Captain America's Soulmate Ch. 01

Jamie sat in the mail room flipping through fan letter after fan letter addressed to Steve Rogers, the great Captain America.

He snorted, yeah right. They should be addressed to the great American asshole. Granted Steve was nothing but a polite saint, but he was far from progressive based on his interviews.

Jamie was a loud and proud gay man. He hadn't always been, his parents were pretty conservative and when he'd told them, well let's just say it didn't go over well......at all.

They'd disowned him. It wasn't unexpected, but there was a piece of Jamie that was hoping if he acted like the perfect child in every other respect they would want to keep him but no. He'd been kicked out on his ass at 16.

He'd done alright for himself. He was smart and had some friends he could go to until he got on his feet. He had persevered through his education, got his GED and even gone to college. Now at 25 he was a paid Stark intern. Granted he was shoveling through mail, but it was still paid and Stark paid his employees very well.

His life was great, he had a job, an apartment, friends, money in the bank, it was all great except for one small little detail. That was his soul mark.

It sat proudly across his right hip ever since he got it at the age of 18. When it first showed up he had been so proud. Before even thinking of going down to the courthouse he'd looked up the name: Steven Grant Rogers. Several links popped up to old newsreels of Captain America in action.

Jamie's first thought was there must be another Steven Grant Rogers so he started searching, everywhere. But there was none. Apparently the name had been recognized on a national level. It was kinda like how you don't name your kid hitler, you didn't name your kid Steven Grant Rogers either.

It felt unreal. So he had hidden it away, thinking it was some kind of mistake by the universe, he didn't report it at the courthouse, and no one else had seen it so he just didn't mention it again.

And that worked until Captain America was pulled out of the ice a few years later, on his 21st birthday no less.

Jamie had thought about going down to the courthouse and recording his mark at that point, but he just couldn't do it. He couldn't do that to the world. Take their amazing hero and turn him gay. The political world would go insane. People would say his mark was fake and then they would drag Rogers into it. While the gay rights activists would be shouting at the roof tops about how this proved they were equals.

Jamie didn't want to become a political icon or figure. He just wanted to be a normal gay guy.

So he'd kept his distance from the super hero, watched him on TV, listened to his interviews where he talked about growing up catholic in the 1930s. He even mentioned that he was sad he was never able to meet his soul mate but he was sure she was amazing.

One of the problems with having a completely unisex name was his soulmate thought he was a girl from 1930 that had died.

It was fine, really he hadn't been planning to tell Steve he existed anyway. It still hurt though.

Just more proof that he would be an unwelcome presence in Steve's life.

Of course that hadn't stopped Jamie from getting a job at Avengers Tower. He hadn't been able to help himself. He knew who his soulmate was, he wanted to be close to the man, even if he never would reveal himself to Steve. Part of him still loved the giant idiot, even if said giant idiot could never love him back.

That's where Lucy found him. Bright bubbly Lucy who had happily rescued her soulmate 6 weeks ago. Speaking of the girl, She bounced into the room.

"Jamie." She squealed.

"Lucy." He squealed back and wrapped her in one of his lanky hugs.

At 5'10" and 150 lbs Jamie always felt like he was all knees and elbows. Lucy at 5'5" fit perfectly in his arms.

She was such a good friend. Full of life and energy. She made it fun to work in the mail room.

"So how's my favorite stereotypical gay friend?" She asked, looking up at his face, eyes twinkling.

"You mean your favorite stereotypical gay best friend."

"Of course."

"He is still fabulously gay, almost completely done organizing this impossible mail room, and is wondering if his fabulous straight best friend wants to go out for a drink tonight?"

She gave him an apologetic grimace. "Sorry darling, I can't. Got plans with Bucky. He's getting back from a mission any time with Steve."

"That's right I forgot he was going, how have you been?"

She gave another grimace. "A complete wreck. He's been gone for just under 24 hours and the whole time I've been pacing and asking Jarvis for check-ups every five minutes."

"Why didn't you go along in your badass vibranium suit?" Jamie asked, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

"Because I still haven't passed Nat's combat training and it's just a reconnaissance mission. Which means little old soulmate me is stuck here twiddling her thumbs."

"Oh honey." Jamie purred.

"Yea....it sucks. So I thought I'd come down here and bug you while I wait."

"Sounds like a plan." Jamie said and started flipping through more mail with Lucy flipping through her own pile.

They sat there in comfortable silence for about 15 minutes before they were interrupted.

"Ms. Elliot?"

"Yes Jarvis?" Lucy perked up and stared at the ceiling hopefully.

"I just heard from Sergeant Barnes that they are on their way back. He stated please do not be mad. The mission was not as easy as they had first thought. He is uninjured but Captain Rogers is. Medical bay has been alerted."

Jamie watched as Lucy's face went white, his own didn't feel much better. Steve was injured? Would he be ok?

"How bad?" Jamie choked out, unable to stop himself.

"Captain Rogers is in critical condition, but will survive." Jarvis replied.

Air wooshed out of Jamie's lungs in some relief. He would live. It would be ok, his soulmate would live.

"How far away?" Lucy asked, sounding just as choked up as Jamie had.

"5 hours, Ms. Elliot"

Lucy reached for Jamie's hand and squeezed it tightly. "Wait with me?" She whispered.

"Of course." Jamie said, glad he didn't have to come up with an excuse to stay.

*********

Steve felt like an idiot, a very bloody, injured idiot. He had been in charge of the mission. Bucky and him had moved in sync like they always had, not even having to speak to communicate exactly where the other person needed to be.

It was all going great until the explosion. Steve had the bad luck of stepping on the land mine when it blew, Bucky was luckily a few yards away.

Steve had shot thirty feet in the air before coming crashing down with an almighty thud. Sometimes his size and mass was great, other times not so much. At 6'2" and 220 pounds, Steve could admit he was a big guy. And big guys tended to fall, hard.

He'd broken both legs, had multiple pieces of shrapnel embedded in his body, and several second to third degree burns.

His handy dandy vibranium shield had remained perfectly in place on his back, connected to its magnetic hooks. Lucky for him that it did, otherwise he would have had a broken back too.

Yup all around idiot. He should have seen it, smelled it, heard it, something. But no, he had to be the dumb ass who stepped on a land mine and got blown to kingdom come.

Bucky had ribbed him about it, after making sure he was still alive of course. So here they were on the quinjet, Steve bleeding everywhere and Bucky whistling, the jerk.

"What are you so happy about, jerk?" Steve grumbled.

"Just glad it wasn't me. Lucy would kill me if it had been. At least you will survive her rage."

"Good point." Steve replied.

Lucy was Bucky's soulmate, and she was a spit fire. A small little thing compared to Bucky and himself, but she made up for it with her personality and energy. Steve had seen Lucy go toe to toe with all the Avengers at one point or another.

She had chewed Stark out for pulling too many all nighters, Bruce for his lack of confidence, Thor for his somewhat destructive nature, Nat for not opening up emotionally, Sam for being an insatiable flirt, Clint for not spending enough time with his family, and Steve for being celibate of all things. She was a force to be reckoned with.

Bucky just gave him a lopsided grin "yup, that's the love of my life for you."

Steve let out a snort then had to clench his teeth at the wave of pain that hit at the motion.

"You alright punk?" Bucky asked, sounding genuinely concerned.

"Yea, just a lot of damage that my body is trying to heal all at once."

Bucky nodded. "Want some of these awesome super soldier painkillers?"

Steve shook his head. "I'll burn through them too quickly."

Bucky just nodded and started bandaging up what he could.

Steve and Bucky may be similar in that they were both super soldiers but the serums they had gotten were entirely different. Bucky's was a proxy to what Steve had gotten. If it came down to a contest, Steve was stronger, faster, bigger, and all around more powerful than Bucky. They didn't talk about it but they both knew. That's one of the reasons why Steve never scarred. Even with all the damage he had received, in a few days he would be perfectly healed without a scratch on him.

He would also sleep for thirty hours and be ravenously hungry, but all things considered, it wasn't a bad deal.

Yea it was all great, except for when you outlived your soulmate. Her name was scrawled across his shoulders: Jamie Piper Quinn. Whoever she was she must have been something.

Sometimes at night, when he couldn't fall asleep he would think about what she might have been like. Was she tall or short? Thin or curvaceous? Quiet or loud?

He would think for a while and then shake his head. It really didn't matter to him, all that mattered is that she was his. Not Captain America's the super hero, but Steve Rogers, the little boy from Brooklyn that never did know how to stand down from bullies. He had had the mark before he became the captain and he would have it after the captain was no more. It was a slice of something that was entirely his own.

After Bucky had returned with his soulmate. Steve had thought about going down to the courthouse and registering his soul mark, but what would be the point. If she was alive she would have registered, and since she hadn't she must be dead. He'd rather keep the name to himself than let the whole world know.

"What you thinking about punk?" Bucky spoke, interrupting his thoughts.

"Just about whoever Jamie was." Steve sighed out. Bucky would understand, they had had these talks 70 years ago.

"You should go register, or if not, have Jarvis look into it. I found Lucy, in the 21st century, maybe yours is here too."

"Maybe." Steve mulled it over as he lay there, and let Bucky move him this way and that. "Do you think she would want me for me, or for Captain America?"

"If she's anything like Lucy, she will love you for you and the Captain equally. He's a part of you just as much as the winter soldier is a part of me."

"Yea you're probably right." Steve conceded. Now that Bucky was here and he didn't have to search for him anymore. Maybe it was time to devote some energy to figuring out who his other half had been.

********

Jamie and Lucy stood on the roof, waiting for the quinjet to land. Lucy was gripping Jamie's hand in a white-knuckled grip, but he didn't mind. It meant he could grip back just as hard.

They heard the sound of the plane before they saw it. Jamie shielded Lucy from most of the wind with his taller frame. They were both impatient for it to land.

Finally it did, and the engines turned off. They both raced forward, before the back hatch could be lowered.

Lucy bounced anxiously on the balls of her feet. After an eternity, the hatch was lowered and they could see the two super soldiers. Bucky walked out first and was immediately tackled by Lucy throwing herself at him. He caught her easily with a smile.

"Hey, dollface." Jamie could hear him mumble before Lucy started kissing him.

"You...are....in...so.....much....trouble." She replied between kisses.

Jamie ignored their sickening cuteness. His eyes instead focused on Steve, who came rolling down the ramp in a wheelchair. He was covered in blood, and Jamie could see where Bucky had bandaged up the worst of the wounds.

His immediate instinct was to run forward and touch Steve for himself. Feel that he was here and alive. His next instinct was to break down crying and hug Steve in relief. He did neither of these things. Instead he just watched, still as a statue as the super soldier rolled past him and towards the elevator.

His eyes tracked his soulmate, wishing he had the right to do what Lucy had just done to her own soulmate, but he didn't and never would. He was just torturing himself being here. He should leave the tower, leave New York entirely. Go somewhere else like California where he would never run into Steve. He couldn't keep doing this.

Jamie took the stairs down from the roof rather than have to share an elevator with Steve. If he did he wouldn't be able to stop himself from doing something stupid. He walked down all 93 floors. It took him over an hour, but it was cathartic and allowed him to shed a few tears in peace.

He would have to say goodbye to Lucy before he left. That would be hard. Maybe he would just write her a note.

Jamie shook off the glumness he felt. He needed to do this. It was time he got on with his life.