet. Sorry."
Pepper reached out and laid her hand over my own reassuringly, her gaze so sincere it warmed my heart. She looked almost motherly.
"Hey, there's no need to be sorry." She squeezed my hand gently. "It took me a while to accept the fact that my boss was suddenly my soulmate. Just take some time to get used to it. The boys will understand."
"Thanks Pepper, I will, I promise." I smiled at her, truly thankful for her kind words, even if the situation still brought me confusion. "Is it normal to have two soulmates?"
"It's not as common, but it's quite normal." Natasha said, finishing off her coffee.
Some part of me wasn't sure if I should believe her. "Are Steve and Bucky also going to be, uh, romantically involved with each other? Shit, were they already more than friends before I came along?"
The laugh that spilled from Natasha's lips was low and full of mirth. Pepper hid her quiet giggles behind her mug. How had she not finished her coffee yet?
"Only time will tell," Nat said when she'd finished laughing. "Triad soulmates are different. Usually two of the mates will be platonic only, though it's not unusual for all three to be romantic. But no, they've never been anything more than best friends."
"Hmm…" I leaned back in my seat, sipping at my coffee.
A part of me instantly hoped that Steve and Bucky would be romantic. If they had each other in such a way that wasn't just platonic, then when I eventually fucked up, they wouldn't need me.
Oh, and I would fuck up, without even trying.
Like everyone else I'd ever been with, they'd grow tired of the things that made me who I was. If I let myself grow attached, they'd find me too clingy or possessive. Or maybe they'd be freaked out by the fact that I knew them so much because of the movies.
To them, I was probably just some silly fangirl that they were stuck with. Which was kind of funny, because while I loved the MCU movies, I wasn't a creepy stalker fan like some.
So that was that. I'd either push them away, or they'd not want anything to do with me.
Natasha had left when Clint came in, wanting to have a morning workout session with his soulmate. Pepper and I sat in silence, me absently sipping at my coffee slowly to make it last longer, and the redhead reading something on a sleek tablet.
The sound of the elevator dinging to signal somebody's arrival snapped me out of my thoughts. Steve stepped out, wearing sweatpants and a plain white shirt that clung to every contour of his muscular chest.
Oh, my fuck.
"Morning Beth," Steve mumbled, rubbing one hand through his sleep-tussled hair while the other held a suspicious steaming mug. "Jarvis told me I'd find you here."
I narrowed my eyes at the mug. "Is that coffee?"
Steve frowned with confusion. "Yeah…?"
"What the fuck?" I cried, pouting my lips childishly as I slid down in my seat. "I searched that damn kitchen and couldn't find any coffee. So why the hell do you have some?"
"It's percolated. We keep the coffee grounds in the freezer." He said, realizing why I was so upset.
"I wish I'd known that earlier," I grumbled. "Never get between me and my coffee."
"I'll try and remember that for next time."
He came over to the table with a goofy smile, taking the stool next to mine. I sighed, sipping at my second coffee while trying not to get flustered by the 240 pounds of patriotic muscle sitting beside me.
"Morning Pepper," Steve nodded to the other woman politely, before turning his attention to me. "So, I was wondering if you'd like to do something with Bucky and I today?"
Oh, shit. Why didn't I expect this? I had to think of something, and fast. Of course, my mind immediately flickered to my new life here, and my sudden lack of clothes.
"Actually, I was wondering if Pepper could take me shopping?" I plastered on a wide smile and looked at Pepper with what was hopefully not a desperate expression.
Better stay casual so I don't look eager to avoid my soulmate.
Pepper, thankfully, looked up from her tablet with a smile. "Of course we can go shopping. I have a meeting at twelve, but you need some of your own clothes, and we should be quick if we just get the basics."
"Thank you so much," I returned her smile, pulling at the hem of the top I wore. "I really do need my own clothes. I can't borrow yours forever. Besides, I love shopping almost as much as coffee."
"Is there anything you love more than coffee?" Steve questioned.
"Nope!" I grinned, finishing off my cup to make a point. I glanced at the super soldier out of the corner of my eye, debating my next words. "Do you want to come with us?"
Please say no. Please say no. Please say no.
"Nah, that's alright." Steve waved a hand, suddenly looking nervous. "You girls have fun, I'll probably just train with Bucky or catch up on movies. Sam wants me to watch something called Rocky."
Even though I'd wanted him to say no, then why did I suddenly feel so disappointed?
"Oh, okay. You have fun as well. But, uh, Pepper, I only have the underwear I put on last night."
"Oh, I almost forgot!" Pepper exclaimed with a laugh. "I actually thought of that last night, and went online after dinner to order you some underwear with overnight shipping. When it's delivered, I'll lend you some clothes and we can head out."
I wanted to cry at how thoughtful Pepper was, honestly, this woman deserved a medal. "Seriously, thank you so much."
"You're welcome, Beth."
In my peripheral vision, it looked like Steve was staring a bit too hard into his coffee. When I looked up, I noticed his ears were pink as well.
"Does talking about underwear make you nervous, Captain?" I laughed, prodding his side gently.
Okay, I wanted to avoid him and all, but teasing him was just too damn easy.
"No," he lied, his blush growing. I bit my lip to stop from laughing any more, quickly finishing my coffee instead. I glanced down at the mug, unsure where to put it. There hadn't been a sink at the bar. "Here, I'll take it."
Without waiting for a reply, Steve took my mug to over behind the bar, where I figured there was a dishwasher or something.
"Thanks," I said, stretching as I slid off my chair. "I'm gonna go shower or have a bath or something. I showered last night, but that bathroom is a dream and I wanna know all that it has to offer."
Pepper grinned. "Okay, I'll have Jarvis let you know when the delivery is here."
"Perfect, thanks," I started making my way to the elevator, turning my head back to smirk at Steve. "See you later, handsome."
A blush was his only response before the elevator doors blocked my view.
A/N: Yeah, Beth is pretty all over the place with her emotions and actions right now. But wouldn't you be, if you were in her situation? Idk, but I hope you all liked this chapter.
Rebel-love: Thank you! When I pre-write a lot of chapters, I'll probably start posting more than once a week... but that has yet to happen. I have a plan for Wanda and Pietro, but it's a secret ;) And I don't currently have any plans for Bruce to hulk-out, but I love those nicknames (Star Man reminds me of the Bowie song haha)
Rebel theory: All their stars are white :)