ACROSS THE WORLDS

Main pairs: Steve Rogers/OC, Tony Stark/Pepper Potts, Natasha Romanoff/Clint Barton
Other characters: Bruce Banner, Thor, Nick Fury, Maria Hill, OC

Everything, which Marvel, isn't belong to me, but my OCs (characters and places) are my own imagination.

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CHAPTER ONE

It started last summer, after his birthday. First there was a dull ache in his chest, and it continuously grew larger and larger, until then he was sure, it can't end well. Maybe the serum started to fade away from his body, thought Steve, because he couldn't find any answer for his unexpected health problem.

While he was grasping the balcony's railing, he lifted his right hand to rub his chest. Today was the worst so far, and this prevented him to enjoy the evening. Somewhere in the Avengers Tower somebody laughed, and hearing the deep voice, it could be Tony or Clint – Bruce was too quiet for this – or Thor. Everybody celebrated, because they successfully tracked down and captured a group, who threatened the world with their nuclear missiles. Steve sat with his friend for a while, and tried to smile, but after an hour, he couldn't take it anymore. So, he walked out the balcony to stare the city. The streets seemed peaceful, as if nobody would want to turn everything into chaos.

"Hey, Cap."

Steve dropped down his right hand from his chest to grab the railing, and just after that he turned towards his friend. Tony's face was lit by the lights of New York, the stars above their heads and the tower's lamps, and Steve clearly saw the worry. He couldn't choose if he should be happy with this or not. Definitely, his friends started to suspect, that something isn't right with him.

"Are you alright?" asked Tony, while he leant against the railing. There was a wine glass in his left hand, but he didn't sip from it.

Steve knew, he should speak about his pain, yet he didn't do it. It was just enough to process the possibility of his coming death – because its chance was very high –, he didn't want to scare him.

"Yeah," he answered after a few silent minutes, and tried to fake a smile. "I'm just thinking."

"Hm…" Tony didn't seem convinced, but after a couple of second, he shrugged. "You know, I think it's time to you finally find a woman. I'm sure, that you love be with us, but we're just a family to you. Sort of. And we can't give you what a lover can. Go, find a woman, and make me proud."

"Make you proud?" asked back Steve with a lifted eyebrow. Tony immediately started to grin, and winked at him.

"Exactly! You must admit it, that your ninety-five years compares to my forty-four, nothing in the love life. So, I feel responsible for you, as if I am your father. I have to make sure, that you won't be alone in your whole life."

Steve started to get embarrassed, as always, when the women were the main topic in their conversation. He shook his head, before his face could turn into red.

"Thanks, Tony, but I can manage my love life alone."

"How? Doing nothing?"

Steve sighed, and silently agreed with his friend. Yes, he didn't do anything. But he didn't feel the urge to find someone. Every time, when he thought about it, it felt so wrong. The only one, during the world war II. also seemed not right if he remembered back. He wasn't sure, why he thought back then, that he is in love with Peggy. Because he wasn't, now he knew it certainly.

"Tony," he sighed again. Not just because of the topic, but because of his chest pain as well, which he tried to ignore. "I know you want to do something good for me, but you have to trust me. If I have ever need some advice or help, I promise, that I will ask you. Now it's not the best time for this."

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

As Steve said that little word, immediately knew, it was a mistake. Tony will see through his lie easily.

"You're a terrible liar, Steve."

To avoid his friend's eyes, Steve elbowed on the railing, and stared down at the streets. He couldn't look at him, especially after Tony called him by his name – he was usually Cap or Capsicle, and rarely Steve. It always meant, that the man worried for him.

"So? Are you going to tell me, what's going on, or I'll have to ask Jarvis to investigate?"

It was a promise, not just a simple question, and Steve knew Tony Stark well enough to know, he won't stop until he'll find out the truth. Which wasn't predict good for the future. So, he did the only thing, what he could at that moment – played for time.

"There's nothing to worry about," he said, filling his voice with every confidence, what he found, to convince his friend. He never could lie perfectly, as if he had some kind of defensive system in him against it, and after the serum, it was almost impossible. But he had to try. He wasn't ready to tell his condition to the others. "I'm just tired. The last two weeks was really hard. Of course we succeeded, and the bad guys lost, but surely there will be others, who will attack in the future, perhaps in New York. I'll can't let deflect my attention. The dating doesn't feel right now. It doesn't mean that I'll want to spend my remaining life alone, just now there are more important things than that."

There was a short silence, while Steve straightened, and put his hands in his pockets. But didn't look at Tony yet.

"Okay."

The answer made Steve suspicious. It was too easy to convince the man, but he didn't want to miss his chance to escape from the inquiry. He nodded with his head towards the outdoors stairs, which led up to the Avengers' apartments.

"I think I'm going to bed. Have fun to you for the rest of the night."

Tony didn't protest, just his eyes spoke. They promised that sometimes his secret will be revealed, but until he won more time to finding out, what causes the pain in his chest.
Steve slowly climbed the stairs. He could use the elevator, but then he had to walk across the living room, and he certainly didn't want to meet with his friends. Not now, when he was in such a state of mind. When he arrived to his apartment, he stepped inside relieved, and for a few minutes, leant against the closed door. By then his heart really hurt, so he had to take a few deep breath to calming himself. It was hardly successful, so he started to rub his chest. It helped sometimes, but not now. Then he did the other thing, which helped him slightly in the past months – went to sleep.

---

The sleeping usually worked, so on the next day Steve woke up feeling himself better. The only side effect was the nightmare, which turned the better feeling into worst. And of course, this night wasn't exception.

As he closed his eyes, immediately fell asleep, and Steve found himself in the familiar place. The forest was always dark, only the stars above his head gave some light through the huge trees' branches. His steps were noiseless, as he left the forest – he wore his captain suit, with the shield on his back. Before him, there was a building, and while Steve approached it, rage rose in his heart. In his every dream, he couldn't explain, why is he so mad, just knew it, that somebody took something from him.

The front door was locked, but this didn't bother him. He just had to smite down the shield, and he could step inside. Where were roughly fifteen men. First it seemed, that they didn't notice him, but after several seconds, one of them attacked Steve. And the fight started. It was always different in every dream. Sometimes he easily defeated them, sometimes he had to struggle really hard, because they held him down. This time, they tried the latter, but before six of them could jump at him, Steve threw away his shield, knocking out four of the fifteen. After that, he kicked out with his legs, knocking out another four. Seven remained, who were now easy target, Steve just had to summon his shield. This was Tony's invention, and Steve was grateful for this, because it was very useful sometimes. He didn't quite understand the mechanism of the device on his left wrist, but knew absolutely, what he had to do. He just clenched his left hand into a fist with a little wrist twist, and the shield was in his left hand after a few seconds. After that, he needed only two minutes to defeat the others.

Silence fell on the room, even Steve's breathing was quiet too. He didn't see or hear anything, and he couldn't figure out, why he's there. So, he started to look around to find something. He did two rounds, and finally noticed a tiny ray lighting through the wooden wall. It could mean a secret door.

"Let's find out," he muttered under his nose, then he quietly examined the area.

It took few minutes, and Steve found the secret button, then stepped in the hidden place. He immediately noticed the big glass box shaped thing, and the woman in that. She always was in there, and even though he hadn't any idea, who she is, he unconsciously knew, she somehow meant to him something.

She was beautiful. Steve never saw any woman as beautiful as she was. She had long brown hair, which fell on her back with wavy locks, and often, when she looked up, he could see her light blue eyes, and her face was angelic with soft features and light skin. She wore a long, dark blue dress, which was elegant, and weirdly resembled to those gowns, what the women wore in the fourteenth or fifteenth century. At least Steve came to this conclusion. He wasn't sure, but remembered some pictures, what he saw on the internet. There was a magic aura around her. But her elegant face was overwhelmed by a clearly visible pain. Maybe the glass prevented the sounds' escape, because Steve couldn't hear her screaming, only saw it – she kneeled on the glass floor, and yelled with tightly closed eyes. It was heart-breaking, so Steve did the only thing, what his heart told him. With his shield, he struck on the glass wall, but unfortunately it remained intact, and after few more blow, there wasn't yet any scratch on its surface. Steve became desperate, not just because the woman's pain turned much worse, but also because his returned – he didn't feel it since the forest. While he continuously attacked the wall with the shield, his strength started to fade away. After several minutes Steve was afraid, that he can't save the woman, and maybe neither himself. She was already unconscious. His last blow went down weakly onto the glass, before he fell on his knees. He hardly could see, everything was blurred, and black dots jumped everywhere. His breathing was weak. The last picture, what he saw before he passed out, was the beautiful woman, who somehow made her way into his aching heart, even if he didn't know her.

---

Steve woke up with a start, and because of his sudden move, fell out from the bed. His every muscles trembled, and he felt himself so weak to stand up, that he remained on the floor. Usually, when he woke up at the mornings, the pain wasn't so bad, and after a few seconds, he didn't even remember the nightmare. This morning was different.

His chest really hurt, and he could recite every single minute of the dream. It was the first time, that he didn't forget it. The woman, who was in such a powerful pain, her beautiful face, his pain also, and the fact, that he almost died. Steve ran his left hand through his blonde hair, while with his other hand, started to massage his chest. He didn't know, how much longer he can hold on.

Steve couldn't tell, how much time had passed, the minutes were blur. Then his bedroom's door burst open, and Tony's face appeared before him.


"Steve?"

Steve couldn't be happy seeing his friend. He was a mess, it was truth, and he tried so hard to avoid these scenes for a while.

"Tony. What are you doing here?"

"Because you're lying for month, and I'll can't let to happen something to you. If you don't do anything, I'll have to. Come on," Tony stood up, then simply grabbed Steve's right arm to pull him up. "We are going to take a little trip to the medical level."

Steve didn't try to stop his friend. Maybe everything will be fine, after Tony found out his bad condition. And maybe it's time to stop lying.

"How did you find out, I'm not well?" he asked the black-haired man, while they headed for the front door of the apartment.

"I asked Jarvis to notify me, if something happening to you. He woke me up a few minutes ago, that you had almost a heart attack." Tony didn't seem to regret his secret action, and Steve didn't complain. It was clear, that his friend was spying on him, only because he was worried for him. "That reminds me…" said Tony, and before they could step out from the apartment, he continued. "Jarvis!"

"Yes, sir?" came the well-known voice from the air.

"Please wake up Bruce, then inform him, that I need him in the medical centre."

"Yes, Mr. Stark."

"I hope, you won't tell this to everybody," spoke Steve, when they started to walk again towards the elevator. "It feels good, that you're worried, and want to help, but I don't want to scare the others."

Tony didn't answer right away, just when they already were in the lift.

"You know, sometime they will find out."

"I know," sighed Steve, while he nodded. It was easily predictable. "I'm just not ready for this. At least until I'll know exactly, what is my health problem."

"Alright." They stepped out from the lift onto a white corridor, which led to a glass door. There were some chairs next to it. Steve dropped himself down on one of them, then silently looked up to his friend. Tony stood there for a few seconds, before he continued. "Now we wait for Bruce, then make some examination on you. And after that, when I'll finally know the truth, we'll decide, what to do."

Steve sighed, and nodded. He knew without any doubt that he faces a long day.

Notes

Not so long ago I watched the Marvel’s movies, and this idea popped out from my head. I hope, you’ll like it. This story will be a Steve/OC story, they’ll be the main pair, but the other avengers will get enough role too.

And there are some informations about the background (these will appear in the story, but to understand the main plot):
In the universe, everyone has a soulmate, and when the soulmate links comes to life, the mates immediately feel it. If they don’t be with each other, their heart ache, and if they don’t meet in a certain amount of time, they’ll die. So after the awakening of the soulmate link, their main goal is to find their mate. Plus information, that usually the link activates at the age of 90-100.