Wanda's POV

I really hated these early morning commutes. I hated getting up before the sun every day, and the little bit of free-time that I had in the morning before I had to be at work were spent in the long, long line of the only coffee shop in town. The line was full of half-asleep people like me who were on their way to work, except they spent an unnecessary amount of time staring at the menu trying to decide what they wanted while at the register.

A large over-weight man stood at the front of the line, hands in his pockets, staring at the menu muttering to himself. He stood for a few minutes saying, "Ummm..." while the cashier and baristas behind the counter shared different looks with each other and apologetic looks with the other customers.

"Sir, perhaps you'd rather step out of line—"

"Don't rush me, dear. I've almost got it figured out," he said rudely, cutting her off, holding up a hand to silence her. I groaned and looked at my watch. Sighing deeply, I hitched my bag further up on my shoulder and stepped out of line, leaving the small shop, a few other people in line following me.

"Can you believe that guy?" a voice asked me from behind. I spun around and was met with a beautiful young woman with red hair and purple eyes dressed in black work-out leggings and a pink tank top. Cool. I threw my hands up in the air and scoffed.

"I know. It's not like other people need to get something or have places to go." She chuckled and reached up, grabbing onto her hair, and tied it up in a high pony tail.

"What time do you have to be in?" she asked me, resting her hands on her hips.

"9:30. You?"

"Technically, I'm at work. I work at a gym and it was my turn to grab the morning coffee," she said rolling her eyes. I smiled at her, breathed a laugh, and gave her a dubious, but not serious look.

"Is coffee the best thing to drink if you work at a gym?"

"Oh please. I practically eat pizza every night. It's my job to get other people healthy, not myself," she laughed. I shook my head at her and looked down at my watch again. My eyes widened and panic coursed through me. That couldn't be right, could it?

"Oh shit, I'm really sorry, but I gotta go." The woman nodded and we both went our separate ways, with me running down the street to my car and speeding to work.

○○○

Opening the door to my apartment, I sighed loudly. What a day! Soft footsteps padding across the hardwood floor sounded to my left, and the head of my roommate Jemma appeared as she leaned against the open counter leading into our kitchen. She had a wine glass in her hand and a large metal spoon dangling from her mouth.

"Hey, hey, hey," she greeted, taking the spoon out of her mouth. "How was work?"

I walked around the corner and entered the kitchen, pulled out a wine glass from one of the cabinets, and grabbed the bottle of wine that sat on the table, filling up my glass. Jemma moved from the counter and sat at the table, next to me. I took a long sip, basically downing my drink, and filled it up again.

"That bad, huh?"

"You have no idea," I breathed out, resting my head in my hand and grasping a tight fistful of hair. Jemma placed her hand on my back and rubbed it up and down as she refilled her glass.

"Was it the normal bad or a different bad? Because if it's the normal bad, I told you before, Wanda, that there's nothing to be done..."

"I think it's a bit of both...I can't explain it." I saw Jemma nod her head in understanding and take another sip. "What did you do for dinner?"

"Ordered take out from that Italian place on the corner that you like." I sighed and stood up from my chair and walked to another cabinet, pulling out a packet of Ramen. "I ordered you an Italian hoagie; provolone, onions, and peppers." I paused and looked at her, smiling brightly, and put the Ramen back.

"Jesus fucking Christ, thank you!" I exclaimed as I hugged her and skipped to the fridge, pulling out my hoagie. Jemma laughed and poured another glass of wine for both of us.

"No problem. I texted you, but you never answered my back, so I figured 'what the hell?'" she said shrugging.

I furrowed my brows and checked my phone, and sure enough, about three hours ago I received a text from Jemma Barnes asking if I wanted anything from Alberto's. I put my phone away and looked back at Jemma.

"I'm so sorry. My phone must've been on silent..."

"Don't worry about it," she said smiling and waving me off. "I know you, girl."

○○○

I tossed and turned in my bed, groaning in my sleep. I had never been able to sleep right, but tonight was different. It wasn't quite a nightmare, but it was a little disturbing.

I was running down the street. Why was I running? I never ran anywhere—I mean I ran when I was late, but not for fun. What was going on? I kept running down the street confused, when all of a sudden, the redheaded woman with purple eyes ran alongside me. She looked over at me and winked before sprinting ahead of me.

"What the hell?" I muttered to myself as I picked up the pace to catch up with her. As I reached her side, she turned her head towards me briefly, locking her purple eyes with my green ones and smiled.

"It's about time you got here, Little Red," she said, sounding a little out of breath.

"Little Red?" I huffed trying to catch my breath. I powered through, ignoring the burning thumping of my heart. "What's that supposed to mean?"

She laughed and tucked a strand behind her ear. "Relax beautiful. It's just a nickname."

I turned away from her and focused on the empty path ahead of us and tried to block her out, but something about her kept drawing me in. I gazed at her profile, watching the beads of sweat form on her hairline and drip and run down her face and neck. I watched her long red hair tied in a high pony tail like when I met her bounce with each step she took.

Unlike mine, her breathing was steady and even and I was jealous. I was wheezing and coughing as I tried to not die from running. How did she do it? Did she run every day? Jesus fucking Christ! I think I'm dying.

"Keep up, Little Red," she said over my loud breathing and ran faster, leaving me in her metaphorical dust. I let out a guttural groan as I forced my legs to go faster, propelling me closer to her. She looked back at me and smirked, slowly picking up the pace to make me run faster. "Almost there, Little Red. Catch me, and I'll give you a reward."

I didn't know what she meant by "reward," but my legs were out of my control. Against my wishes, my legs pumped faster and faster, and before I knew it, I had caught up with her again. She suddenly stopped, opened her arms up to me, catching me as I crashed into her. She held me tightly and brought a hand down to my chin and pressed her lips fiercely against mine.

I woke up in a cold sweat; the dream felt so real. And why was she in my dream? I didn't even know her and I only spoke to her for a few minutes. My hand flew up to my lips. My fingers gently grazed them and the kiss replayed in my mind, like it was happening again right in front of me. The unknown woman's lips were soft but firm, warm and inviting, and moved against mine with a hunger that confused me.

But I...like it. I've had a lot of kisses and first kisses before, but none of them ever felt like this. Whoever she was, she made me feel alive. My heart fluttered and pounded along with her moving lips. A knock on my door snapped me out of my thoughts, making me jump and fall off my bed.

"Wanda, you decent?" Jemma asked as she continued to knock. I cleared my throat and stammered as I untangled myself from my blankets and hopped up off the floor.

"Uh...yeah Jemma. Come on in," I said smoothing my clothes and my hair. Jemma opened my door and walked in.

"Is everything okay? I thought I heard you...I don't even know. Were you—" My eyes widened when I caught on to where she was going.

"Jemma, I just had a nightmare. Everything's fine."

She shrugged and laid on my bed, rubbing her face with her hands.

"How the hell is it morning already?"

"I don't know," I said as I laid next to her, leaning my head against her shoulder. I lifted my arm up and traced my finger over the dark mark on the inside of my wrist. I couldn't describe it; all I knew was that it had been there since I was born.

"Do you have to work today?"

"No. Mr. Stark was nice to give me the day off," I said, still focusing on my mark. "Hey so, I was thinking about going for a run. Can I borrow some of your running gear?"

Jemma looked over at me and raised a brow. "Since when do you run?"

"I don't know." I shrugged. "I've been getting a little out of shape lately, and I think maybe I should try to lose some weight."

"Oh shut up! You're skinnier than a twig! You do not need to worry about being out of shape or losing weight," Jemma exclaimed as she lightly slapped my arm. I laughed at her and linked my arm with hers.

"It's never too early to work on physical fitness," I said, making her laugh.

"You better fucking stop. I mean it."

"Still. Can I borrow some clothes?"

She sighed and said, "Sure. Just wash 'em when you're done."

○○○

Claire's POV

I stood against the wall outside of the locker room gently chewing on my bottom lip, the events of my dream from the night before playing over and over again. It was...really weird that I had a dream of a random person that I met on the street and I was kissing them. Granted, it wasn't the weirdest dream I've ever had; that prize went to Jessica Blake and Josh O'Rourke, the hottest people in my eighth grade class who also happened to be the two people that I had a crush on. At the same time. Man, what a confusing year!

But this woman...she was different. There was something about her, and I could sense it in the dream. There was a tension in the air—in the dream at least—that pulled us together, and no matter how far we drifted, we always ended up back together.

I've heard the stories of things like this; stories of soulmates meeting in dreams, but I never thought it would happen to me. Could...could she be my soulmate?

"Hey Stowell. You're up," Steve Rogers said, patting me on the back as he entered the men's locker room.

"You get 'em all warmed up for me, Captain?" He stopped and chuckled.

"Yes ma'am. They're all yours."

"Good man." He shook his head and laughed as he walked into the locker room and out of my view, wiping his brow with a small towel. I sighed and gathered my things and entered into the studio filled with dozens of exercise bikes. I walked to the front of the room, waving and greeting the members of my class. I plopped my stuff down on the floor besides my bike, placed my full bottle of cold water in the cupholder, and adjusted my headset. I looked at my watch, waiting for the second hand to get to twelve before I started my class.

"Alright guys, good afternoon!" I greeted my class. They responded with a chorus of good afternoon. "Is everyone ready to sweat?"

The class erupted in cheers and applause, and we all mounted our bikes.

○○○

"Good job guys. Have a good day," I said as my class ended. I climbed off my bike and grabbed a towel from my duffle bag and wiped my sweaty body. I waved to a few of my lingering students and shoved my towel into my bag and grabbed the strap and my bottle and left the room, nodding to the next teacher who was coming in with his class.

I took my phone out of the pocket of my leggings and opened my messages, sending a quick text to my friend Bucky.

Hey. Just got off work. Want to grab drinks @ Rudy's?

AWW SHIT YES! I'LL MEET YOU THERE ;)

I put my phone back in my pocket and, hoisting my duffle bag on my shoulder, made to leave the gym.

"Hey Stowell," Steve called from behind me. I spun on my heels to face him and smiled.

"Hey Rogers. What's up?"

"Where ya headed?" he asked, taking a sip from his bottle.

"Me and Bucky are going to Rudy's for some drinks. Wanna come? You can finally ask him out." Steve blushed deeply and tried to hide it by taking another sip of his water.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Stowell."

I scoffed and cocked my head at him.

"Oh come on, Rogers. You expect me to not notice how you always hang around him when we hang out? Or how you stare at him whenever you think no one is noticing? News flash Rogers, we all notice." His eyes widened and his blush darkened, but he didn't respond. I chuckled and patted his large muscular shoulder. "So, you want to come? I can give you a ride?"

"Sure," he said and followed me out of the gym, holding the door open for me as we exited.

"You mind if we stop at my place real quick? I didn't get a chance to grab a quick shower at the gym and I reek," I asked him as we reached my car. He laughed and dumped his duffle bag into the backseat next to mine.

"Yeah sure. You know, I didn't want to say anything, but you do stink." We laughed and drove off to my apartment.

○○○

I stirred my drink and rested my head against my arm, trying to drown out the sound of Bucky and Steve arguing over something petty and stupid. My thoughts traveled back to my dream, to the woman, to the kiss. How could a dream feel so real? I licked my lips as I felt hers on mine once more. They were soft and warm and when we touched...it was like one of us was eating Pop Rocks right before. Just the thought of the tingles I felt made me shiver now at bar. In front of my friends. Who turned and looked at me with questioning eyes.

"You okay, Stowell?" Steve asked.

"Yeah you look a little...I don't know...weird," Bucky added, earning a sharp elbow in his abdomen and a harsh look from Steve. I laughed at them as they exchanged looks between each other before turning to me.

"I'm fine, guys. I was just thinking."

"Oh no," Bucky exclaimed looked at Steve. "Claire thinking? We better hit the deck because Claire thinking is not a good thing." Steve elbowed Bucky again, harder this time, and Bucky cried out in pain, causing me to laugh.

"What were you thinking about?" Steve asked sincerely while Bucky rubbed his abdomen and contorted his face in pain and discomfort.

"Oh, it's nothing, Rogers. Just a dream I had last night."

"Oooh! Claire had a dream! Girl, spill it," Bucky said, putting on the stereotypical gay guy voice, which wasn't funny at all. I sighed as both Steve and Bucky stared at me, expecting me to speak. They pouted and whimpered, trying to goad me to talk, and damnit it was working. I sighed loudly, and they high-fived when they saw me giving in.

"Okay fine. Honestly, it was nothing. There was just this woman that I was running with and at the end we kissed. It's no big deal—"

"Wait, you kissed her in the dream?"

"Yeah, but like I said, it was nothing. I've had dreams like this before and I've done much more than kiss," I said, sipping my drink and avoiding their eyes. They shared a knowing look before turning back to me.

"So wait," Steve started holding up a hand. "You mean to say that you kissed her in the dream?"

I shrugged, took another sip, and said, "Yeah. So what?"

Steve and Bucky looked at each other once more, a certain unknown gleam in their eyes, and they spoke softly and silently in their own special language. I watched them as I took another sip of my drink, finishing it, and ordered another one. By the time I was halfway done with my new drink, they finally finished their discussion and turned back to me.

"Claire, have you met this woman before?" Bucky asked in a serious tone that was lacking before.

"Briefly. We talked for all of two minutes outside the coffee shop before she had to go to work," I said, pulling a French fry from the basket between us. Barnes and Noble (ha-ha! I came up with that one!) looked at each other again.

"And you haven't met her before?"

"Nope." I hissed a bit and scratched at my right wrist. Gazing at the spot, the familiar birthmark on the inside of my wrist turned red and started to itch and burn.

"Is it bothering you?" Bucky asked, grabbing my wrist and looking at the mark.

"Yeah, but it's really random. It's never done this before."

"Try not to scratch it. It'll only make it worse and irritate it more," he said, letting me go.

"Maybe it's an allergic reaction to something you ate or touched?" Steve asked, popping a fry in his mouth. I pulled my hand to my lap and shrugged. "Anyway, back to your dream. Claire, I think you might've met your soulmate. You know you can meet them in dreams."

"I thought you had to have some kind of mark?" I asked.

"It can be both, I think."

"It's probably nothing. Random people show up all the time in dreams. It doesn't always mean anything. Besides, I didn't see a mark on her." My voice sounded dejected. Where did that come from? I didn't know this woman? Why was I disappointed that this random woman wasn't my soulmate? It didn't make any sense. The usual nonchalant look on my face disappeared and morphed into a disappointed frown.

"I don't know, Claire. I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss this," Bucky said. He gave me a sympathetic smile and rested a hand on my shoulder, causing me to look at him. "Just...don't lose faith, Claire Bear. You'll find them soon."

"Do you ever worry about this? Do you...ever think that you won't find yours?" I asked him. He sighed and scooted his chair closer to me and wrapped his arm around my shoulders, pulling me to him.

"Truth be told, it is something I think about. When I was your age—"

"You're like five years older than me, Buck."

"Still. When I was your age, I was caught up in the madness that comes with thinking and looking for your soulmate. It drove me crazy, and when I didn't find them right away, I got depressed. I thought of nothing but bad things that could've happened. Maybe they were killed. Maybe they were happily married with someone else and didn't know that there was something or someone better for them elsewhere. Maybe they knew who I was and...didn't want me, that they would rather live a half-life either with someone else or alone than be with me."

He took a deep shuddering breath and I placed a hand on his knee.

"And when I wasn't thinking about them, I was thinking about me. Wondering what was wrong with me. Was it something I did or said? Was I unlovable? This kind of thinking is unhealthy, Claire, and it took me a while—too long actually—to realize that if it's going to happen, it will. In time. Now, I can't tell you whether or not this woman is your soulmate, and I can't tell you to let it go, but...don't lose hope, okay? But also, don't obsess over it. It'll happen when it happens."

"When will that be?" I asked him, my voice cracking and tears coming to my eyes. Bucky chuckled humorlessly and looked down.

"I'll let you know when I find out, but from my experience and understanding, it happens when you're both ready."

Steve looked down at his drink and slowly lifted his hand to touch Bucky's shoulder, but it faltered and hesitated in the air, before dropping back down to the wooden counter of the bar. We all ordered another round of drinks and drank in silence for multiple minutes. Despite our talk, the mystery woman from my dream still haunted my mind. I wanted to see her again, to hear her voice and her laughter again, to feel her lips on mine again.

We finished our drinks and a few more rounds before we all called it a night. Steve, myself and Bucky went our separate ways, and before returning to my lonely apartment, I dropped Steve off at his.

"Thanks again Claire. Drive safe," he said as he was about to close the door.

"Steve," I called out to him, stopping him from closing my door and leaving. "I know how much it's hurting you. How much it's hurting Bucky. Whether or not you two noticed it, I noticed it—the mark that you both share. Talk to him; tell him who you are."

He nodded, closed the door, and entered his apartment building after giving me a final goodbye. I turned my car around and drove back to my apartment.

○○○

He stood before me, gun in hand and raised, ready to fire. It was pointed in my direction, but it wasn't aimed at me. I turned sharply, and behind me stood my father, holding out his arm as if to say "stop." Behind him, stood my mother and younger brother and sister, cowering in fear, shaking and crying. I took two steps back and gazed at the mysterious man. He was wearing all black and the shadows hid his face.

He was about to pull the trigger as the dark atmosphere shifted to the living room of my childhood home. I wanted to scream, to tell him to stop, but no sound came out. I wanted to fight him, but I couldn't move. I shook in fear and from my sobbing, and closed my eyes tight, waiting to hear the inevitable bang that would ruin my life forever.

Except, the bang didn't come. I slammed my hands over my ears to drown out any sound, in case of some painful delay, and continued to sob and scream at the loss of my family. Gentle hands rested on my face, bring it up and out from inside my lap, and caressed my cheeks before moving their hands to mine. Though I couldn't be certain whose hands they were, they felt familiar. Slowly, I opened my tear-filled eyes and gazed up into the soothing green eyes of the mystery woman from my previous dream. She knelt down before me and kissed my cheeks, wiping away the wet streaks of tears.

"It's okay," she whispered, caressing the surfaces of my hands with her thumbs, and resting her forehead against mine. Starting to cry once more, I let go of her hands and embraced her, nuzzling my face into the front of her shirt and grasping it tightly in the back. Her arms circled around me and rubbed up and down my back in soothing patterns. "It's okay. It's okay. I'm here. Everything is gonna be okay."

She pressed her lips lightly against the top of my head and started to whisper soothing things into my ear as she held me. The whispered things turned into her humming a soft lullaby. I didn't know the words or the tune of the song, but it was very pretty and helped to calm me down.

"Try to go back to sleep," she muttered, kissing my head again. "Try to go back to sleep. I'll be here when you wake up."

I didn't want to sleep. I wanted to sit in her arms forever. I wanted to feel her run her hands up and down my back more and to hear her sing to me, but I couldn't fight the pull of sleep that washed over me. My eyes fluttered until they stayed shut. The woman's arms tightened around me as she repositioned me and made me more comfortable as I drifted off.

The sound of my alarm pulled me from my restless sleep and I rubbed my face and groaned. I hated mornings, especially when it was another day to make my aching muscles scream in agony. I got up out of bed and walked into the bathroom and hopped in the shower to wash the sleep off me. Like before, last night's dream was stuck in my mind. I've had that nightmare before tons of times, and each time I woke up screaming and having to stay awake the rest of the night watching Netflix or playing on my phone until it was time to get up and get ready for work. But last night...last night was different. That woman came in and chased my demons away and instantly made me feel better.

The way she held me and soothed me nerves...was almost supernatural. And how could she enter into my dream right when I needed her most? Was she a figment of my imagination? A physical representation of my need for comfort and security in a time when I was most vulnerable? God, I wish she was really here.

I finished up with my shower and got dressed in a blue tank top and purple leggings, black and gray sneakers, and tied my damp towel-dried hair in a high pony tail. I yawned and walked into my kitchen and made myself a cup of coffee, and sitting at the table, drank it slowly and looked at my phone. I was so incredibly bored and I didn't even start work yet. Today was going to be a long day.

○○○

"Everything okay, Stowell?" Steve asked me as we sat in the break room eating lunch.

"Yeah, everything's fine," I sighed, digging my spoon into my yogurt.

"Anything you want to talk about?"

I sighed again and threw my head back. "I saw her again. In my dream—or nightmare to be technical. You know that one I have my parents?"

Steve nodded and took a sip of his water.

"Well, before he could pull the trigger, she came in and...changed it. She held me and sung to me and...soothed me back into sleep. This never happened before. For the first time ever, I didn't wake up screaming and I think it was because of her."

Steve set his water bottle down on the table and looked at me with a seriousness that I couldn't comprehend at the moment. He then sighed and laid a hand on top of mine. Huh...it was softer than it looked. Did he moisturize? And if he did, did he do it every day?

"Claire, I really think you met your soulmate."

"Eh...maybe. I wish I could find her again. Maybe if I saw her again, in person...maybe then I would know for sure and I could move on with my life. But she is haunting me. She's infiltrating my thoughts and my dreams and I can't..." I paused and unclenched the fist that I didn't even know was clenched. Four red nail indentations laid out in a straight line along the inside of my palm, stinging and making me wince at the unexpected pain. "I can't stop thinking about her, Steve. I can't and I want to. I want to think about something else, to dream about something else, but she keeps coming to me. Like a yo-yo or a rubber band being stretched and pulled and let go. And I don't know what to do. I don't know what to do."

Steve gave me a sympathetic look and patted my hand.

"Part of me envies you—the illogical part, that is. Part of me wishes that I hadn't found my soulmate yet, that way I could...I don't know...feel something different. Then I would have an excuse for not saying or doing anything about it," he breathed out with a heavy sigh.

"I don't know, Rogers. This pain fucking sucks. I don't even know her name..." I sighed heavily. "What I would give to be in your shoes. At least then I would have the option to act."

"Can we talk about something else? This topic is making me depressed."

"Hmm...almost as depressed as Bucky must feel going through his days without his soulmate." Steve narrowed his eyes and huffed. "Okay, sure, we can change the subject."

○○○

Wanda's POV

The room around me was pitch black and empty. I turned around, looking in all directions, and seeing nothing. As I turned to my left again, an unknown man suddenly appeared, holding a gun in the air. At first he was aiming at nothing, but as quickly as I blinked, an entire family appeared on the other side of the gun, with the woman from my previous dream standing in the middle.

I couldn't hear anything except her screaming and sobbing as she cowered into herself, eyes closed and ears covered. An instinctual part of me propelled me forward, running through the man with the gun and making him evaporate, as I ran to her. I stopped in front of her turtled form and knelt down to her level, gently placing my hands on her uncovered cheeks.

"It's okay," I whispered to her.

Her head slowly moved up and her eyes looked at me, holding such an amount of pain and sadness that I haven't seen before in a single person. I rubbed my thumb across her cheeks and kissed the wet streaks along her face that acted as tracks for her tears.

"It's okay."

The woman leaped forward into my arms and tightly held me. I wrapped my arms around her and held her in my arms, softly soothing her pain.

"Everything is gonna be okay."

Her sobbing picked up again and I continued to hold her as she cried, rubbing my hands up and down her back in soothing patterns and whispering soothing things into her ear. I don't know how long we sat there in the pitch black...room? but as we sat, her tears stopped and her sobbing quieted down to low and inconsistent whimper and slightly more consistent hiccupping.

"Try to go back to sleep," I told her as she relaxed in my arms. After some resistance, she settled down and closed her eyes and fell back to sleep. I kissed her head while she slept and ran my fingers through her soft hair, enjoying the silky feel and fresh scent and gorgeous color. I don't know who she was, but I wanted her, more than anything. This...connection that I had with her was amazing and marvelous and being with her left me in a state of bliss that I never experienced. Even now, when I was holding her as she cried, I felt happier than I ever felt.

"Sleep tight. I'll be here when you wake up."

"Wanda. Wanda, wake up."

My eyes snapped open to see Jemma looming over me and shaking me awake. I blinked and groaned and rubbed my face, clearing away the sleep that still rested there.

"What time is it?" I asked her as she sat on the side of my bed, resting her hand on my stomach.

"It's almost noon. Don't you have to be at work?"

"I think I'll take a sick day. I'm not feeling all that great." It wasn't completely a lie. I didn't feel good, mostly because of the mystery woman from my dream. But...if it was my dream...then who was that man? And that family? Whose house was I in? None of this made any sense, and I prayed that Jemma would be able to stay at home with me so I could talk to her. I wanted to tell her about the dreams that I've been having and the woman that I kept seeing. I needed someone to talk to about it.

"Is everything okay? Are you sick?"

"I just...haven't been sleeping well, that's all," I told her, playing with the edge of the blanket.

"Are you sure you're okay?" she asked me, placing the back of her hand against my forehead.

"I'm okay, Jemma. I just need a day."

She sighed and caressed my cheek. "Alright, sweetie, whatever you say. How about we order a pizza and just spend the day curled up on the couch watching cheesy romantic comedies?"

I smiled and nodded as I sat up in my bed.

"I'd like that."

The pizza came about an hour later, and in that time, I got out of bed and got dressed. Walking into the living room, I crawled onto the couch and practically laid on top of Jemma, causing her to laugh and wrap an arm around me to pull me close.

"Are you feeling a little better?" she asked, once more touching my forehead.

"I'm okay, but I don't have a fever, Jemma."

"I know. It's instinct," she laughed.

The buzzer to our apartment rang, and Jemma got up, grabbed the money that was on the counter, and collected the pizza before coming back to the couch. She placed it on the coffee table and ran to kitchen to grab a bottle of wine and two glasses.

"It's about damn time," she said as she sat down and poured the wine. I chuckled and opened the pizza box and took a slice. Jemma leaned back and turned on the TV, scrolling through the different apps as she searched for a movie to put on. "What are you in the mood to watch?"

I bit my lip and played with my fingers nervously. I glanced over to her as she bit her slice of pizza and said in a low voice, "Actually, can we talk for a sec?"

Jemma froze mid bite and looked at me, putting her slice down in the box.

"Sure, sweetie. What's going on?"

"For the past few nights, I've been having really weird dreams..."

"What kind of dreams?" she asked turning on the couch to face me better.

"I keep...seeing this woman. She keeps coming into my dreams and whenever I see her, I feel this...tension, except it's not bad tension; it's good and feels nice. It sucks me in and draws me to her like she's a magnet. And when I touch her, it's like there's fireworks that go off under my skin. I don't know who she is, Jemma, but I want her. Badly. I think...I think she might be my soulmate," I told her slowly, gesturing at times with uncertainty. Jemma did nothing but stare at me. She didn't interrupt with questions or input. She didn't make jokes. She didn't laugh or scoff or make any judgmental noises, which was a little jarring since these were all things that Jemma usually did, not to me though, but to people in general.

"So..." she said after a little while of mental processing, "what's she look like? Is she cute?" She gave me a goofy smile, shimmied her shoulders, and wiggled her eyebrows as she pressed for more information on the mystery woman. Information that was in short supply.

"She has long curly—or maybe it's wavy...actually it doesn't matter—red hair and purple eyes. Her skin is like really pale and there's some kind of marking on the left side of her face, but I can't tell what it is. Every time I see her, it's always hidden by her hair. She's...a little taller than me, maybe a few inches and is like super skinny. She runs."

"So that's why you wanted to borrow my running gear," Jemma said with a smirk, but it quickly turned to a blank look of inquiry. "By the way did you—"

"Washed it and put it back in your room."

"Thanks babe, you're a star," she said smiling. "So you really think she's your soulmate? I thought you didn't believe in that stuff."

"I don't know if I necessarily believe it, but I think it's more of a hope or something that I would like. I would like to meet someone that I just connect with, that I feel attraction for that goes beyond anything physical, but I also know that it's not all realistic," I said with a sad sigh. Jemma leaned over and gave me a side hug, resting her head against my shoulder.

"Well, regardless of whether or not they're real, if I was into you like that, I would totally date you." I laughed and playfully shoved her away from me. "I'm serious Wanda. Don't get me wrong, you're like really hot, but I only see you as a friend. Maybe it's because I'm in a committed relationship..."

"It's definitely because you're in a committed relationship," I said, still laughing.

"Whatever. Enough about me, let's get back to you. When did you notice her in your dreams?"

"The other day. I actually met her briefly outside the coffee shop that I go to on my way to work, but I was running late and couldn't get her name or her number." I pouted slightly. I wished that I had taken the extra time to make sure I had some of her contact information before rushing off to work. Jemma gave me a sympathetic smile and grasped my hand.

"Well hey, I know what that's like. I told you about how I ran into Lily? She was only in town for that one night and all I had to go off of was her name, her first name mind you. I thought I would never find her, but somehow I got lucky. The same thing will happen to you. Just be patient and keep your eyes open. It'll happen when it happens." I smiled at her. Jemma was like a second mom and was always filled with bits and bits of wisdom. I loved her so much and was so lucky to have her as my friend. I smiled back at her and gave her hand a gentle squeeze, and with my other hand, grabbed the remote and continued to scroll through different movies.

"Thanks for the talk, Jemma. I'm really glad that I have you."

"Of course, babe. I'm always here for you."

○○○

I stood in the line of the coffee shop once again, waiting for some jerk who didn't know what he wanted try to order something after not looking at the menu until he got to the front of the line. I sighed deeply and my hand against my temple, trying to ease the coming headache. It's too early for this.

Finally I got to the front and ordered my usual iced mocha and stood off to the side while I waited for it to be made and scrolled on my phone, checking the new emails that I had received in the short time between waking up and standing in line. Out of the corner of my eye, a curtain of red grew closer and closer to until it stopped in front of me.

"Excuse me, can I get by you?"

I turned my head to the left and met the haunting purple eyes of the mystery woman from my dreams. My eyes widened as I saw her and after a second, hers did too in realization.

"It's you," she said in a hushed and strained voice. "You were in my dream."

"I was in your dream? You were in my dream."

We stood in silence staring at each other, my thoughts drifting back to our supernatural-like connection despite the fact that we were both strangers to each other. The woman in front of me blushed a little and tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear and scratched at the back of her neck.

"Medium iced mocha," the barista said as she placed on the pick-up counter. Both of us instantly reached for the drink before we paused and looked at each other again.

"Um...I think that's mine," I said sheepishly.

"I don't know, I got the same thing."

I shifted on my feet as we both awkwardly stood in front of the pick-up counter wondering whose drink was sitting there and waiting for one of us to take it. I looked down at the floor and avoided her gaze, not that it mattered since she wasn't looking at me anyway.

"Another medium iced mocha," the barista said again as she placed another similar cup on the counter next to the other one. The redhead looked at me and back at the cups and hesitantly grabbed one before turning back to me. I chuckled a little, grabbed the other one and reached behind me, grabbing two straws, handing one to her. She muttered a thank you as she stabbed the straw into the lid and took a sip. I slid by her and took a seat at an empty table and placed my bag on it in front of me. The mysterious woman slowly walked after me and stood awkwardly by the table I was sitting at. I looked up at her, raised a brow, and gestured to an empty seat beside me.

"You can sit, you know," I said. Her cheeks flushed a light pink and she pulled the chair back, sitting down and staring straight ahead. We were quiet for a little while, awkwardly sitting next to each other, staring at our drinks. She took a deep breath and huffed an exhale.

"So..." she said, clearing her throat to clear the awkwardness between us. "You uh...you saw my dream."

What did I say to that? Did I confirm it or play dumb? It wasn't really a question, so I didn't know how to respond to her. I took a sip of my drink and licked my lips.

"Which dream?" I asked her, ultimately deciding to play the dummy. She turned her stunning purple eyes over to me, the mark on the left side of her face morphing into a painfully glaring and jagged scar.

"The one with the man...and the gun. You were there. You...you stopped it."

"What was that about?" I asked her in a hushed voice, growing serious. Her face turned sad and tears formed in her eyes as she shook her head. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pry..."

"No, no, don't worry about it. I...don't really want to go into detail about it, but I will say this...I've had that nightmare tons of times before, but that was the first time I didn't wake up screaming and crying. And I know it's because of you."

I played with the rings on my fingers and looked down. Heat rose to my cheeks and I bit my lip to stop the smile that crept up on my lips. Knowing that I helped her...that made me feel good. Something washed over my heart and made me feel really warm and fuzzy. God, what was happening?

"I...didn't do anything special..."

"Are you kidding? You held me, let me cry on your shoulder, tried to calm me down, and sung to me. It might not have been special to you, but it made all the difference to me."

Somewhere between her talking to me and now, her hand found its way onto mine, holding it firmly. My hand instantly warmed at the feeling of her skin against mine, and the tingles exploded and spread throughout my body. Because of the extra heat, both of our hands started to sweat, but neither of us pulled away. I didn't want her to pull away; I prayed she wouldn't. I think she felt the same way because I felt her fingers twitch against my skin, as if she was about to pull them away, but ultimately decided not to. I looked up at her, gazing at the redness in her face cradling around her bright purple eyes that seemed to glow and sparkle despite the lack of light shining directly into the amethyst irises. They were beautiful.

All too soon, she moved her hand away from mine, and placed it in her lap, playing with the hem of her shirt. She inhaled deeply and reached for her drink, taking a sip.

"Are you umm...are you free right now?" she asked, her voice wavering nervously. "I think we have a lot to talk about."

I looked over her outfit: a casual yellow workout shirt and light gray leggings and wondered why she wanted to meet now. She was dressed the same as she was when we first talked, and she mentioned that she worked at a gym, so shouldn't she be at work? I had no right to judge; I should be at work, but after disclosing every bit of my troubles to Jemma, I didn't feel any better. In fact, I felt worse. I spent the rest of the night thinking about the woman that sat next me, and about that Jemma said. Could this be the moment?

"If you have to go, that's fine too. I'll just give you my number that way we can still talk..."

"No!" I said all too quickly as I slammed my hand against the table, causing her to jump and widen her eyes. "Sorry. I'm actually not busy right now. We can go wherever you want. To talk."

She smiled a little and finished off her drink before she said, "Do you want to go now? I know a place down the street that's quiet and kind of private."

"Sure."

We stood up from the table and threw our trash away before leaving the quaint coffee shop and, following her, walked down the street and turned left at the corner. I looked up at her as we walked. I hadn't noticed this at first, but she was taller than me, though not by much. I came up to slightly above her shoulder. Her hands rested at her sides in tightly clenched fists, thought the rest of her body seemed relaxed and composed. I wondered what went through her head. As we sat in the coffee shop, I felt a tension between us, an itch to be closer to each other; did she feel it too?

She led me into a local library, up the stairs to the left of the circulation desk, and into a quiet and private study room. Closing the door, she sat down at the table. I sat across from her and folded my hands on top of the table.

"So, I wanted to talk to you about everything that's been going on with us. Forgive me, but I'm going to be frank; I think you're my soulmate. I have no real reason to think this other than the fact that we've had shared dreams, but...call it a gut feeling," she said, scratching at her right wrist.

"Are you okay?" I asked her, slightly pointing at her wrist. She shot her eyes down to her wrist and looked back up at me.

"Yeah no, it's nothing. Just a rash or something I think."

"Can I see? I've...gotten rashes before. Maybe I can help?" She chuckled lightly and turned the inside of her wrist over towards me, showing me a bright red mark in the middle of her wrist. I hesitantly reached my hand out to touch her wrist and felt an intense shock that spread through both of our bodies. We both gasped, took our hands back, and stared at each other with wide eyes.

"What the hell?" she asked, her voice wavering.

"Can...can I see that again?"

She again turned her wrist out to me. I leaned closer and inspected her mark while also turning out my own wrist. I felt her eyes and her fingers gently graze against my skin. Her mark was...just like mine. Like, exactly like mine. Each curve, each little divot, each shade of color was just like mine. The faint picture of a crescent glared at the both of us as heat and color rose on our faces.

"This is crazy," she whispered, grasping onto my arm and tracing the pattern with her finger.

"It's exactly the same," I whispered back, smiling brightly and biting my lip. She smiled back and tore her eyes off my arm and looked at me.

"Yeah, it is."

"Does this mean...it's true?"

"I think it is," she said giggling happily as she scooted her chair closer to me and intertwined her fingers with mine. My smile grew and I leaned closer to her.

"You're my soulmate," she said and leaned her head against mine.

"I can't believe I found my soulmate."

"Can I ask your name? I would like to get to know my soulmate better," she asked as she stroked her thumb against the surface of my hand.

"So you accept me as your soulmate?" I asked, biting my lip and smirking at her. She laughed and brushed my hair from my face and pushed it over my shoulder.

"Of course."

"I'm Wanda. Wanda Maximoff."

"Well, Wanda, it's nice to meet you," she said. "I'm Claire Stowell."