Avengers Preferences and Imagines

SMAU: In Our Dreams (Tony Stark)

A/N: Hi everyone and welcome to my new series: SOULMATES AU! A special round of thanks goes out to @31penguin3 and @Searching_My_Mind for their comments and messages which were of great help and inspiration to me for writing this series. So thank you to both of you for your help and support! I would also like to thank @writercute77 for counseling me along the way as I wrote this chapter your input was very appreciated love!

PROMPT: You and your soulmate meet in your 'dreams' until you find each other in real life.

Every night since my birthday had been the same: fall asleep and hope that I would meet my soulmate in my dreams. But if I was being honest, I was starting to lose hope in the idea. Everybody always made it sound so simple; fall asleep, dream of your meeting place and they'll be waiting for you there. But so far I hadn't had much luck with the process. Every night I laid in bed, my mind consumed by thoughts of this person who I didn't know but I was destined to be with. I had been researching the matter for weeks now and apparently, my struggles were common ones. The process was complicated and required you to be in a meditative, yet concentrative state before falling asleep. But seeing that not everyone was good at meditation, a lot of soulmates often went years before being able to find each other in the dream realm, let alone in real life. Every day I grew more and more frustrated as I entered my dreams only to wait alone until I woke. I was growing disheartened by the constant 'reassurances' of the people around me who had already found their soulmates, and my friends who spent every night adventuring a realm of their own making with their soulmate.

All the words of those more successful than me played back in my mind as I laid in my bed feeling defeated once again. "Maybe your soulmate is just really bad at meditating" "Maybe your soulmate isn't ready to meet you yet" "Maybe it isn't your time" "Don't give up!" "Don't force it!" I cleared my mind of the thoughts as I shut my eyes and steadied my breathing. I had decided that I would try one final time tonight and that if I were unsuccessful at the end of it, then I would leave it alone for a while. Settling back into my pillow and focusing on my breathing, I began to think of what my soulmate would look like, what his voice would sound like, what his interests would be, what cologne he wears, what we would have in common...

*** Dream Realm***

When I opened my eyes, I was greeted by the same landscape that I had grown accustomed to. Large, picturesque mountains loomed in the horizon behind a beautiful blue lake. The field surrounding it was filled with wildflowers, a narrow, worn pathway cut through the middle of the field from all the times I had walked it alone. I was always curious as to why the universe had chosen this place for us, but I doubted I would ever discern the answer to that question. People often described these meeting places as 'waiting rooms' simply because it was where you and your soulmate would wait for each other. From our waiting room we could go anywhere we desired, the details falling into place as we willed them into existence. The dream realm was meant to mimic reality; to give two people the chance to fall in love before their physical bodies even met. I walked slowly as I made my way towards the lake. Although my many attempts to meet my soulmate here had been unsuccessful, I enjoyed marveling at the scenery in our 'meeting place' as it truly was otherworldly.

My body had stopped moving before I could consciously recognize that I had come to a halt. My hands began to shake as I observed that for the first time in weeks, I wasn't alone. There was a man was standing at the edge of the lake. His back was turned to me, and I had yet to see his face, but I felt a pull in my heart; almost as if my body knew him, even though I was certain we had never met. As I got closer I observed more of him. He wasn't overly tall but he held himself with confidence, making him appear taller than he was. He had short-cropped, dark hair, and he was well dressed. He wore dark wash blue jeans, and a simple button-down, but everything about his choice of clothes screamed "extravagant". And suddenly there I was, standing behind him, this man who was my soulmate, not sure of how to approach him. I decided on simply standing beside him, not trusting myself to form a coherent sentence as my emotions overtook me.