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Steve had been waiting for his 16th birthday for years. And finally it was time; tomorrow was his birthday so his soulmark will appear on the wrist of his non-dominant hand. He was a ball of energy, bouncing and jumping around all day, and that is why even though he wanted to stay up until midnight to see the numbers –the birth year of his Soulmate– appear (if it appeared early), he fell asleep from exhaustion despite his best efforts.
He was woken up in the morning by an unexpected voice. When he opened his eyes he was faced with Bucky's large grin. When he saw that Steve was awake, he straightened up and put his hands on his hips.
"Wake up, sleepyhead!" he said, "it's your 16th birthday for god's sake, no time for sleeping!"
Steve's eyes widened, he got up so quickly he got dizzy. Bucky held him up by the shoulders.
"Woah!" Bucky shouted, "Careful there."
Steve held up his wrist in front of his face, then frowned when he saw the blank skin bare of any mark. Bucky craned his neck to see, and when he didn't see anything he said, "Well, there's no hurry. It surely will appear by midnight."
"Are you sure?"
"Of course,"
"You'll stay with me the whole day, won't you?"
"Obviously," Bucky wiggled his eyebrows, "for now, let's go have breakfast."
Steve hadn't seen Bucky's Soulmark yet. Buck was a year older, so he'd gotten his soulmark a year earlier. But most people hid their marks under a leather wristband. Steve was kinda upset that Bucky was hiding it from his best friend as well; he got away with it by a different excuse each time. The one repeated the most was I'm waiting for you to get your Mark too, then we'll show them to each other at the same time! Steve was determined not to let him evade it again, so today he was excited about seeing both their soulmarks.
Steve was restless all day. He checked his wrist every two seconds then whined and complained when he saw nothing. Bucky and his mom tried their best to reassure him or distract him but it only worked for a short amount of time.
Now, nightfall had arrived and his mom was tired so he didn't wait to see Steve's soulmark before she slept. But Bucky stayed with him. They sat on his bed together, leaning against the wall.
"What if I don't have a soulmate,"
"You do,"
"Then why- ouch!"
Steve hissed when his wrist burned and hurt in a weird way. The pain wasn't unbearable and it went away quickly. And anyway, Steve was happy to feel it. He held his hand under the light and looked at his wrist in awe; his heart was racing happily….
But this happiness soon turned into horror when he saw the number.
1970
His heart dropped. He gaped at it for a few seconds.
"Nineteen-seventy?!" he whispered, "what- what does this mean?! Bucky!"
He turned his gaze from his wrist to Bucky. What he saw in Bucky's face was unexpected. Steve didn't exactly know what it was; just that it wasn't shocked enough for a situation like this.
Steve stood up on his knees. "Is the world joking me? How is this possible? I'm…I'm not sure I'd even make it to adulthood! Now if I do stay alive until then by some miracle, they'd be born when I'm 52?"
"Steve…"
"Bucky!"
"Hey, be quiet and sit down for a minute."
"But-"
Bucky's hand went to open his wristband and this made Steve quiet down. He sat back down cross-legged and stared at Bucky's hands. Bucky gave Steve a tiny smile before taking the wristband off, then stretched his arm out. Steve held the back of Bucky's hand and turned his head curiously to read it.
1978
"This is-"
"Mhm,"
"They're even younger than mine…"
"Yup,"
"But how-"
"I don't know. But Stevie, it can't be a mistake if we both got 'em."
"You've been dealing with this alone for a year?" Steve choked out.
Bucky shrugged, as if being alone in an unusual and terrifying situation like this is not a big deal at all.
"I've been thinking about this a year longer than you have so I have some theories." He said.
Steve's eyes shone. He asked excitedly, "what are they?"
"From me –and you, becoming immortal, to time travel."
"But such things exist?"
"It's only as impossible as having soulmates from 4 decades later, Stevie."
Steve smiled widely, "you're right."
"Sooo, now that we both have weird dates it means whatever happens, happens to both of us. What are the odds of us both becoming immortal, in your opinion?"
Steve thought about it seriously for a few seconds, then shook his head.
"Time travel seems more probable." He said.
"Ah, yeah you're right. And at the speed technology is evolving…"
"Tsk, Bucky, they're born at the 70s, the 70s! When they've grown up there's a higher chance of time travel existing!"
"Oh! Yeah, yeah I also have thought about them being the one who comes to me."
"Oh wow. Buck, can you imagine all of a sudden a time machine appears and then our soulmates come out of it? How cool they would be? Ah, I already know I don't deserve them."
"Oh come on, Steve, have a little confidence. After all there's someone who has your birth year on their skin-"
Steve's eyes widened at the thought. He covered as cheeks, "oh! Buck! My poor soulmate! Imagine if instead of 1978 you had 1857 on your wrist. How would it feel to have a fossil for a soulmate?!"
Bucky slapped his palm on his mouth to stop himself from laughing out loud.
"Damn! You're right," he said with his voice muffled by his hand, "they'll probably go look for us in a nursing home!"
"Bucky this isn't funny at all!"
"Oh come on, it is kind of funny."
Steve grumpily slumped on the pillow. What kind of messed up situation did him and his best friend wound up in…
Bucky lied down next to him and hugged him.
"Have hope, Steve. We'll find them together." Bucky whispered.
"We'll find them…" Steve mumbled with a smile.