"No one quite knows when soul marks started to appear, only that they have become a staple in modern society. With three different types of marks, 99.9% of the world's population has at least one of the three marks listed below:

Black: Soul Mates

Navy: Platonic Soul Mates

Faded Grey: Your soul mate has died

And to the one percent who do not have a mark, well, may God have mercy on you."

History of the Soul Mates: Introduction Page

By: Margaret Hampton

PhD in Psychology

Head of the Psychology at Harvard College

When Steve was born, he was half dead already. Three months premature and smaller than a large novel, doctors gave him a week tops to live. Of course when his mother heard that, she just smiled and shook her head.

"If he was to die within a week, than why is his soul mark so big?" Sarah Rogers asked the doctors.

And to that question, they had no answer to. Sarah Rodgers was right; Steve's soul mark was just too dark for him to die within a week. In fact, many of the hospital staff had never seen a soul mark be that deep on an infant before. Typically, a child does not fully develop their soul marks until they at least two or three years of age. But on his chest, just below his collar bone in sloppy-yet efficient cursive handwriting, the words Sure ya did punk, sure ya did.

"That boy and his soul mate are gonna have a love story meant for the history books" one nurse mutter as she watched the boy and his mother exit the hospital, two weeks after he was expected to die.

Bucky was a completely different story though. When he was born, he was a happy and healthy baby boy. As perfect as a child could possibly be. However, his soul mark was so light, many could barely see it. At first, many believed that it was just a platonic soul mate mark, since sometimes; the navy ink was harder to read than the black ink of a regular soul mate. But, by the time Bucky was five, it had finally depend to an inky black. The words, Jerk, I had 'em on the ropes written in neat, orderly handwriting along his left forearm.

When Steve and Bucky finally met, Sarah Rogers laughed and thought back to what the nurse had muttered the day she left the hospital with baby Steve. The nurse was completely right, Bucky and Steve were glued to the hip from that day on. So when Bucky enlisted, he pulled Steve to the side and said

"Steve, when the War is over, I'm coming back and marrying you" he murmured into Steve's ear.

Steve blushed to the top of his ears and gave Bucky the biggest kiss he could without being indecent in public. And on the cold nights on the front, Bucky would gaze at his arm and think of Steve. Once he was taken as a POW and experimented on by Zola, repeating his words was the only thing that kept Bucky sane.

Steve was worried that the serum would change his words, and that was the first that he checked when the procedure was over.

When Bucky fell from the train, Steve was inconsolable. And within a week, he crashed the plane, holding the controls with one hand and rubbing his words with the other.

They took his words. They took his fucking words. In its place, a sliver monstrosity, with Steve's beautiful words nowhere to be seen. Bucky killed three technicians when he found out, before they sedated him again. When he awoke, he felt angry and lashed out again and once again he was sedated. When he awoke again, things were foggy.

They took Steve's words away

They took Steve's words

They took … Steve?

Steve

He couldn't remember

When Steve was thawed from the ice, he had a new set of words.

Who the hell is Bucky?

He hated them. The handwriting was almost mechanical like and lay along his right forearm. Every time he saw them, he had the sudden urge to claw them off. He was Bucky's and no one could replace him. Steve refused to say Bucky's name should someone say those accursed words to him. Steve was also surprised to fine that he had a platonic soul mate mark too. On his back left shoulder, the words Yeah, uh huh, on your left got it formed a perfect circle in small, slanted handwriting.

The asset was trained to forget that he had a new mark that was just above his heart. In fact, the next time that his arm was up graded, the doctors put a little more metal plates on, just enough to cover the one word that rested there.

Bucky?

Pepper absolutely despised her words.

I bet you ten grand that that is not your real hair color

Sure it implied that she could potentially receive a large sum of money in the future, since it was indeed her real hair. But growing up with freckles and long gangly limbs and her annoyling frizzy, copper hair made her a prime target for bullying. And the fact that her future soul mate was going to be just like all the others that made fun of her made her mad. It also made her mad how fucking big the mark was too. From the top of her shoulder to her bottom right hip in huge sloppy cursive, perfectly visible in any swim suit she ever owned. Of course, once she met Tony, all of it made sense. Her mark was just as obnoxious and arrogant as Tony was.

Tony was excited to meet his soul mate.

Wrapped around his left wrist, in loopy handwriting were the words:

How about you just give me this job instead, dickhead

He knew that she would be a fiery one.

Are you going to kill me Widow?

Tasha was scared of hers. It rested on her ribs, just below her right breast, in small capital letters. On one hand, it showed that she would complete training and become the Black Widow, which was nice to remember whenever Comrade Riktor would slam her onto the mats. Again. However, it also meant that if she was the Widow, then she already knew the answer to the question.

Clint's made him obsessed with air planes when he was growing up.

Your jet sets better be comfy for the ride back to your headquarters

His words were written in neat and feminine cursive, split evenly in the middle so that your through comfy rested on the side of his left pointer finger and for through headquarters rested on the side of his right pointer finger. When he pressed the tips of his two fingers together, they formed that beautiful sentence. That sentence made him learn everything he could about jets and even planned on joining the air force before settling on becoming a sniper in the marines. However, the your headquarters thing made him a little apprehensive. It almost implied that his soul mate was going to be captive of his and he didn't know what to think about that.

Maria was unsurprised by hers. The daughter of a marine and a navy seal officer, she was stamped to be an army brat before she was even born. So it was no surprise that her words showed that she would be a soldier too.

Soldier, are you willing to do whatever it takes to protect this planet?

The handwriting was sharp, crisp and to the point and it just happened to be on her right cheek of her fucking ass.

Aliens? Excuse me sir, but what the actual FUCK.

Growing up, Fury hated the sci-fi genre because of his words. He was going to have to deal with a lot of crazy shit when he was older, so what would be the point to watch it when he was a kid? His mark laid in the middle of his chest in neat, orderly handwriting and was the reason why he never took his shirt off in public unless he absolutely had too. Aliens and fuck were not normal soul marks and he did not feel like having to explain every time he went out.

Jane was terribly confused and shy about her mark. Instead of words, she had a deeply intricate knot, with shimmery gold and dark maroon details and crisp black that outlined it. Oh and it just happened to be on the back off her neck, for all the world to see. It was why she kept her hair so long, despite it getting in her way all the time.

Thor's mark was dark for so long, he wondered if he would ever find his mate. It wasn't until he was well over a thousand years old did his knot finally burst into color; fiery red with shots of blue and gold adorned his mark. When he showed Loki is new mark for the first time, Loki went a little pale and just smiled faintly before he congratulated Thor. It wasn't until Thor walked away when he remembered that Loki had been born without a soul mate mark…

Sam has never met anyone who has as many soul mates as he does. Hell, he has never even met anyone with two soul mates, let alone three. Sure, one of them was a platonic soul mate, but still, three fucking soul mates! On his back, just at the top of his left shoulder in a perfect list sat his soul marks.

In sloppy and goofy chicken scratch: Good thing I'm not afraid of heights

In perfectly neat cursive, his platonic soul mate: On your left

In loopy, slanted handwriting: It's part of my charm

When Sam met Riley, it was hard to believe that he would two more people that were just as perfect for him as Riley was. Of course, once Riley died, he understood everything better. His heart was torn into two and Sam felt like he died a little bit every time he saw Riley's faded words in the mirror. Steve was there to help him heal and in turn, Sam helped Steve as well. In the end, they were both able to love again.

Darcy thought hers must be a gentleman.

Miss, you sure talk a lot, you know that?

It would explain the slanted cursive with all the fancy flourishes and the fact that it was wrapped around her ankle, and not some random place like her brothers. No one believes her when she says that it's just above her brother's pubic hair, but it's true. He never did have any luck, but at least he already found his soul mate, unlike Darcy. Man was her soul mate taking his sweet time or what.

Bruce was always a little subconscious of his marks. It was just such an obvious place and he had caught wandering eyes numerous times before.

On the back of his left hand, in beautiful feminine loops: It's okay

And on the back of Hulk's right hand in that same beautiful handwriting: No harm done

He didn't know if he would ever be able to tell his soul mate this, but many times had his marks gotten him through rough times. They were always there for him, with It's okay becoming almost a mantra for him. It's okay, no harm done, just breathe, you'll meet her soon…

Betty knew that her mate would sweet and very polite and she couldn't wait to meet him.

Oh my, I am so sorry Miss!

He mark was written in tiny and slightly sloppy handwriting and it extended diagonally down her right calf. Whenever she had to deal with misogynist assholes in her department (which was all the time unfortunately) she would just gaze down at her marks and immediately calm down. She just couldn't wait to meet him…

"Should you ever find yourself gazing at your words more than the world around you, just know this: we as human beings should live our life to the fullest and not waste our days away, pinning after someone you have not met yet. Fate has given us a better chance at finding love, but we should not let it consume our everyday lives. Live, laugh, learn and in time, fate will give us our love."

History of Soul mates: Concluding paragraph