An Act of... Love? [An Avengers Polyamorous Fanfic]

Chapter 26

Most everyone broke apart after gifts to get food and mingle, so I made a point of pulling Stephen aside. "I loved your gift, thank you," I said to him as we were off to the side from the main party.

"I am glad you liked it. I was terribly worried you wouldn't," he responded.

"I have a question, Stephen," I blurted out. Stephen seemed to be a magical mystical doctor person, and I figured he may be the best person to ask. "You know the electric feeling we get when we touch?" Stephen nodded. "I get that with all of the avengers... but just them. And you seem smart and magical, so I was wondering... do you know why that happens?"

Stephen stayed quiet for a while, his feelings of contemplation swirled around me. I stayed quiet, uncomfortably shifting my weight from one leg to another, as I let him think and work through his emotions.

"I do... know of a possibility. I do not know if you are ready to hear it, however," he responded. Worry shot through me, now I needed to know.

"Please... tell me." He observed my face for a while, and I could feel it when his emotions softened moments before he started speaking.

"There is a rare phenomenon, observed throughout the dimensions and throughout history specifically in this dimension. Two people will touch, and they'll feel what seems like a buzzing electricity," he said, grabbing my hand with his, "Like this." I nodded as I kept my hand in his, quietly waiting for him to continue. "Those people, throughout history, have always fallen for each other. They have always ended up together, in the end. It's... it's a soulmate thing," he said as he carefully observed my face for a reaction.

My eyes widened, as I thought about every single Avenger I've touched, and how all of them have given me the same tingling. I did a mental headcount, and there were fourteen of them.

"But there's fourteen of you!" I burst out, pulling my hand from Stephen's as I took a half step back.

Stephen nodded, "Which makes you the very first person to ever have that happen, in any dimension."

"How- there are so many of you," I continued fretting in my mind. Sure, I was polyamourous, but fourteen people? That seemed completely overwhelming.

"You are the only person who has the right to decide what you want out of any of these relationships, Ollie. You don't have to be romantically involved with all of us, or even any of us. You are not defined by this... phenomenon. You still have autonomy, you still have free will," Stephen said. I nodded, only half listening to him as my brain spun in circles. How did I, of all people, have a soulmate? Or, more accurately, fourteen soulmates.

This was all absurd to me, but eventually I was back in my body enough to thank Stephen for the information and go sit down at the table. I quietly ate some food until Tony sat next to me.

"You okay?" he asked, causing me to look at him.

"Just... thinking. I asked Stephen something, and he was right when he said I might not be ready for the answer... but I'm glad I know," I said, talking around the subject at hand. Tony nodded, looking over to where Stephen was talking with Wanda, and back to me.

"He told you about soulmates, didn't he?" Tony asked, causing my eyes to go wide.

"You knew?" I questioned. I wasn't sure how I was meant to feel here. Relieved that I wasn't the only one with the information? Betrayed that he didn't tell me? Some other way?

"It wasn't confirmed, and I only had the theory come to me recently. Sorry I didn't tell you, baby girl. I didn't want to burden you with rumors until there was some confirmation." I nodded absently in response. That did make sense, but I do wish he'd told me.

"Stephen said that it's never happened on a scale like this, that I'm the first. I don't know how to feel about that," I told him honestly.

"Hey, there's no pressure from any of us, for anything. If you want to pursue something with one of us, or multiple of us, that's completely up to you. But we're not going to pressure you. Don't let the universe pressure you, either, or whatever it is that makes these decisions," he told me, and I sighed.

"It's just really overwhelming," I admitted.

"And that's okay, babe. It's okay to be overwhelmed. Just lean on others for support, would you?" I considered his words, and realized that that was something I didn't really know how to do.

"I'll... try," I said. Tony kissed my forehead, before we sat in silence for a while, just existing together in the same space as we watched the other Avengers talking and partying.