Fated Marks

The two weeks leading up to the big move I didn’t get a minute to myself. As much as I couldn’t admit that I L- word my soulmates I could admit that I was going to miss them like crazy. So I went along with it when they decided to make sure I spent every waking hour with one of them not to mention it helped put me at ease a bit about Hadrian trying to kill me. He always got to me when I was alone. If I wasn’t alone he’d keep his distance at least I hoped he did.

I was in the middle of alphabetizing the files Agent Hill had sent Steve when he walked in fresh from his run.

“Morning.” He greeted.

“Morning, Those files you asked for just got delivered. The delivery guy kind of dropped them and I’m trying to put them back together.” I said.

“Here, let’s split the files.” Steve said sitting down and taking half the pile.

“I probably shouldn’t even be looking into these.” I said. “Don’t think I have the clearance.”

“But I do, and as the team’s personal assistant you do too.” Steve said.

“This is the first I’m hearing of it.” I said.

“Hill told Tony and…” Steve started.

“Steve, Hill told Tony something during a meeting where I wasn’t there which means it went in one ear and right out the other.” I said.

“Right.” Steve said.

“You know I’m a bit worried about what he’s going to do the entire year I’m gone.” I said.

“I’m sure he’ll be fine.” Steve said. “I was wondering if you were free tonight? There’s a theater downtown playing Casablanca and wanted to know if you’re like to go with me… as a date?”

“The theater down on fifth?” I asked.

“Yeah.” Steve answered.

“Uh that showing isn’t until next week.” I said.

“Is it?” He asked.

“Pretty sure, had to go pick up some shoes for Tony this morning and I saw the poster.” I said.

“Oh.” He said looking a bit embarrassed but I could also feel how disappointed he was.

“But we should still go out. Maybe grab dinner and go do something?” I asked.

“Yeah we should. Pick you up around six?” He asked.

“Perfect.” I said giving him a short peck on the lips. In the almost four months since we had started the courtship Steve and I had gone slow and I mean slow. Nate had gotten farther than him at this point. We’d kiss and on occasion make out a bit but nothing more not even cuddling on the couch while watching a movie. I figured he was raised in a different time and this was pretty new to the both of us. Or it could have been what Kevin said in our monthly relationship checkup session, we needed to communicate more. We quickly got back to sorting the files.

The rest of the day flew by like it usually did. I was down in the lab with Bruce and Tony studying for finals and making sure they each took breaks regularly.

“How’s the trip planning going?” Tony asked.

“Good, I bought my ticket already and managed to get all the courses I wanted for the summer. They’re all online so I don’t actually have to show up for class and I can travel. I started looking at apartments, I was going to stay at the dorms for the summer but the reviews were not great.” I said.

“You know you could always stay at my penthouse? I mean it’s empty for most of the year except that one week I’m there to visit the offices in London.” Tony offered.

“I don’t know…” I said. Knowing Tony the place would be state of the art with a great view but at the same time I was planning on crashing with Rebekah and I don’t know how Tony would feel about that.

“Did I mention it has a high tech security system and Jarvis installed?” Tony tried to entice me and I have to say it was working.

“Is this your way of keeping tabs on me?” I asked.

“You’re going to be on your own in a different country and ocean away.” Tony said.

“We would feel better knowing you were staying somewhere safe.” Bruce added.

“Come on Hales you turned down using my jet, give me something.” Tony said.

I sighed. “Okay I’ll stay at the penthouse.”

“Thank you.” He said hugging me and then kissing me. I smiled and continued kissing him. We stayed like that for a few minutes until we heard Bruce clear his throat. I pulled away but Tony leaned in for one more before letting me go.

“I should get going.” I said.

“Plans?” Bruce asked.

“Date with Steve have to go get ready, I have the perfect dress so if he’s thinking of taking his bike he has another thing coming.” I said. Speaking of I really needed to get the one million dollars of cash out of the trunk.

“I’d like to see him try.” Tony said with a smirk.

“See you later.” I said getting in the elevator. I quickly showered and blow-dried my hair. It had some nice waves in it so I decided to leave it down. I got into the white long sleeved dress with embroidered flowers on it before slipping on some tan ankle strap sandals. I wore the ring Thor gave me on my right ring finger and the studs Natasha gave me along with my necklace even though I knew they clashed. By the time I was done I heard a ding from the elevator.

“Hayley?” I heard Steve call out.

“Just a sec.” I said. I grabbed my clutch and gave myself a once over in the mirror before going out to greet him. “Hey.”

“Hi, you look beautiful.” Steve said making me blush.

“Thank you.” I said.

“Oh uh these are for you.” He said handing me a bouquet of peonies.

“That’s so sweet of you.” I said taking them before getting up on my tiptoes to kiss him. “Let me put these in some water and we can go.” I quickly went to the kitchen and grabbed a mason jar and filled it up with water. Note to self buy an actual vase.

“Ready.” I said taking his hand. We went down to the garage and Steve went straight to my car.

“I don’t think riding on my bike in a dress is going to work.” Steve said rubbing the back of his neck.

“Guess you’re right. I’ll drive just tell me where to go.” I said.

“Head towards Brooklyn.” Steve said.

“Okie dokie.” I said unlocking the car and getting in. “How’s the recruiting going?”

“It’s good. We’re just picking them out right now. Most of them have been with SHIELD for a while so we know how they’ll do out in the field.” Steve said.

“That’s good. Anything I should know about where we’re going?” I asked.

“It’s a place Bucky and I used to go to before the war. I was here a few weeks ago and apparently the place stayed open and it’s run by the same family.” Steve said.

“Those are always the best restaurants.” I said.

“After I was thinking we go play some mini golf.” Steve said.

“I haven’t played mini golf in years.” I said.

“There’s a place a few blocks away.” Steve said “We can walk there after dinner, and get desert on the way back.”

“Sounds like a plan.” I said. “It’s a beautiful night out and the weather’s perfect.”

“It is, summer’s right around the corner.” Steve said.

“Be sure to go and see the cherry blossoms when they’re blooming I’ve heard it’s beautiful.” I said.

“It is, I’ve seen it from the Triskellion and it looks amazing. I’ve been meaning to go out and sketch it maybe even do some watercolor paintings but I’m always short on time.” Steve said.

“Well now you don’t have that excuse. Just take a day and go for it. Send me pictures when you do.” I said.

“Only if you send me some of London. I want to see how much it’s changed.” Steve said.

“You could always come and visit, I know Tony’s going to pop in without telling me.” I said.

“I’m surprised he didn’t decide to move there with you.” Steve said.

“Oh he tried, but considering he’s head of R and D and he built a tower just so he could have ten floors of every toy he could possibly want the board and Pepper said no to moving everything overseas.” I said.

“How’d he take it?” Steve asked.

“How do you think?” I said. “He threw a tantrum but I got him to tone it down. Sat him down we talked it out and made out a bit. Pretty good Tuesday.”

“We’re here.” He said opening the door for me. We walked in and had a nice meal. Then we walked the three blocks to the mini golf place and got our clubs.

“Clint wanted to bring me here once.” I said.

“You didn’t go?” Steve asked.

“Wouldn’t be much of a game.” I said.

“Yeah, his aim is unmatched.” Steve said. Our game ended up being a tie. We stopped by and got some gelato before walking back to the car.

“Natasha says I need a makeover.” Steve said.

“Well your in good hands, she gave my wardrobe a makeover and it’s working out pretty well.” I said looking down at my dress.

“She said the comb over is too old fashioned.” Steve said.

“Well… she’s not wrong.” I said. “You pull it off really well but it does make you stand out. You’re supposed to fit in right for missions? Well part of that is blending in appearance wise. Not to mention you do have to get tired of people knowing who you are at first glance.”

“I know it’s just… Everything’s changed.” Steve started.

“Change is a part of life.” That’s probably the dumbest thing I could have said to him. “Sweetie you’ve been through a lot in the past few years. You woke up seventy years in the future and everything was different. You’ve had more change in the past year than most people have in their entire life and you’ve taken it better than anyone could have expected or at least that’s what you let on.”

“I’m afraid of forgetting.” Steve said tearing up.

“That’s not going to happen. He’s a part of you and he’ll always be in your heart besides you really think Bucky Barnes is so easily forgotten?” I said.

“No he’s not.” Steve said chuckling a bit.

“Nat isn’t really expressive but she shows she cares in other ways kind of like her trying to give you a makeover. You can always say no if you want.” I said.

“I know.” He said hugging me and kissing me. “It’s getting late.”

“Still kind of early, probably going to cram in a few hours of studying before bed.” I said.

“Hayley don’t over do it. Remember what happened last time.” Steve said in his Captain voice.

“That was a one time thing and it’s not like appendicitis is caused by stress.” I said.

“But getting so caught up and forgetting to get checked out by a doctor when something started bothering you could have killed you.” Steve said.

“It was a one time thing and I thought they were period cramps.” I said. “But if you’re worried you can keep me company and make sure I don’t over do it.”

“You’re going to over work yourself whether I’m there or not aren’t you?” Steve said.

“Yeah but at least this way we have an excuse for a sleepover.” I said getting into the car.

One thing I’d noticed about everyone was how different their sleeping habits were. I was definite a cuddler. Steve as I found out that night liked to be the big spoon when falling asleep but woke up the little spoon. Natasha wasn’t a clingy sleeper and wasn’t comfortable with me hugging her even though she didn’t say anything. She was actually a light sleeper unless she was really tired because she hadn’t slept in days. I later figured out it was because she like to keep her hands free in case she needed to grab her gun which she kept under her bed and on either side of the bed. Clint on the other hand was clingy like me. We always ended up waking up a tangled mess of arms and legs. Bruce from the one time we shared a futon, liked to keep his distance but held my hand the entire night. Thor pretty much took up the entire bed and I ended up sleeping on his chest he didn’t mind it though considering I woke up with his arms wrapped around me practically keeping me in place. Tony liked to sleep on his back so I just cuddled into his side and draped an arm on his chest. I wasn’t going to sleep much while I was away

The two weeks flew by and before I knew it Steve Natasha and Clint were leaving.

“I’m gonna miss you so much.” I said as they came into the common room for the last of their things.

“Hayley we’ll come visit and…” Steve started.

“Yes I am.” I said hugging Lucky. “Oh who’s a good boy?”

“Don’t think she’s talking to you Cap.” Tony said with a smirk.

“nnn…nnn…nnn.” Lucky whined.

“I’m gonna miss you too.” I told Lucky. “I packed him some snacks and a raw hide bone to keep him busy on the drive down.” I told Clint.

“So he’s the only one you’re going to miss?” Clint said.

“No.” I said pulling him into a hug “But I’m not spending an entire week in Aruba with Lucky. I packed you some cold pizza.”

“Best girlfriend ever.” He said kissing me. “Three days then back for a road trip?” Clint suggested.

“Quit hogging Hayley.” Natasha said squeezing between us. “You can come down whenever and I left a Taser in your purse.” She whispered before kissing my cheek. I pecked her on the lips before letting go. I know she hated PDA but put up with it for me, I wasn’t going to push it. “Chocolate covered pretzels and piroshky are in the front seat for you.” I said before going over to Steve.

“I like the hair.” I said.

“It’s shorter.” Steve said messing with it.

“Bet you, you still took the same amount of time styling it?” I said.

“Maybe.” He said smiling.

“Drive safe.” I said hugging him. “Got you three sandwiches from that deli you like.”

“You’re the best.” Steve said kissing me. “We should get going if we want to beat traffic.”

“Text me when you get there.” I said. “And if the movers messed up give me a call.”

“We will.” They said as they got into the elevator. The doors closed and I got hit with a huge wave of sadness. Hold it together Hayley.

“Wow you didn’t cry this time.” Tony said.

“mhm.” I said the tears prickling my eyes.

“Tony.” Bruce said giving him a look.

“I’m good.” I said with my voice cracking a bit.

“You know you can always go with them and I can send the jet to come get you?” Tony offered.

“Nope I got finals to study for. I’m gonna go downstairs cry for an hour then go meet Will and Nate for a cram session. See you guys when it’s over.” I said kissing them each on the cheek before going to pack.

“Hayley don’t over do it.” Bruce called out. “She’s not listening is she?”

“Nope.” Tony said.

I got in the elevator and proceeded as planned. I went to my bed and cried again. Then exactly an hour later I changed into some tights, a pair of Uggs and my Columbia hoodie before heading to Will and Nate’s place for the first leg of our cram marathon.

The week was a bit of a blur all I know is that we eventually moved to the campus library and we left to take finals and came back. We used Postmates to get coffee and food delivered to us when we remembered to eat. I think I talked to someone over the phone don’t remember who or what I said. When I walked out of that last final I got into my car and the world went dark. I woke up in my bed back at the tower. I sat up and saw my reflection in the mirror. I hadn’t changed in almost a week. I quickly got into the shower and got into a pair of striped shorts and a navy and grey top. I felt like crap but the shower did help.

I went upstairs to the common room and walked into the kitchen with my eyes closed.

“Morning sunshine.” I heard Tony say.

“Food.” I groaned.

“Whoa is she okay?” I heard someone who sounded like Rhodey say.

“Finals week.” Tony said.

“Ouch, Hayley I think you need to sit down. I’ll heat something up for you.” Bruce said putting an arm around me and leading me to a chair.

“She is without a doubt your soulmate. That was you after every finals week.” Rhodey said.

“I was not this bad.” Tony said.

“Actually you still are.” Bruce said. “Hayley there’s cereal in front of you.”

“Coffee.” I groaned.

“Think you need to lay off that for a while.” Tony said.

“Is it over?” I asked.

“Hayley what’s the last thing you remember?” Bruce asked.

“Getting in my car with Will and Nate after my last final.” I said.

“Oh boy.” Rhodey said.

“Oh hi Rhodey.” I said.

“Hey kid, how you feeling?” Rhodey asked.

“Like death.” I said resting my head on the granite counter.

“You look like it too.” Tony said.

“Hayley try to eat something.” Bruce said.

“Mhm.” I said. “Why are you looking at me weird?” I asked.

“You really don’t remember?” Bruce asked.

“The past week is a bit of a blur. I remember getting into my car and then waking up in my room.” I said.

“Hales that was two days ago. It’s Sunday.” Tony said.

“Please tell me you’re joking.” I said.

“It’s Sunday, seven at night to be exact.” Bruce said.

“Oh crap I was supposed to Skype Nat yesterday.” I said.

“We gave her a heads up, she said to call her when you wake up.” Tony said.

“How did I even get here?” I asked.

“Well apparently Will was supposed to meet Josh Friday morning but he never showed up. He went looking for you and found you Nate and Will asleep in your car. He drove you here and took Will and Nate home.” Bruce said.

“I think I may have overdone it.” I said.

“You think?” Rhodey said.

“At least its finally over. I’m on vacation and I just have to worry about getting you ready for when I’m gone.” I said.

“Or we could take a vacation and go somewhere?” Tony suggested.

“Doubt Pepper’s going to be okay with that. You’ve been skipping meetings again.” I said.

“You’re no fun.” Tony whined.

“It’s not my job to be fun.” I said. “Besides I know you’re going to pop in while I’m in Europe and you can’t ditch your responsibilities constantly if you want to do that.”

“Yes mom.” Tony said rolling his eyes.

“Real kinky dude.” I said. “I’m going back to sleep see you all tomorrow.”

“You just woke up.” Tony said.

“Yeah and if I want to get back into a semi normal schedule I need to crash again. Night guys.” I said.

“Remember to call Natasha.” Bruce said.

“I will.” I said getting in the elevator. I walked back into my apartment and went back to bed. I grabbed my phone and video called Natasha.

“Finally up?” She greeted.

“More like got up, ate something then came back to bed.” I said.

“Is that Hayley?” I heard someone ask and Clint showed up behind Natasha.

“Hales I thought you said you were going to take it easy?” Clint said.

“I was that was kind of the problem.” I said.

“Feeling better?” He asked.

“Yeah just tired.” I answered.

“You do look better than the picture Tony sent.” Natasha said.

“He sent a picture?” I said.

“Here.” Clint said messing with his phone. My phone dinged and I saw a picture of me looking wrecked and passed out.

“I gonna kill him.” I said standing up but starting to get light headed. “Actually I think I’ll just wait until tomorrow.” I said slowly lying back down.

“You okay?” Clint said looking concerned.

“I’m fine just stood up too fast. I think I’m just going to crash, I’ll call you tomorrow.” I said.

“Night Hayley.” They said before the call cut off. I put my phone on my nightstand before going to sleep.

A Few Days Later-

“Okay what about this one?” I asked.

“It looks good.” Clint said even though I could tell he really didn’t care and was probably not even looking at me.

“You said that about the last five dresses.” I said.

“Hayley you look great in all of them.” Clint said.

“You’re not helping, put Natasha back on the line.” I asked.

“She’s kind of in the middle of something.” He said flipping the camera over so I could see the guy she flipped over her shoulder and knocked out.

“Hand it over.” Natasha said taking the phone out of his hand. “That dress for the rehearsal dinner there’s another dress in the back of your closet still in the garment bag. Light purple halter top gown that one for the actual wedding.”

“Shoes?” I asked.

“Wedges and the jimmy choos for the shorter dress.” Natasha said.

“Thank you, you’re the best.” I said. She gave me a smirk before handing the phone back to Clint.

“I’ll pick you up tomorrow.” Clint said.

“See you then.” I said before hanging up.

“Hales, we’re going out.” Will said.

“We?” I said.

“Yes we, I need to cram in all the best friend time I can. Let’s go.” Will said.

“Okay.” I said grabbing my purse and following after him.

We ended up on the roof of the building. Josh ended up making us dinner and Nate joined in after coming back from visiting his dad.

“So you excited about the big night?” Will said.

“I’m not leaving until tomorrow morning and then I’m coming back.” I said.

“I meant what’s going to happen once you get there.” Will said.

“Clint’s ex wife getting married?” I asked.

“I think he means you having sex with Clint.” Josh said.

“Excuse me?” I asked.

“Hayley it’s a weekend away with someone you’ve been seeing, it’s kind of implied.” Nate said.

“It is?” I said confused.

“You are so naïve sometimes.” Will said.

“So when he invited me to go as his date what he really said was Hayley come with me to a beach resort in the Caribbean and have sex with me?” I asked.

“No, but yeah.” Will said.

“You seriously didn’t think about this happening?” Josh asked.

“No!” I said freaking out. “Crap we need back up.” I took my phone out and dialed the one person who would know exactly what to do in this situation.

One Hour Later-

“So you’re finally getting your cherry popped.” Tess said.

“Could you be any more crass?” I said blushing.

“You already know the answer to that.” Liam said.

“I didn’t know that was what this weekend was about.” I said taking a shot.

“Hayley you had to know this was coming.” Will said.

“I mean I did just not this soon.” I said.

“Dude it’s been four months since you started officially ‘courting’ them plus the time before that that you spent together, I’m surprised you haven’t jumped their bones already.” Tess said.

“It’s complicated.” I said.

“No it’s not you’re just over complicating things.” Will said.

“Hayley just ask yourself this, do you love them?” Nate said.

“uh…” I said getting uncomfortable.

“You still haven’t gotten over that?” Tess said.

“What are you talking about?” Nate asked.

“Hayley can’t say love.” Will said.

“It’s not that I can’t say it, it’s just that I’m not comfortable saying it.” I said.

“So when we were dating and I said it…” Nate said.

“I care about you I just don’t romantically L word you. More like a sibling.” I said.

“You do care.” Nate said fondly.

“But again, how do you go from weekend getaway to we’re gonna have sex?” I said.

“It’s implied.” Tess and Liam said at the same time.

“Hales you have the hots for them I know, I’ve seen the way you are around them.” Will said. “And they love your ass to pieces you can’t deny that.”

“I’m not it’s just if we do this there’s no going back.” I said.

“How can you not be sure? I mean you feel the bond I know you love them even if you can’t say it.” Tess said.

“I couldn’t be more sure of wanting to be with them, it’s them who might change their minds.” I said.

“You have to talk to them.” Will said.

“That’s kind of what I’ve been trying to avoid.” I said.

“Don’t think that’s an option here.” Tess said.

“I’m not saying I’m going to but hypothetically if we did end up doing the deed what am I in for?” I asked

“Well it’s your first time so you’d have to relax or it’ll be uncomfortable.” Tess said.

“Don’t think that’ll be an issue you should have seen the hickie Thor gave her.” Will said. I kicked his leg to get him to shut up. “Took you long enough.”

“Anyway once you get past the hard part it should be pretty straight forward. The bonding though that took some getting used to. You feel what the other person is feeling and its more intense than before. You feel like there was something missing that you didn’t know what it was until that moment and the orgasm fuck it’s better than anything I’ve ever felt. I think I blacked out.” Tess said.

“Moment ruined.” Josh said. “But yeah that’s pretty much it.”

“In a nutshell.” Will said giving Josh a dopey smile.

“I need to get laid.” Nate said.

“I need to go repack. This puts some of my wardrobe choices in perspective.” I said.

“Not enough lace underwear?” Will asked.

“I packed my day of the week undies.” I said.

“Or you could just not wear underwear.” Tess suggested.

“Dude, trying to keep it classy over here.” I said.

“I’m kidding.” Tess said.

“I should get going, I have an early flight.” I said.

“Have fun.” Will said in a sing song voice.

“Thanks, I think.” I said.

I drove back to the tower and went to repack my suitcase.

“You haven’t packed?” Tony asked.

“I did I just needed to check and make sure I got everything. Had that nagging feeling I forgot something.” I said.

“Uhuh so you excited?” Tony said.

“Course vacation, staying right on the beach, getting to try out my new passport, super psyched.” I said.

“Sure, So how about you tell me what’s really wrong?” Tony said.

“That obvious?” I asked.

“We are kind of soulmates not to mention you’re folding and unfolding the same lacy underwear over and over again.” He said looking down at the same time I did before I threw the underwear back in the suitcase and sat down next to him on the bed.

“Hypothetically if you asked someone to go with you on say an island getaway or even a cozy cabin in Vermont,” I quickly added. “Would you expect to have sex with them?”

“Uh, if you had asked me that five years ago the answer would have been yes.” He started making me even more nervous. “But now it’d depends.”

“On what?” I asked.

“Whether it’s what you wanted or not.” Tony said. “Why did Legolas say something?”

“No, I went out with Will and Josh. Then Nate, Liam and Tess joined in…” I started.

“I’m going to stop you right there. You’re not Will or Tess and what you have with us isn’t as simple as a normal two person relationship. I’m sure they brought up some valid points but we’re not them. We meant it when we said you’re the one in charge here Hales. You call the shots. And the only thing Robin Hood really wants out of this weekend is some uninterrupted one on one time.” Tony said.

“It’s not like I haven’t thought about it I mean I have a lot more often recently but it’s a huge step.” I said.

“It is.” Tony agreed.

“I mean once it’s done there’s no going back, you’re stuck with me. Would you really be okay with that?” I said.

Instead of saying something Tony pulled me over so I was straddling his lap and kissed me.

“More than okay with it. I’m looking forward to it.” He said. “We lo…”

I kissed him again before he could finish what he was going to say. Why ruin the moment?

“Are you ever going to let me finish that sentence?” Tony said panting a bit.

“Actions speak louder than words.” I said kissing him again.

Okay so I know I asked this already but I wanted to do a recount to see if maybe anyone changed their mind after I got some messages debating it considering a lot’s happened since I last asked. Who should Hayley lose her V-card to? Please let me know in the comments or send me a message. Thank you.