#it was the love at first sight soulmate au :pensive:

[dizzybevvie]

Yk as i continue to grow up i seem to remember more and more how formative Hotel Transylvania's "Zinging" concept was 4 me

[sunjaesol]

serendipitous encounters

juke | human au | fluff

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"I think I met my soulmate!" Luke shouted as he barrelled through the front door, announcing his presence.

Alex, cuddled up with Willie, groaned from his place on the couch. "Not this again. Luke, soulmates do not exist!"

"Well, I'm curious," Willie joked. "What happened?"

Bouncing through the small living space, he propped himself on the coffee table. His eager lips spouted everything he knew so far. "Her name's Julie and she's beautiful and she drinks lattes with caramel syrup."

The two boys blinked at each other, an amused smile growing on Willie as the scowl deepened for Alex. Yeesh. How did these two work?

The blonde tried keeping composure. "You think... you met... the person you want to spend the rest of your life with... in a coffee shop?"

Luke nodded. What was his point?

Luckily, Willie was on his side. "Did you talk to her?"

Sighing, he slumped to the floor. "No. But I'm telling you, it's her."

"This oddly feels like that Zooey Deschanel movie," Alex mused.

"No! She's not some fantasy! She-I can't explain it." Dreamily looking up at the ceiling, he added. "She's it. I'm calling it."

"I think you're horny," Alex deadpanned. Willie snickered.

He rolled his eyes and swatted their legs. "Very cool, you guys.”

The doorbell rang. Jumping up and saving himself from further embarrassment, Luke went to open it.

And it was her. Holy shit.

She smiled up at him, holding up his trusty songbook.

"Hello. You left this journal on your table at Starbucks? It has your address inside."

Gobsmacked, Luke stared at her. Holy fucking shit. Because of his whole daydream about her in Starbucks, he forgot his book and then she took it upon herself to find the rightful owner. That was fate, right? Take that, Alex!

Stammering vowels, he plucked it from her grasp and let out a breathy laugh.

"Y-Yeah, thanks, that's- yup."

An amused smile pulled on her lips, nodding. "No problem. Have a nice day!"

Her goodbye snapped him out of his stupor, calling out for her with a raised hand.

"Wait! I didn't catch your name!"

She turned around, the girl looking so foreign in the grimy hallway of the apartment complex.

"Why do you need my name?"

Cause he knew it already and didn't want to seem like a creep.

He shrugged. "I want to thank you."

"It's Julie," she said after a beat.

"Thank you, Julie." His grin must've been comically wide, heart beating a mile a minute as he was still convinced she was his freaking soulmate.

And then she left. He was certain he'd see her again. In a non creepy way, that was.

— — — — — —

It was wholly coincidental once more. 

It was an early Sunday morning, Luke donned in sweatpants and a ratty cut-off and bedhead, as he meandered in the the shop of a tailor. Reggie owed him for this. 

The bassist loved buying vintage clothing, but never stuff that quite fit him. Hence, a tailor. His name was Peter and basically Reg’s best friend at this point, based on the disappointed look the man gave Luke as he handed him the the slip. He could hear the question on his tongue - “Where’s Reggie?” - and was happy when he didn’t ask. 

One, cause that was fucking rude. 

Two, cause Reg was currently fighting for an exclusive comic book on the other side of Los Angeles with a hurdle of other nerds. 

As Peter was sifting through the clothing racks, searching the order, the bell jingled behind him. 

“Oh, Journal Boy?”

He stilled. Holy shit. 

Whirling around, he came face to face with Julie. Just as beautiful as a week ago; maybe even more disarming in sandals and her curly hair up in a messy bun.

“Hi,” he breathed, unsure if he wasn’t just imagining her. It was a pretty hot day. It could easily be a sun stroke. 

Her smile widened. She was probably amused by his goofy behaviour, but he couldn’t help it. What were the odds he’d see her again, in a different location, this early after the first encounter? What was the statistical probability of meeting his soulmate twice? 

Before he could say anything else, Peter appeared from his rack and placed a leather jacket on the counter. Their attention diverted, Luke couldn’t help but feel heat travel up his back from having her so near. 

— — — — — —

No, he didn't want to go to silent disco.

Alas, Willie and Alex were that quirky type of couple that always liked to do the weirdest shit, including the most impersonal activity ever: a silent fucking disco.

They told him to bring a date, as Reggie was bringing his Tinder match Kayla, but he wasn't feeling it. One, because he still couldn't believe he saw Julie again at the tailor-

("It's Luke, by the way," he added.

She smiled and tasted the name. "Luke. Haven't lost your journal again?"

His name sounded heavenly on her tongue. Keeping the blush at bay, he nodded with a grin. "Yup. Uh-"

And then the man came back with her stuff, and that was that.)

-two, cause he wanted to win from Alex. Soulmates did exist and he hadn't lost hope it was her.

So there he was, in some old factory turned disco, with hundreds of idiots wearing headphones as they danced in a frenzy to whatever song was playing. The whole point of art - connection - was lost. Luke wanted to die.

Until he saw Julie from across the space. Again. And she saw him.

They smiled and waved and suddenly, this whole thing wasn't so bad anymore.

— — — — — —

There were about a 130,000 people living in East LA. It had sprawling neighbourhoods and hundreds of communities and subways that connected it to the other parts of LA. She could’ve been anywhere. 

And yet, he found her again. 

Even though he was still sticking to his guns that Julie was someone special, he also had his own needs. Which was how he found himself slipping out of a redhead’s bed at seven in the morning, dazed from being in an unknown place, and pulling his clothes back on. He was pretty sure her name was Meredith, though that could also just be entirely false. It was a weird, albeit good night. 

She mumbled in her pillow he could let himself out, waving half-heartedly and rolling on her side. 

Softly closing the door behind him and cracking the knots in his neck, he didn’t notice how he bumped into a person. 

Into Julie. 

His eyes widened in shock, the two letting out a surprised yelp. Her hand clutched her chest and took a step back. 

“Whoa!” he exclaimed. “Sorry!”

Her mouth opened and closed in confusion, about to say something, when her gaze trailed past him to the apartment he just left. She cleared up. 

“Meredith? Good choice, she’s nice.”

Luke flushed red. What the fuck was he supposed to say to that? 

Awkwardly scratching the back of his head, he drawled, “Uh, yeah... what’re you doing here?”

It was then that he noticed she had athletic wear on, duffle bag around her shoulder and keys dangling between her fingers. She confirmed his suspicions when she replied. 

“I, uh, live here.” She laughed. “So... have a nice rest of the day?”  

He wanted to say a lot. He wanted to ask if she wanted to grab breakfast, that Meredith wasn’t his girlfriend, that he had this crazy feeling they were always meant to meet - again and again and again ‘til they got it right. 

But he couldn’t. He’d sound insane. Hell, it was insane. Instead, he wished her a nice day as well and scurried out the hallway. He didn’t look back, but he did wonder if he was imagining he felt her eyes on his back. 

— — — — — —

Luke was typing on his laptop, the hustle and bustle of Starbucks at three in the afternoon and the methodical tap tap tap of the keys lulling him into a fast-paced trance. As always, he procrastinated some work for Pitchfork and had to get it done in two hours or else his boss would be yelling in his emails.

The bell jingled, Luke looking up automatically and almost rolling his eyes at the sight of her. This was getting insane.

Julie saw him too, changing her course from the register to his round table with a confused grimace twisting her features. As always, she looked pretty; the girl never looked bad and it was kind of messing with his head.

"Alright, fess up," she exclaimed, slipping into the seat opposite of him. "Are you stalking me?"

He snorted and leaned forward with a wry grin. "I can ask the same about you."

Her lips pursed, assessing him for a beat. With a sigh, she mellowed down. "I guess... we live in the same neighbourhood..."

"Still kinda crazy though," he mused. "East L.A. is big."

She nodded, pensive, and then looked over her shoulder to the menu board. "Is it okay if... I sit with you? I was going to grab a latte to go, but since you're here..."

But since you're here - rang in his ears, a careful smile blooming on his lips. Fuck, he really needed to work, but Julie wanted to sit with him, hang with him, be friends with him, outside of all the coincidental meetings they've had.

He wouldn't call it a date yet. He wanted to properly ask her when that day came.

"Sure," he mumbled, biting down the smile from becoming bigger.

His reply satisfied her, the tendrils dancing around her bright eyes as she matched his smile and stood up to make an order.

— — — — — —

Weeks passed with quick meetings here and there, Julie slowly bleeding into his life with laughs and smiles and whirlwind stories about her life. She was always on the go, always bright-eyed and easily matching his energy. He knew his enthusiasm could put people off, but she was never taken aback.

Wit against wit. Snark against snark. A dumb joke met with an amused roll of the eye. It worked. For a while, he even settled on the fact that hey, they might be platonic soulmates. Julie was a great friends and sometimes he felt his emotions fleeting. If they remained friends, he'd be perfectly content.

But then she closed gaps and barriers that had pointedly been kept before. After they got boba, her hand wrapped around his bicep, stretched on her tiptoes and pressed a quick kiss on his cheek. Before he could register it, she was back on her feet waving him goodbye. Luke had a dopey look on his face for the rest of the day.

She kept up cheek kisses, he let his warm embraces linger, their short hangouts turned into hours.

Then one night, she kissed his cheek after they got ramen and he shifted his face 'til their noses brushed. Julie held her breath. Tentatively, their fingers curled together - the simple touch sparking lightning up his arm.

"Is it weird that I've dreamed about you?" he asked, cautious, looking at their joined hands.

Luke wanted to tell her about his initial gut feeling; that he saw her and he knew. But it was too insane and he didn't want to scare her off. But he knew. He's always known.

"No..." Her mouth ghosted his. "I've dreamed about you too."

Luke closed the little space between them, lips slanting together and instantly deepening as one hand came up to cradle her cheek. His heart was bursting with euphoria. It felt as if his body sighed in relief, like it had finally come home. And then he did: he sighed and grinned and giggled when her arms wrapped around his neck.

Oh, man... he might already love her.

— — — — — —

Nothing definite happened afterwards. Though this is what he wanted, he felt weird confirming their relationship when he had always somehow ‘known.’ It had to come from her side, the more level-headed person in this situation. 

So, it was casual, even though he was anything but casual. 

It was pretty great though, walking past Meredith’s door towards Julie’s, having her yank him inside and kiss him like she’d been waiting for years. Kissing Julie was fucking heaven. 

Besides that, they were the same Luke and Julie as before. They got boba or ramen or any new spot that opened up like weeds. She listened to new music with him, sharing earbuds, for his Pitchfork articles. He watched her sing and play the piano at music clubs, becoming more and more enamoured each time simply by the sound of her angelic voice. He built a shelf for her. She taught him how to make friendship bracelets. He met her best friend Flynn. She stayed over for dinner with the guys and got drunk on white wine, giggling along to the jokes.

They fit. But they weren’t exclusive. He had no clue if she was also seeing someone else. He presumed she didn’t, the two constantly revolving around each other, but he couldn’t be certain.

Alex was gobsmacked the first time he properly met her. Stunned that Luke had been right, that it worked out, that East Los Angeles was apparently nothing more than a small town. Luke reckoned he was just jealous he didn’t have to meet his person by getting maimed on the street - ha! 

His finger trailed along her sleeping silhouette, gently and drowsy, observing in awe how a smile subconsciously quirked on her lips and shifted closer to his touch. He closed his eyes and pressed his nose in the back of her neck. There were worse ways to wake up. 

— — — — — —

Eventually, Julie simply decided for him.

She was moving apartments and he was helping her pack, move furniture, throw shit out, the whole nine yards. For one person, she had a lot of stuff, her cabinets an endless supply of decor, souvenirs and memories.

They were whirling around each other like clock-work, never bumping and smoothly handing things over. Rap music was playing from the stereo, its sound drifting from her opened front door into the hallway.

One of her neighbours popped their head in.

"Oh!" The old man perked up, surprised. "You're moving, Julie?"

She looked up from rummaging through her CD collection to shoot him a tired smile. "Yeah," she puffed, "my lease is up, so..."

"Change of pace, I get it. That's wonderful," he nodded, gaze shifting to Luke walking out of the bathroom. "Hello!"

Luke smiled at him, waving with the box of oddly shaped soaps Julie had for some reason. "Hi."

"This is Luke, my boyfriend," Julie introduced, Luke freezing in his tracks all at once as the words utter from her lips. Boyfriend. Holy shit. It didn't faze her, smoothly babbling more than he wasn't processing.

Boyfriend. Which meant that she was his girlfriend. Which meant that now, he had to threaten the guys to not say a fucking word about how mentally deranged he was the first week after meeting her. This wasn’t planned. This was fully her. This was past fate and serendipity - this was by choice. It felt better than he thought. 

The man bid goodbye and left. Luke dropped the box on the coffee table, sliding towards her with a shit-eating grin.

"Boyfriend," he drawled exaggeratedly.

She rolled her eyes. "Yes. ‘Cause you are. I know you well enough to know you can only do exclusive."

"Can you?"

"I said you were my boyfriend, didn't I?"

His smile widened, leaning in to kiss her. She met him halfway, loose curls tucked behind ears before her arms were slung around his waist. I love, I love you, I've loved you forever.

And then the truth tumbled out. Part of it, at least.

"I, uh," he gulped, looking at her through his lashes. "I saw you, that first day, and I thought you were the most beautiful woman I've ever seen."

Her face turned tender, a pout jutting from her lip as she gauged his reaction, like she was waiting for him to make a joke. He wasn't.

"Really?" she whispered, voice so small it took him aback for a beat.

His thumbs gently caressed her cheeks, withholding himself from saying anything more. This was enough. It was the truth without the crazy - being with her was crazy enough. Luke settled on a simple nod.

Her head tilted, shy amusement lilting her tone. "Good thing I'm moving closer to your neighbourhood then."

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@blush-and-books​ @bluefirewrites​ @willexx​ @pink-flame​ @constantly-singing​ @unsaid-emily​ @ourstarscollided​

[forthetherapyy]

Fav Larry Fics I Read in Sept 21

Run Away Home - hattalove 

Louis is a successful jockey down on his luck, struggling to get his life back on track after an injury. harry has a horse, a house fit for a prince, and a broken heart. It takes them a while to figure out that they need each other. (106k) [This fic ahhh okay slow burn and so much pining it’s delicious.]

Whether Clouds or Clear Skies - onewasturning @onewasturning

“You, young Harold, are a baker among curry houses and vintage clothing stores,” Louis says, and it forces a bark of surprised laughter out of Harry. “I’m a— sorry, what?” “Harry,” Louis says, “last night I had an experience bordering on profound.” “You’re making it sound like you did something sexual with my muffin,” Harry says. Or, Louis gets into the habit of stealing baked goods while Harry’s busy keeping tabs on the weather. (25k) [Beautifully written and just super soft.]

But If This Ends - nonsensedarling @absoloutenonsense

Harry’s life as a vampire is routine. He spends his years moving around from place to place, learning as much as he can, and falling in love whenever the universe sees fit. When he tries to move his casual relationship with Louis to something more, it all gets turned on its head. As they navigate confusing thoughts and complex emotions, Harry finds himself torn between the love he feels for Louis and everything he thought he knew. (106k) [friends with benefits! just loved reading about them and being part of their relationship. also Harry calls Lou ‘sunshine’!]

This Charade (Was Never Going To Last) - scrunchyharry  @scrunchyharry

On the surface, CitizenX, an international caritative nonprofit, looked like any other nonprofit, funding humanitarian missions worldwide and striving to make the world a better place, one donation at a time. At least, that was what Harry thought, until he was hired as a computer specialist for a spinoff agency called carish, whose true purpose was to reveal CitizenX’s tangled web of lies. As if the whole ‘industrial spy’ business was not stressful enough, Harry found himself in a hatred-at-first-sight relationship with one of his new coworkers, Louis, a man intent on detesting Harry. When the worst happened and Harry and Louis found themselves thrown together in hiding, with only each other to rely on, Harry never could have predicted the turn their relationship would take. Nor could he anticipate that it would all be taken away from him and he would have to decide how far he was willing to go to get Louis back. (68k) [one of the best enemies to lovers I have read!]

No One Does It Better - nodibs @nodibs-blog

Harry's an alcoholic and Louis is a bartender. The first time they meet isn't the first time they've met. (49k) [so tragically angsty, like unbelievably so. Such a good job at handling amnesia, Lou’s feelings are so realistic, i wouldn’t know where to start.]

After Hours - velvetoscar @mizzwilde

Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson are the bane of each other's existences. Unfortunately, they're already in love--even if they aren't completely aware of this minor detail.  [A "You've Got Mail" AU] (26k) [okay tho this was based off a movie it was so incredibly original. I adored it, like their work relationship and their messages and their online names, ugh everything] 

Amsterdam With You - flamboyo @chrysopon

In Louis’ opinion Amsterdam is so overrated, and now that he moved here he can see all its flaws: it’s always raining (even more than in London), he’s lonely and everyone he meets is unfriendly and distant; but, above all, he misses his family like crazy, confined here. Not surprising how being hit by a bike by a curly, pensive guy is the best thing that happens to him in three months (or maybe even in 27 years). (182k) [I cried so much, this fic man. so sad and heartbreaking. there were times when I had to put it down just so I could breathe.]

His and Mine - glitteredcurls @kissyboystyles 

Harry legally isn't supposed to meet his soulmate-- he's rendered physically unable to recognize him even if he did-- but yet, of course, he does. (66k) [this was was an incredible world. such a clever idea, like wow. and lou and harry and the pain, like i wanted to save them]

Some Things Take Root - navigator, quitter 

AU. Louis' ex doesn't get jealous of anyone besides Harry. Harry helps Louis use that to his advantage. (50k) [Loved how head over heels Harry was for Lou and how slowly it crept up on Lou.]

Black With Autumn Rain - whimsicule @whimsicule

“Thank you,” Geoff says, taking a sip of his tea. “What did you tell him?” Louis has a sip as well, lets the tea burn down his throat too quickly, too hot, and he feels it all the way down to his stomach. “The truth. Essentially,” he replies after a moment, licking his lips, relishing the slightly bitter taste of the brew that’s never quite strong enough for Louis’ liking. At least it’s not decaf. “That my dog scented it. That I didn’t touch the body. That I came here first thing.” Geoff nods pensively. “Did he believe you?” “Probably not. There’s only so many people who can drown on dry land before it gets fishy.” or: Harry is a journalist, Louis has lots of secrets and the moors aren't exactly the ideal place to rekindle a lost romance. (93k) [this fic is everything i ever want in a fic, exs, fae and lonely louis like?!?]

Never Be - cherrystreet @cherrystreet

The one where Harry Styles moves to Connecticut from England for nine months as a part of a study abroad program, and he just so happens to move in with Louis Tomlinson and family. (117k) [my notes for this fic are just ‘amazing amazing amazing amazing’ so there you go]

The Woods Are Lovely, Dark and Deep - HelloAmHere @helloamhere

Werewolf au, but Louis is lost. (4 part series) [This series is so incredible, I pretty sure I read all four in two days, like I devoured them. and they were delicious.]

[bts-fic-collection]

Do you know of any good fics where one of them is touch-starved? Canon or au

I do indeed :)

stellar nebula by saplecute

Rating: T

Pairings: Jungkook/Yoongi

Status: Complete

Word count: 13,960

Summary:  a life cycle of a star: first, you shrink, you warm up, you chase after equilibrium, second, you shine, you glow, you live — and, in the end, you, a supernova, finally explode.

A Simple Touch by allie

Rating: E

Pairings: Jungkook/Yoongi

Status: Complete

Word count: 152,381

Summary:  Touch starved and lonely, Prince Yoongi finally meets his soulmate, a forest-dwelling nomad named Jeongguk. They're both excited and relieved to finally meet each other, but when Jeongguk comes to live in the castle, differing ideals prove difficult to overcome.

Keep You Warm by calicopjm

Rating: T

Pairings: Yoongi/Jimin

Status: Complete

Word count: 25,116

Summary: Jimin opened the front door with sweaty palms, eyes wide as he took in the sight in front of him. His cuddle buddy – Yoongi – stood there, even more beautiful in real life than in the pictures. His cuddle buddy cleared his throat, making Jimin look up again, and he smiled, polite and subdued, as he lifted a plastic bag in the air. “Dinner and cuddles for Park Jimin-ssi?”

Or: Park Jimin has been alone for years. With no real friends and his parents living hours away from him, it's hard to find someone the omega can be close with. That is, until he stumbles upon a cuddle service website and hires alpha Min Yoongi, a professional cuddler.

rhythm and blues by agustyoongs

Rating: E

Pairings: Jungkook/Jimin

Status: Complete

Word count: 10,769

Summary:  Jungkook lost himself in the feeling. Of Jimin on top of him, inside of him, in his ear murmuring breathily. The low, warm rhythm of the music that washed over his senses while Jimin satiated the hunger of his skin. That yearning that crawled inside of him for so long.

this is inevitable (i love us) by killeleanor

Rating: E

Pairings: Jungkook/Taehyung

Status: Complete

Word count: 20,754

Summary: “The keyword is mature student,” he says jokingly after a few mouthfuls of food. “There’s a big difference between being eighteen and being twenty-three, hyung.”

“I wouldn’t know,” Taehyung replies, chewing contemplatively.

He looks pensive, and Jeongguk shoots him a confused look. Taehyung is just as thoughtful in person as he is over instant messaging, taking the time to consider the exact words he wants to use in his next sentence. He puts his fork down and folds his hands in front of himself before locking eyes with Jeongguk.

“I feel like I didn’t start living my life until I met you. Like I took a long hiatus somewhere in the middle.”

[chrisrainicorn]

Fair Game Week Day 4: Birds/Soulmates

A classic tattoo AU. Qrow realizes almost immediately Clover could be his soulmate because it’s obvious af, Clover isn’t sure right away because people named after birds are relatively common in Remnant so he needs more proof than that. 

One day he rescues a bird from the snow thinking the poor thing is probably lost and freezing after flying so high to Atlas and Qrow is freaking out internally after seeing his mark because it’s totally him!

So... my original plan was to try to write a fic for this. Tho I knew I wouldn’t be able to complete it on time, and I would need more time to just stop and figure how the story was going to go exactly cuz I’m the kind of person that likes to plan a lot before putting stuff on paper.

I still have a little prologue tho, but I decided not to go further until I’m more sure about the plot so it doesn’t end up forced. Hopefully, I can one day I can go back to it and complete it!! Still, you can take a peek at what would probs be the first 2k under the cut:

Qrow was born with a bond mark.

He was still a rascal of a kid, who ran barefoot and chewed with his mouth open, tripped on the ropes that held up the tents of their current campsite, and liked to try to peek at the new shiny items the tribe people had stolen from their most recent raid only to be caught at the same second - though he still didn’t know they were stolen, or understand what a raid was - when someone finally explained to him the weirdly shaped spot on his abdomen he kept scratching wasn’t just a normal birthmark.

They explained to his sister too. He actually was intrigued enough by the story to settle down on the tent’s floor to hear about it, though she brushed all of that talk off with a “yeah, whatever”, rolling her eyes at the existence of magic symbols that would appear on your skin, connecting you to a person who, at some point of you life, you would realize they mean a lot to you.

“It’s like a guaranteed best friend!” He had grinned with a mouth that missed a few teeth as the explanation was concluded. 

The explainer only smiled at him, letting out a pensive hum before shrugging and deciding on “Yeah, you could say that kid.”

He didn’t understand why his sister was so grumpy after that. How the premise of a friend didn’t get her excited - they barely had kids their age to hang with on the camp, the younger ones were annoying and the older boring, he could get behind the idea of some company besides his moody twin. And when he had asked, “Hey, what does your bond mark look like anyway?” She flicked at his direction one of the pebbles they had been throwing at the river to see them skip, and stormed off without a word.

He was still a restless kid, yet now one that had learned to avoid the ropes before he could get his foot caught on them, when he found out a bit more about the marks. How they could appear at any time of your life, or not at all, how you could get a new tattoo before actually meeting the person, or after years of knowing them. How his sister didn’t have one yet, how she didn’t like the idea of her lame brother having something she didn’t. 

How some people would consider lucky he was born with one, how many would give everything to have a mark appear that early.

That would be the last time someone thought of him that way - lucky. Because soon he was tripping over the ropes again and taking tents down with him, and that was just one of the minor consequences of what they later would classify as his semblance.

The people of their tribe had thought it had been a funny inside joke naming the kid born with a mark shaped like that after a bird that was popularly known as a bad omen. Now it was just rightfully fitting. And not even the permanent tattoo on his skin of a four-leafed clover could serve as a good luck charm against the misfortune that now followed him wherever he went.

***

As he grew up as an outcast teen, the novelty of the marks went away together with the childhood wonder. Maybe because at his tribe, there weren’t many bonded people - they also weren’t really open about talking about this mushy stuff, so maybe he never knew about them. Or the ones who talked about it, did that because it came together with an almost-always tragic tale about how they were betrayed, backstabbed or straight-up stabbed by their match, or how they perished in some gruesome way, so he didn’t have a lot of positive examples to work with - perks of growing up around bandits. 

Guaranteed best friend was now just some naive though he scoffed at. He was so stupid as a kid, maybe his sister was wise to just go “whatever” since the beginning - he would never admit that to her in his lifetime, of course. (In the future though, there would be a point his sister wouldn't make a face to the mention of bond marks anymore, and then a good while later he would stop to really think about how her semblance worked. And he would connect the two dots - he still never saw the marks, but they had to be there, right?)

Who decided those things were a good idea? They could pop up on you any second, without a warning, with just a random shape to tell you about this random person you were supposed to meet one random day. People would talk about letting fate run its course until you would meet them, and how there would be a moment when you would just know. It sounded so unreliable, and too much for him to bother worrying about when he needed to survive frequenting - or infiltrating as his people would have put - a Huntsman Academy.

Yeah, they would have some impact on your life. But that could mean anything apparently. You could be bonded to your parents, to your siblings, to any relative, you could be bonded to someone you looked up to or who would look up to you, you could be bonded to someone who you would only interact for a few months, days, minutes, or less. Or, the most coveted of all, you could be bonded to someone you would fall in love with. Those cases even had a specific name - soulmates. How special.

You could even have more than one. If you thought having to worry about a single unknown individual could make someone paranoid, just imagine having multiple marks! Thankfully, he just had one.

That was good. Because it would be just one person that would have to put up with him. He wasn't exactly the person someone would dream to meet, much less be bonded with. Who would want a bad luck magnet connected to them anyway? Just unfortunate, how the unsuspected match would have to deal with it. At least it was no one from the tribe, that would only hinder them down - those were the kind of things people talked about him at the camp, on the rare times they dared to make the cursed kid a conversation topic anyway, and he was just unlucky enough to eavesdrop it.

He also didn’t want more because he despised the one he already had - he would say he had never liked it, but it was just his sour mindset clouding the childhood memories about him happily imagining how his friend would be like. It had to be a sick joke. A small symbol that represented everything he couldn’t have. Years and years went by with it just there, mocking him constantly.

He had met many people he would have said they had influenced his life, yet apparently none of them were the one. Unlikely his sister, he wasn't bonded with anyone from his team - he assumed her semblance only worked on him because they were related. He wasn't bonded to the man who mentored him and gave a purpose in life - though after finding out the truth, he supposed that was a good thing. He wasn't bonded to his nieces, who were more family to him than his own blood, girls he had watched grow up from hyperactive, sweet-toothed brats to strong, independent young warriors - they were still a bit of a brat though.

So, at his age, he assumed that his semblance affected him in such a way he would never have the luck of finding the person. Fine by him. He stopped caring about that long ago anyway.

And that meant that, at his age, at this place, in the middle of what he could only call the beginning of a war, he should have not been thinking about any of this.

But here he was. Halfway through undressing to take a much needed shower to relax and warm him up after the mission at the dust mines. Feet planted in front of the bathroom mirror. The mark still just there, right at the end of the scar he got from a scorpion tail as if, by some stroke of luck, it had barely avoided being slashed in half. He instinctively grimaced at the sight.

Even if he strongly didn’t want to think about it, it felt as if there was a force preventing him from shoving the thoughts to the back of his mind, not allowing him to ignore the signs.

He had seen the pin when they were captured on the first day. Heck, he even did a double-take at the shape that was unfortunately too familiar. But there were other more important things on his mind at the moment - like how they were being arrested.

Later he found out that was literally that guy’s name! And he didn't like how the information made a cold settle on the bottom of his stomach.

And then James partnered them up. He didn't like the idea, it had been too long since he had worked with other huntsmen on the field - and that happened for a reason. The company made him feel weirdly numb. Or that was him not being used to the cold of Atlas anymore, being in a mine with ice-covered walls certainly didn't help - how he just strutted along without sleeves?

Yet, he did his best to focus on the mission. Ignoring how Clover made sure to match his pace and walk by his side as they scanned the tunnels for any sign of the Grimm that had been wrecking the place. The silence would only be broken from time to time with inputs coming from his earpiece, and it had been just a step away from being uncomfortable. So he decided to not make this situation more unbearable for himself, taking a breath, he took a risk at the grueling task that was small talk.

“Gotta say, I’m still not really used to working with other huntsmen in the field.” He was surprised with how casual he made himself sound.

“But you were on a team before, weren’t you?” How Clover seamlessly encouraged the conversation with a question also surprised him for some reason.

“Long time ago.” He sighed, gaze dropping to the floor. “I just found working alone tends to be for the best.” Great. With just a second into their talk, he had managed to bring its mood down. Not an unusual occurrence for any kind of interaction he was involved though. So why this time did he feel so… bothered?

It was just this entire situation bothering him - he rationalized with himself.

"Well, I think that’s a shame." Of course you would.

He didn't know how to respond, yet he didn't even have the chance. One misstep, and his foot left the ground with a slip. What prevented him from making more of a fool of himself by crashing his face on the icy floor was a quick strong grip on his arm, catching him mid-fall and pulling him back up without seemingly any effort whatsoever.

Clover patted his shoulder as he regained his balance and he didn't hold back the frown on his face. He just walked forward as he responded to the voice coming from his communicator, and it took him a second to realize he was glaring at his confident walk on the grounds he had just proved to be extremely slippery. 

Who does this guy think he is?

Of course, they found the Grimm first, of course, it made himself stronger right in front of their eyes, of course, it ran away, and of course, there was now a gigantic hole on their path. One his partner there could have been at the bottom of it if he wasn't used to his semblance playing tricks just at the right time. 

And when he dismissed his thanks for the head ups with a brief explanation about his semblance, his reaction was like no other he experienced before. No weird glances, no steps back, no awkward ‘that sucks’, just a nonchalant "that so?" 

"Well, hey, don’t beat yourself up about it." He continued, and with a swing of his weapon, he made a new path for them to continue down the tunnel. "My Semblance is good fortune. Lucky you, huh?"

He punctuated his sentence with a wink before walking forward, completely unaware of how that revelation had shaken him to his core. He was still frozen on his tracks as if the ice from the floor had risen to his shoes and stuck him in place. 

Good fortune. That guy was a walking luck charm! 

Everything he couldn’t have… 

His eyes were downcast, flickering everywhere as his mind processed the events. Yet now he wasn’t staring down at the icy ground, but the smooth tiles of the bathroom of his room provided by the Atlas academy. Though his expression was the same from when the words had just reached his ears hours ago.

Looking up by a fraction, the ink of his mark seemed more lively than ever against his skin. He hadn’t truly looked at it for a good while, avoiding it like he avoided the eyes of strangers, and doing so now, he found out he was unable to divert his gaze off it as quickly as he used to do before.

A pin. A name. My semblance is good fortune. A wink.

You would just know.

He let out a dry chuckle, the sound devoid of any emotion. That couldn’t be right. He barely knew the guy. And he didn’t need any of that cluttering his mind right now.

Lucky you, huh?

[missbugaboo]

Soulmate Scam (1)

Adrien knew who his soulmate was. Period. Ever since he'd first met her, ever since his heart had made that cheerful dance of recognition in hist chest, he'd had no doubt that she was the one – the only one – destined for him. If only said destiny didn't have other plans for him.

All sides of the love-square, though mostly Adrienette, SOULMATE AU.

fanfiction.net / AO3

Next chapter

Chapter 1: No One but Her

Adrien Agreste first dreamt of his soulmate on the very night of his sixteen birthday.

It wasn't anything too extraordinary – it was commonly known that the vision of one's significant other half was bound to appear in one's sleep sometime during the last week preceding or the first week following their birthday. The fact that it was also universally acknowledged that it rarely happened on the night of said birthday (and that the probability of it actually happening was lower that once in fourteen times, as a simple calculus might suggest) made no difference. It wasn't irregular, it wasn't surprising. It wasn't unnatural, either.

It was a little unusual, that's all.

Now, Adrien knew all that. He'd heard various theories about soulmates as he grew up, even though the topic surely wasn't a favourite in his own household. Still, he had friends, and ones that were all eager to discuss the matter with him. Whether it was a four year old Chloe or a fourteen year old Nino (or Chloe again, as her interest in the subject had never quite seemed to cease) didn't matter much. The subject was intriguing, exciting, mysterious; it sparked interest in everyone he knew, even if they were not at all willing to admit it to their classmates like Alix or Max or even Chloe at some point.

How come Chloe was a representative for all the examples his mind brought on?

Well, that didn't really matter, either. The facts were: he was very much into the idea of soulmates. His friends were into the idea of soulmates, too.

And that was not unusual at all.

Of course, the romantic in Adrien clung to the idea, imagining the moment when he would finally learn his significant half's identity. Even as a kid – or maybe especially then? - he found the idea of this half-magical bond alluring, both because of its supposed power over people's life and the mystery that it was still wrapped in. He was probably the only child on Earth who could successfully beat little Chloe in regard of enthusiasm, and one of a very few who did not lose their drive as they stepped into adolescence.

Where others faked indifference, he showed that he was thrilled; while they gave in to fear and anxiety, he spoke about his faith. He wouldn't let the anxiety take over him and extort the joy of wait, and he certainly had no intention of allowing the fear to dictate him his steps.

Which, considering the talk he'd had with his father at the wee age of eight, was a miracle of its own.

And yet, it would be a lie to say that his view on the subject did not change during the years. Not in terms of excitement – that part was a constant, even if the outer indications of it had at some point became more low-key (and well, this time it was Gabriel Agreste's advice at work). The change had nothing to do with age or his classmates' view on the topic and certainly not with the teasing (or cynical) remarks he'd heard from those older and supposedly more mature than him.

Like the ones given by Audrey Burgeois whenever Chloe asked her about it.

No, the real alteration lay somewhere else and though his friends couldn't have said where if they tried to, Adrien had no problem determining it.

He knew.

He knew who his soulmate was. Period. Ever since he'd first met her, ever since his heart had made that cheerful dance of recognition in hist chest, he'd had no doubt that she was the one – the only one – destined for him. No matter how many times she rejected him, he kept believing that it was only a matter of time before she understood the connection and realised what he'd known since day one. He hoped with all his being that she would not need an actual dream to tell her that, but if worse came to worst, he would accept that scenario as well.

As long as she chose him in the end.

That didn't mean he hadn't spent the two weeks preceding his birthday being giddy with excitement, so much that even his father had taken notice of that. Gabriel didn't say much on the subject, obviously, except the casual question of whether Adrien was feeling fine or if maybe his flushed cheeks and starry gaze were in fact an indication of a nearing fever. The boy denied quickly; and yet, he didn't dare go as far as to summon the real reasons for the change in his appearance, even though that meant being sent to bed early in a way of precaution.

He knew all too well how his father reacted to the mere mentions of soulmates.

So he had nodded and followed suit. He'd made sure he acted calmly, both in and out of the house, just to make sure he wouldn't provoke any more questions of the sort. He'd almost started to hope that his father had once again forgotten when his birthday actually was.

And so it had gone on for six long days, during which he'd unconsciously ensured that his behaviour at school was just as indifferent as it was at home. Since he had never made a big deal of sharing any details about his hopes with his classmates, the change was not as noticeable as it might have appeared to be. Nino was surprised but said nothing; Alya teased him with a few comments, but did nothing but that. And as for Marinette...

Well, Marinette had seemed to be a bundle of nerves since the beginning of the week, going from pensive to excited to combative in a matter of minutes sometimes.

He really hoped she was alright.

Still, no matter how much he cared for her, how much he valued her friendship and wanted to prove himself worthy of it, he couldn't bring himself to focus on her state more than on the event he was nearing. Had he had any reasons to believe she was unwell, he would have looked into it no doubt. However, he'd known her for too long not to be able to distinguish real trouble and hurt from what was nothing but confusion on her part.

It was clearly the latter that was happening this time, and Alya's words only confirmed that.

It was fine.

So it seemed to him, anyway. On the night before his birthday he was as agitated as ever, or – since it was the first time when he allowed himself to open up a little about it – even more so. He was eager, he was enthusiastic, he was ready to take on the world. He did feel a little nervous, which was also a first (and probably the reason why it came as such a surprise to him, as predictable as it was) and which was quickly reflected in the way he moved and spoke.

There was edginess in his step as he paced around his room; there was a frown on his forehead and a trembling of his hands.

And yet, none of these could compete with the hope and happiness that filled his soul and fuelled his heart, radiating from his whole silhouette regardless of the anxiousness mentioned above.

It was truly miraculous that he was not glowing in a literal sense yet.

"Oh, will you just go to bed already?" Plagg whined loudly as he munched on his piece of cheese and grimaced at the boy before him. "Seriously kid, you don't even know that you will dream of her tonight. Nobody said it would be on your birthday, and even if, I'd say tomorrow still counts as your birthday night. So calm down, will you?"

"You know that I can't" Adrien answered, with mixture of joy and apprehension ringing in his voice. "It's too great to just push it aside. It's too much and too soon and yet, not nearly soon enough..."

"I swear to Fu, Adrien, you say one more word and I'll throw up all the cheese I've had today," the kwami retorted. "You really are taking it too far."

"I am not," Adrien denied. "Oh, come on, it's the most important night of my life! You could be at least a little more understanding for once."

"I've been more than understanding for the past two weeks. We both know that this fake indifference you displayed in front of Nathalie only worked because you felt you could take it out on me twofold as soon as she was gone. I haven't stopped you, I haven't complained – no more than I usually do, anyway. Still, even my patience has boundaries and no amount of cheese can move them any further."

"Now that's new. I thought your love of cheese conquered all."

"Somehow, it fails to help with a teenage-love-caused nausea."

To that Adrien only laughed, before throwing himself down on the coach and reaching up to scratch Plagg behind the ear fondly. The little creature bristled and wiggled, pretending not to be moved by the affectionate gesture... and then gave in to it completely, purring contentedly in the same way he always did.

Adrien's grin widened at the sight.

"Come on now, I'm not that annoying, am I?" he asked cheerfully as he continued to stroke Plagg's ears and chin. "Also, I bet I'm not the only Chat Noir who fell in love with Ladybug."

"As if that made it any better," Plagg muttered in response. "Seriously, I don't know what it is about that spotted costume that makes you boys lose your minds before you even have a chance to have a proper talk with her. It's unhealthy."

"Oh?" Adrien hummed, amused. "So not only am I not the first to fall for her in general, it's also an all-cats tendency for it to happen soon. Somehow, I feel relieved."

"Before it gets to your head, you should know that your was still a record time. As I said: unhealthy."

"Or maybe simply romantic?" Adrien let out a long, dreamy sigh. He kicked off his shoes and stretched on the coach comfortably, before continuing. "Also, how could I not have fallen in love with her? It's not because she has made some great entrance and swept me off my feet all at once. In fact, she was the opposite of that: clumsy and insecure, a little awkward and surely lacking faith in her own skill. Hell, she was practically drowning in all that self-doubt.... And yet, that didn't stop her from trying hard."

"You mean, she delayed her great entrance for a day and then impressed you twice as much as she would have otherwise."

"You can laugh all you want, I know what I felt," once again, Adrien contradicted him. "And that 'delay', as you call it, wasn't something she'd planned – it was a natural reaction on her part but then it only showed how deep her courage truly ran. How much she had to struggle, how difficult it was to accept that new, crazy path Master Fu had chosen for us... And still, she did accept that. Now, if that's not impressive, I really don't know what is."

This time, Plagg only sighed.

"There really is no talking you out of this one, is there?" he asked wearily, even though his tiny lips were curved in a small smile. "Gosh, you really are hopeless."

"I do care for her, Plagg," the boy lying next to him responded, his own voice having a new seriousness to it. "I know it seems silly. It probably was at first: a shallow crush, derived directly from my being amazed by what she did that day, contradicting Hawkmoth despite her own fears. But even if it was... It's been almost three years now. We became friends, and partners, and... so much more, even if still refuses to see it in a romantic light. She is my soulmate, Plagg. There's no one else that could take that role but her."

"And what if you're wrong?" Plagg suggested quietly.

Adrien shook his head. "I can't be. It's just not an option, not when even the Guardian of the Miraculous called us one another's yin and yang."

"Except in this case the yin and the yang may remain platonic and still work just fine."

For the first time in week's Adrien felt the kind of anxiety that was not accompanied by the usual enthusiasm and faith. His brow furrowed as he gazed up at his friend, his heart speeding up while his blood ran cold; his jaw tightening unconsciously as he thought it over in his mind.

"You can't really mean that."

Once again, Plagg sighed, and flew closer to the boy's side.

"Look, I don't want to scare you here," he explained evenly. "I'm not saying that you should give up on her, or that you should lose all faith and resign yourself to a life with some random girl who will surely take her place. I don't know if she'll appear in your dreams today – heck, we can't even be sure if it really will be today. But that's what this whole thing is about, Adrien: no one can be certain about this thing until it's actually happened. I know how you feel about her; I know you want your special dream to confirm what you've believed so far. And you know that I want you to be happy."

"So where's the hatch?" Adrien asked.

"No hatch. I just... I just want you to make room for a possibility where it's not Ladybug who turns out to be your other half. So that you're at least in some way prepared if that's the case. Can you promise me to try that?"

Adrien's reply wasn't an immediate one. Quite the opposite: the boy seemed to be taking full advantage of the time he had, staying silent for as long as appeared proper to him – and then a little longer than that. Motionless, he lay like he did before, with only his eyes shifting; and even they remained fixed on one spot on the ceiling, after he'd looked away from Plagg's solemn face.

Because that was no light matter.

Adrien was well aware of that, of course. It wasn't that his buoyant demeanour was an act, or that it was his way of fighting the fears that had somehow found way to the very core of his vulnerable heart. He wasn't hiding behind it – simply because he had already faced those fears a long time ago.

How could he not have, with Ladybug rejecting him so many times so far? He might have been naive to some, but he wasn't stupid for sure. He wasn't selfish, either, and for that reason he simply had to consider a situation in which his Lady did not respond to his affection, no matter how many dreams of one another they'd shared.

She meant everything to him – he wasn't going to throw himself at her if she was certain she couldn't love him back.

No matter how much the mere thought of it hurt him.

"I just can't imagine it being anyone but her," he said softly (a little longingly) at last. "I know it still might be. Someone I've never thought of before or maybe even someone I haven't even met yet. But it's like... it's something the logical part of me realises, while the more emotional side screams to forget it as something completely absurd. My brain tells me to keep my options open; my heart calls me a traitor for even considering that."

He rolled over to his stomach and rested his chin on his folded arms. "So yes, I do have room for such a possibility. And if my soulmate turns out to be someone who isn't Ladybug, I promise you to do my best to know her and to love her, even if it's in a very different way. I just -"

He stopped abruptly; then he pressed his face against his arms and muttered, "I just pray to God that I don't have to."

Again, silence fell on the room, with nothing but the sound of the two of them breathing to disturb it. It was Plagg's turn to caress his Chosen, with a gentle touch of his little paw brushing the cheek of the boy he was supposed to protect. Adrien smiled weakly at the display and turned his head a bit, just enough to be able to see the kwami with more than his mind's eye.

"You really should just go to bed, you know," Plagg murmured with his usual fatigue. "Otherwise you'll fall asleep right here and then wake up from discomfort in the middle of your most important night. And you wouldn't want to do that halfway through that soulmate dream, would you?"

"I sure would not," Adrien agreed readily. He lifted himself up and jumped off the coach in one swift movement, yawning and stretching as he stood up. "I still need a shower though – which is all the more annoying if I think it may actually chase my sleepiness away. And not being able to fall asleep, tonight of all nights... Now, that would be far worse than the disrupted sleep you mentioned before."

"Well, I'd say the amount of sleep you've been getting lately is the best guarantee of good rest tonight," Plagg offered derisively. "You hardly slept at all because of your excitement, it should have been enough to wear you out."

Adrien couldn't help but yawn again.

"You're right. It has," he admitted. "Alright, shower it is. Then I'm gonna go straight to bed, tuck myself in and just relax. That should be an invitation enough for my body and mind to feel the sleepiness as well, right?"

And then he was off, determined not to lose another minute of this very precious time. He was back in no time, calm and warmed up, more than ready to face the destiny that – he was sure of it – was finally going to show its face to him that night.

It was a few minutes past ten when he reached his bed at last; it was half past when he finally fell asleep. His dream came to him at three, at the darkest hour and the most trying time.

And when the sun showed itself some time around five...

...it found him sitting up abruptly, with a cold sweat flowing down his neck and his big green eyes wide with shock and fright.

Because he hadn't dreamt of Ladybug that night.

[silverwhiteraven]

Borne of the Stars - Chapter 7 - An MLB Kryptonian AU

Tag List:  @eve-valution @weird-pale-blonde-person @kris-pines04 @soulmate-game @abrx2002 @amayakans @vixen-uchiha @heldtogetherbysafetypins @raisuke06 @dorkus-minimus @captainartsypants @mopester-is-here @moonlightstar64 @annabellabrookes @maribat-is-lifeblood @toodaloo-kangaroo @the-navistar-carol @elspethshadow @chocolatecatstheron​ @ivymala07

[ Posted on Ao3 ] [ Chapter 1 ] [ Chapter 6 ] [ Chapter 8 ]

[ A/N: Chapter 8 is also finished, I will be posted it right after this one! ]

[Summary:  Lunchtime break has arrived, and the Parisian duo meet the companions Kara has in Paris. ]

The first three hours of class passed by quickly, full of teacher introductions, reviews, and chatter from students not yet out of their summertime mindsets. Marinette was happy to see Mlle. Mendeleiev had moved up from teaching in their old collège and had transferred to their new lycée with them, but not as their homeroom teacher. 

During Mademoiselle Mendeleiev’s third period Algebra class, Alix learned Kara was just as willing to take on bets as Kim, and they started a note-passing competition to see who would get caught first. Marinette and Nino both got roped in half way through when one of the notes fell on the former's head, and the latter picked it off and snorted at the message inside, hiding it before Mlle. Mendeleiev could see it or Marinette could have a curious peak.

Marinette lost by a technicality of being spotted, but won in her own way when she didn't get in trouble. For one, she knew the teacher was harsh against students messing around in class, but was lenient to let the ones who had completed their work already, and letting them have their fun so long as it wasn’t distracting. She had finished her review sheet before the other three, and the note wasn’t considered distracting because, conveniently, it was an offer to tutor Nino during lunches. All of her notes had been class related in preparation for her luck not holding out, so when the bell rang for the end of class, she was mildly smug when she turned back to the girls behind her and grinned at them. 

“That was fun! I’m glad you still got your work done, though maybe make your bets after finishing first, okay?”

The three note-passers hid their giggles as they nodded. Nino nudged her then, and she jumped up. “Oh right! Everyone, wait up!” MArinette stood and scooped up the box of macaroons she had pulled from her locker before the class had started, and hopped down the stairs to stand at the door. “Macaroons! Happy first day of lycée everyone!”

Most of the class broke out into moderate whoop and thank yous as they filed out the door and took a macaroon each. 

“See you down at the lunch tables today?” Adrien asked as he bit into his attained treat. Marinette took notice of a pin peeking out from under his overshirt, smiling internally as she recognized the colors of the bi pride flag, glad to see him knowing himself a lot better than he had two years ago.

Marinette glanced at Nino standing with Kara, both waiting for her outside the door and she considered the question. She nodded to them and shook her head. “I think Nino and I will show the new girl around today. See you in class later?”

“Course! See you, Marinette! Let’s go Alya, I'm starving.”

“I sure hope not,” was Alyas teasing retort. “I’ll try to start a smear campaign against your dad again, and this time you won't stop me!” Adrien only laughed as the two headed down the stairs and out of sight. 

After making sure Mlle. Mendeleiev got a macaroon of her own, Marinette joined her friends out in the hall, the remaining treats back in the bag on her back. 

“So, what now? I know I said we’d show you around, but I won't make either of you go anywhere if you don't want to. Nino, you up for it?”

The boy nodded vigorously, his hat slipping before he stopped. As he straightened it out, he answered properly. “Of course, bro! I finally get to hang out with this cool dudette outside of your house, there's no way i'm passing this up. No offense, Mari, but she must have been dying always being cooped up inside a bakery, even if it did smell heavenly. How bout you, Kara, up for your first real visit around Paris, City of Love?”

Marinette ignored the way Nino wiggled his brow at Kara as she focused on the other girl, awaiting her answer. 

“Yeah, one sec’, let me check something,” she pulled out her phone, searching her messages. “Remember how I said I didn’t move here alone?”

The two others nodded, remembering the comment from that morning and the unanswered question of who are the others. Kara grinned down at her phone and then back as she quickly typed out a text and sent it. She turned the phone around to show them a new group chat log with one message, ‘meet us, front courtyard, goin out for lunch and fun!’,  and two speech bubbles displaying the recipients as already replying.

Both replies were identical. 

‘“Us?”’

Kara laughed as she turned the phone back and saw the texts, putting it away without replying. “How long are lunches here, anyways?”

“Two hours,” Nino answered her as he led the way to the stairs.

Stars joined the twinkle in the hero’s eyes. “Oh, I am never going back to America now.”

Marinette and Nino laughed as they headed down the steps and led the way through the halls and out of the school building, into the open courtyard now dotted in groups of students.

“Here she comes,” Kara says absently, stopping and standing in the spot as though waiting. The other two turn around curiously but are interrupted by an excited yell before they can ask.

“Kara!!” In a fashion almost identical to Marinette that morning, a hoodie wearing ginger haired girl went barreling into the called person like a purple streak, caught without wavering in a solid hug. 

“Hey there little Batsy,” Kara grinned as she let the other go, looking around. “Where’s Karen? I thought you had class together?”

“She’s catching up! Look, there she is!” 

The new girl gestured back the way she came, and there was another girl, honey-toned skin, dark, thickly curled hair tied up into two pigtails with a golden highlight streaking through one, and dressed in a striped soft yellow and brown sweater. Marinette’s first thought was she looked like a very adorable bee. 

The newest girl huffed as she slowed from her sprint and made her way over, clearly a bit miffed with all the rushing around, yet glad to have found her friends.

“H-hey, I’m here! Hi, Kara,” Karen finally greeted as she caught her breath. “You said something about, ‘us’? Who is us? Oh! Are you us??” She turned to Nino and Marinette as she questioned them, a slight smile in greeting on her lips, though a crease of worry in her brow at being unprepared for meeting anyone new.

The two addressed teens nodded in unison, “Yeah! nice to meet you, dudes, I’m Nino Lahiffe, one of Kara’s classmates.” He held out a hand for a fistbump in greeting, which got returned with varying levels of enthusiasm and hesitation from the two newcomers to the group. 

“Marinette Dupain-Cheng, nice to meet you two!” She waved as she greeted, smiling brightly. The two green eyed girls waved back happily.

“Karen, Karen Beecher, nice to meet you two, too.”

“I’m Barbra Gordon, but you can call me Babs, it’s much easier. Wait, Nino? Like, the Nino that Kara has started to listen to a ton of music from, that Nino?”

“Uh,” was his wide-eyed response, and Kara laughed as she wrapped an arm around his shoulder.

“Yup, he’s that Nino; cool, right? Finally get to introduce you guys and, bonus, hang out properly for once.” 

“But, wait,” Karen interrupted, looking pensive, “What about.. Uhm…”

“Geode?” Babs supplied helpfully, and Marinette stiffened at the nickname. 

“Well, yes, her, too, but,” Karen shook her head, “actually I was going to say: ‘Didn’t you meet him as you-know-who and thus shouldn’t be acting so familiar with him?’ Kinda blows your cover and defeats your whole purpose here, doesn't it?”

“She has a point,” Babs chimed in, pointing at Kara with an exaggerated frown and a raised brow. 

Kara rolls her eyes, “Yeah, but kinda pointless you hide it, don't ya’ think? If I can't be her, it means I can't exactly hang out like normal, now can I? Besides! I trust these two to keep it on the down-low; they're really good at it so far.”

As though suddenly realizing that they were discussing the identities of Supergirl in front of her, the two other American girls turned their gazes on Marinette, who took a half step back in surprise.

“Wait,” Babs tilted her head, tapping her pursed lips in thought. “Does that mean-?” 

“Indeed, Babs,” Kara piped back in with glee. “Girls, meet the cutie of Paris I may have forgotten to tell you the actual name of; the one and the only: Geode.” Kara made an exaggerated flourish of her hands as she said this, as though she was presenting Marinette like some kind of royalty to a court.

Marinette couldn't help but to blush in embarrassment at the whole display and explanation, waving slightly once more. 

Karen and Babs stared at her before the news finally settled, and it clicked for them both at the same time.

“Ohh…” They said in unison.

[mazojo]

I really miss Saerys. 😭 Is it okay if I request a Saerys x MC fic? Maybe a Soulmate AU fic with the prompt “You see color for the first time when you meet your soulmate”?

“I wish I had your eyes! Imagine how badass It would be to wink and then when you open your other eye bam! They get hit with two colors!” 

MC was doing some punching motions to accentuate her point while I chuckled slightly. She came inches aways my face and stared deeply into my eyes.

“Heterochromia… Is that like a demon thing? Why didn’t I get heterochromatic eyes huh? Did I have to be stuck with the boring gray eyes?” She was half mumbling the last part whilst putting her lips

How could she say something like that? They were adorable.

“They are not boring! I think they are quite love-” 

“Not my point!… Wait can you even see colors right? I mean is my blue the same as your blue or is my blue more of a green….” She was rambling at this point and she turned away as she went on about colors.

Colors.

You see color for the first time when you meet your soulmate

I remembered it was a demon saying. Once you found that person, your soulmate, the world would be lighter, softer around the edges, colors intensifying.

I never thought I would find it, my soulmate. After being taken in by Reiner and fulfilling my place as a soldier, I had only one goal in mind and my future was tainted with red, avenging and fighting for my lost family, vengeance red.

But then she arrived. Flustered and shouting about some weird land and she looked oh so much like the face from my nightmares, little did I know she would be my daydream. She was different, she was full of life and hope. 

And also annoying at times. She took my bed and followed me around like a lost duckling the first few days after arriving. I started grinning remembering our first kiss in that tent. I was so hesitant, I felt like I betrayed my family somehow but it also gave me warmth, color. Somehow, life seemed a little lighter, not so much about suffering but about living.

My thoughts were interrupted when MC took my face in her hands and locked her lips with mine in a passionate kiss that left me spinning after breaking apart.

“What was that for?” I raised my eyebrows slightly, still recovering from the flush of sensations traveling across our soul bond as I grabbed her by the waist.

“Well I tried reaching you through our bond but you seemed pensive and I don’t know… Is everything okay?” I catch her worried tone and I send some reassuring thoughts through our link.

“Everything perfect, just thinking about how lucky I am at how colorful you are” 

“Flatterer” I catched sight of a small blush while her lips formed a small smirk. She pulled away from our embrace leaving me without her warmth. “Anyways, I’m gonna go off to bother Iseul, wanna come?”

“I’ll catch up to you in a minute” With that she gave me a peck and ran off with a mishevious glint in her sprint.

I sat down on our bed for a moment, trying to remember life before her. What did it felt like waking up every morning without her embrace? How did it felt like to be in a time where poetry had a completely different meaning? When life was filled with dark tones?

As I closed my eyes I could understand the old passage even more, my head filling with an image of the rainbow in my life.

She is the color of my world. My soulmate.

I know its kinda short but I felt like it would be a cute short prompt and now I miss my demon husband even more ;w;

[sopewriters]

Melody.

Series: Hoseok | Jin | Jimin | Namjoon | Jungkook | Taehyung

Pairing: Min Yoongi x Reader

Genre: Angst, Fluff; Soulmate!AU where you can hear music only if you have a soulmate.

Word Count: Roughly 3K

Note: Happy Birthday to our very own Min Yoongi! This is basically my way of trying to celebrate it, and it was supposed to only be a drabble but… ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

The silence only lasts for a moment. It’s brief, and it’s fleeting, just like your love seems to be.

Jinyoung’s looking at you, you can tell; you don’t need to look at him to know it, since you can feel his heavy gaze resting just between your shoulders, under your neck. The air is cold, just like your heart, and when you finally turn around, to meet his eyes, the gale stops too, as though it knows. Your head is empty, no soft music murmuring into it, and when you look at him, you can tell from the hollowness of his eyes that his is too.

“I guess…” You speak first, softly, fists clenching, “I guess this is where it ends?”

“It doesn’t have to.” He answers, just as quiet, though his stance speaks volumes, “We can still try.”

“It doesn’t work that way.” You cross your arms, head still ringing from the silence, and it’s tough trying to stop your eyes from stinging, “You…You know that as well as I do.”

“Soulmates aren’t everything, Y/N.” Jinyoung asserts, looking at you with his eyes crinkled, not in joy, but in solemnity, “Just because you don’t hear anything doesn’t mean you can’t feel it.”

“You found your soulmate though,” Your words are flat, dead, “I have no place in your life anymore Jinyoung, and I think…I think we both need to accept this.”

You hold up your wrist, showing him the faded mark.

“My soulmate’s dead. There’s no way to turn that around, and I’m okay. But you’re not,” You gesture helplessly at his wrist, where an intricate pattern of flowers blooms beautifully, rich with its pink hues, “You still have someone out there waiting for you, crossing their fingers to find their soulmate, so you can’t leave them all by themselves.”

The tears finally spill out as you take his hands—his warm hands—in yours, smiling up at him through blurry vision.

“Y/N—” He breathes out, his own eyes glistening, and you shush him, reaching up to card a hand through his hair.

“Always remember,” You say gently, voice shaking, before you lean up to press your trembling lips against his, letting the tears slip freely, “That I love you.”

He looks at you once, before his arms come to wrap around you, and you let him.

This is a goodbye, after all.

 It makes sense that you’re not okay. Makes infinite sense, in fact. So it’s no surprise that when your friend discovers you, exactly a week later, curled up in your messy sheets, eyes red and puffy, hair mussy, she decides it’s time for you to try and move on. It’s easy for her to say, because she’s not the one who has to live the rest of her life with an empty head, with nothing but ringing ears.

You thought Jinyoung was the one, but the fading mark on your wrist proves that nothing truly lasts forever.

“Please, just come out with me today.” She begs you as you stare forlornly at the floor, “Seriously, you won’t regret it; just try? Please?”

“It doesn’t matter anymore.” Your hands shake as they curl into fists, “Nothing matters anymore. But,” Here you look up, meeting her sad eyes, “How’s Jinyoung?”

There’s something akin to shock filtering across her face, before it dissolves into a guilty frown, and she looks away.

“He found his soulmate, didn’t he?” Your voice carries nothing but emptiness, just like your head.

“Yes.” She admits, then adds, as an afterthought, “He didn’t want me to tell you but—”

“What time?” You interrupt, eyes dark.

“What?”

“What time are we leaving?”

 The club’s pulsating with beats; you can feel them. The vibrations of the thumping bass travel through your body, as though trying to offer a comfort—a comfort that you’re completely willing to drown yourself in. There’s nothing here that can stop you from losing yourself; absolutely nothing.

There’s no sound as you make your way through bodies grinding against each other, and it’s a startling enough reality that nearly snaps you out of it, but something in you persists, making you head over to the bar, where a lone man is behind the counter, working on an exotic looking drink. You take a seat, and don’t speak until he’s done, looking down at your phone the entire time.

You order your drink, still preoccupied with checking your messages, when you finally look up, eyes landing on the bartender—and you freeze. It’s like every nerve in your body is paralyzed, because shit, he’s so hot. Even that might be an understatement at the sight of that man, with the dark hair and black eyes, those lips just curved up in a permanent smirk.

He turns his back to you after nodding once, and you breathe out, trying to calm yourself down. You can’t believe you’re actually here. You just left Jinyoung, you can’t possibly be immediately attracted someone else. It’s…it’s disgusting.

But you can’t stop, and it’s oddly refreshing.

“Here you go.” He drawls, and you can’t help but think it’s strange to see him behind the counter; he doesn’t seem like the type to turn to bartending.

Not that you can just judge someone like that, but it happens.

“Well?” His lips curl as he catches you staring, making your cheeks flush, “Something you like?”

“No.” You lie, wondering if it’s possible to hide yourself behind your glass, “Sorry, I was thinking.”

He stares pensively at you, eyes dark in thought, and you gulp, mouth dry. It’s the first time in a long time that you’ve reacted like this to a complete stranger; you deduce it must be because of the impact of being single, and your mood drops once again.

“Tell you what,” His voice is rough, as he shouts over what you think must be the music, “My shift ends in about 5 minutes anyway; how about I catch you up after that?”

Another man stumbles over to the area, making the bartender’s attention divert to him, and he looks at you again, urgency flashing across his cool features. You nod, mainly because your body seems to have forgotten how to do anything else.

“Alright.” He eyes you skeptically once more, before nodding at you, and turning away.

You take the time to wonder what on earth you’re doing. This is totally unlike you. This is most definitely not like you. This is…this is crazy.

But five minutes is too short a time to contemplate the meaning of life. His shift ends faster than you can blink, and he’s stepping out from behind the counter, gesturing at you to follow him. You get to your feet hesitantly, hoping to God that you haven’t somehow managed to attract a creep.

He seems to notice that you haven’t taken a single step, because he turns around, eyebrows furrowed in annoyance.

“Well?” He crosses his arms, unamused, “I don’t have all night. I’m also not a total creep, if that’s what you were thinking.”

“I wasn’t thinking that.” You lie, before beginning to walk behind him, “I’m not that rude. But I don’t even know your name…?”

“Sure, princess.” He chuckles, before resuming his brisk pace, “And the name’s Yoongi.”

The two of you break out of the place soon enough, and you gulp in large breaths of fresh air, glad to be away from that stuffy atmosphere. There’s a limit, even for you.

He’s casually leaning by the wall when he says, “It’s a refreshing break from that dumbass music, isn’t it?”

The melancholy strikes you hard then, and you shrug painfully, holding up your bare wrist for him to see the fading mark.

“I wouldn’t know.” You smile ruefully.

His eyes grow wide minutely, but you’re too drained to care. It’s not like it matters to him anyway.

“Oh.” The word is short as it slips from his mouth, before he’s shrugging nonchalantly enough, “Well, you’re not missing out on anything in there, I can assure of you of that.”

“If you’re sure.” Your smile is still lopsided, “Thanks.”

“Of course.” He’s quiet for a moment, before he offers, “How about I show you something?”

You look at him doubtfully, making him sigh.

“What?” You say defensively at the exasperated noise, “It’s like 11 in the night or something!”

“Okay, what was your friend’s name again?” He asks, and when you tell him, he grins, “Call her.”

“Why?” You don’t see any point to this, “So you can stalk her or something?”

“No,” He rolls his eyes, “Because I want to tell her where we’ll be going.”

You hand him your phone silently, not knowing what you could possibly say to that, and also having faith in your friend to keep you alive.

He walks a few paces away from you, back turned to you, so you take the opportunity to take deep breaths, trying to calm down, but there’s a certain pressure in your chest that you don’t understand. It’s weird, oddly suffocating, but you shake it off when he comes back, phone held in his outstretched hand.

You take it from him, eyeing him weirdly, before holding it up to your ear.

“Yeah?” You ask in trepidation, “What is it?”

“You can trust him, Y/N.” Your friend hollers over the phone and you wince—right, she can hear the music while you can’t—and shake your head, despite knowing she can’t see you.

“Are you on crack?!” You hiss angrily under your breath so that Yoongi can’t hear you; though, that obviously fails, going by his subsequent snort of disbelief, “U-uh, I mean…”

“I know Yoongi, Y/N.” Your friend seems as reassuring as it gets, “He’s my partner in Musicology.”

“Fine.” You finally snap out, knowing you can’t change her mind, mouth pressed into a thin line, “But if I go missing the next day, it’ll be all your fault.”

“You’ll be fine.” She sighs, before she’s cutting the call, making you gape noiselessly at the phone.

“Did it work out?” He asks sarcastically, and you glare lightly at him, before sighing.

“Lead the way.”

The walk is long—and your legs must be aching right now—but it doesn’t seem worth it when the two of you come to stand in front of an apartment, rickety and run down.

“If you brought me here for a one night stand where you cheat on your soulmate,” You cross your arms, “I’m leaving.”

“Relax,” Yoongi rolls his eyes, “I’m not that kind of guy, kitten.”

“Well, there you go with another pet name!” You point out huffily, even as the two of you begin to ascend the stairs, “It’s getting annoying!”

“Oh, I’m so sorry,” Your fists curl at his tone, “Come on, we’re almost there.”

When the two of you step inside the apartment, you gasp. The lights are stilled turned off, but it’s okay, because the entire ceiling is covered with soft, glowing stars, each of different sizes. It legit looks like you’re outside, save for any noise or animals.

It’s beautiful. But one question still remained.

“Why did you bring me here?”

You can’t make out Yoongi’s form clearly in the darkness, and he seems to understand that, because there’s the sound of shuffling feet, before he’s flicking the light on.

You blink rapidly to clear out the spots dotting your vision, before groaning.

“That doesn’t answer…my question…” You trail off once your sight adjusts itself, eyes falling on possibly one of the most advanced sound systems that you’ve ever seen. There’s a table too, with a laptop and two pairs of headphones propped on it too, and your feet carry you unsteadily towards it.

“This…” Yoongi takes a deep breath too, “Is where I do most of my work.”

“Well, this is amazing!” You gush out, unable to believe it, “How did you manage to afford this?!”

“I’ve got my sources,” He shrugs, though you can see a little smirk even as he does, “But there’s a reason I brought you here.”

“Though I appreciate the sentiment and all,” You say, feeling a little downtrodden, “I’m not going to be able to do anything here.”

“And that’s where you’re wrong.” Yoongi offers you his hand and, eyeing it warily, you take it, letting him lead you to a chair “Just trust me.”

He gently sets one of the headphones over your head, patting it for good measure, before taking one for himself and typing away on his laptop. You’re bursting with questions, but you bite your lip, holding them back.

He presses a button, before swiveling around and looking at you expectantly. You shut your eyes, trying to think of a way to tell him nicely that it won’t work, when your ears catch onto something, and your eyes fly open again.

You can…you can hear something. A chorus of harmonies sinking into each other, and a slow, scratchy beat to boot. And it’s…it’s been so, so long since you’ve heard anything musical that you can’t find it in you to hold back your tears, letting them spill forth.

“H-How?” You choke out, pressing a hand to your eyes, “H-How did you…?”

“Music isn’t just about instruments, Y/N.” He says gently, setting a hand on your arm, “If anything, it’s about routine sounds just working together, in harmony. It’s just an amalgamation of sounds, meshed together to create something worth living for.”

And that’s deep, especially from someone you’ve just met, but the words strike you hard.

“It’s okay.” His hand rubs soothingly at your back, and you hold on to him, not caring if he’s virtually a stranger, “It’s alright to cry.”

Time only passes from there.

You end up frequenting Yoongi’s place more often, much to the delight of your friend (“who was right? Oh yeah, that was ME!!’), not that you mind her teasing because, well, Yoongi has changed your life in more ways than one. There’s always still that feeling of unease, deep in your gut, when you consider the possibility of holding him back from his soulmate. You understand how it feels, and you never want it to happen to anyone else.

You bring it up with Yoongi too, eventually, and the conversation takes a turn you definitely haven’t expected.

“I don’t…” You trail off, before sighing deeply, “I don’t want to hold you back.”

Yoongi stares pensively at you, at that moment, and you wonder if this is the turning point—where he realizes that he’s been doing it wrong the whole time and decides to ditch you. Despite all your talk of wanting him to find his soulmate, you really, really like him…but at the same time, it’s too hard. You don’t want him to suffer, not like you did.

“Okay.” Yoongi exhales deeply, slender fingers interlocking with each other, before he looks up at you, “I didn’t want to bring this up until later, but…”

He holds up his wrist, showing you the exquisite black ink detailing it.

“This happened,” He says shakily, before his eyes snap up to meet yours, “When I met you.”

“W-what?” Your brain can’t possibly process this, “Wait, what are you saying—”

“I knew you’d react like this.” Yoongi says flatly, before he takes your left wrist, the one that has that faded mark on it, and presses his hands to yours so that your wrists touch, “That day, I heard the music, only because of you. You’re…You’re my soulmate, Y/N.”

“What?” You choke out, standing up shakily but not really going anywhere because of Yoongi’s grip on your hand, “Yoongi, you must be mistaken, that’s not possible! My soulmate is dead.”

“I know that.” He sighs shakily, “I know that you have another soulmate, and it hurts me, but it still stands that you’re mine. And I want to treasure you, so can you let me do that?”

“I don’t know.” A part of you sings with joy, while another is still cowering in trepidation, “Yoongi, I can’t hear any music no matter how I feel about you. If you’re happy, I won’t be able to hear anything. If you’re sad, I won’t be able to hear anything. No matter how you’re feeling…”

Your throat clogs up, just as your vision grows blurry.

“Hey, Y/N.” Yoongi takes your head in his hands, smiling at you, “That’s what I’m here for. Even if you can’t hear anything, I still can.”

There’s a pause:

“Let me be your ears, and your heart.”

“Y-Yoongi.” You choke out, the emotion rising up tightly in you, and his smile softens at the edges.

“Don’t.” The word is short, but the meaning is heavy, “You’ve got all the time you need, because I’ll be waiting for you, Y/N.”

“I-I didn’t know you could be this much of a sap.” You joke weakly, before you’re biting your lip, “And I guess…we can give it a try.”

The grip on your hands freezes, and Yoongi���s the one floundering for words.

“What?” You laugh a little tearfully, but the sound of it has his eyes widening, “I like you too. And if you think this will work…well, I’ll just have to trust you as always, won’t I?”

“Yes.” He says, almost in relief, before he’s leaning in and letting your lips touch, mold into each other flawlessly, “Always.”

The tears are still dribbling down your cheeks, and it’s messy, but neither of you care; it’s still perfect, it’s your moment, and you wouldn’t have it any other way.

Written By: (the cruel, yet fantastic) Admin Midnight~

I made the above moodboard (hence its shitty quality) with Mint Yoongi as my muse instead of Charcoal Yoongi haha^^

[puns-and-fics-has-moved]

Meant to Be - Part Two: Hey

All Parts

Pairing: jamilton (Hamilton x Jefferson)

Request: Soulmate AU – When soulmates draw on themselves, it appears on the other’s skin as well. (Also Modern High School AU)

Tagging: @elenarte @empyrealsakaki @gum-and-chips @karenthepoop @hammytrashy @falling-open @bestfluteninja @urstupidmom @olympun @rebel-with-cause @mishaisakitten @depressionjoke @gemilton @ur-friendly-neighborhood-fangirl

Word Count: 1912

Warnings: swearing, anxiety, allusions to suicide

A/N: OKAY Y’ALL, first off: thank you so much for all the amazing love and support you’ve given this fic already! it means so much to me and i am so truly grateful for all of you. second: I really hope you enjoy this chapter, and I’ll keep trying to put one out every other day! 

that’s all, enjoy  <3

Alex

Alex

Alex

Alexander glared at the writing on his arm, feeling his anger building as he walked back home in a blind rage. He bounded up the stairs to his apartment, trying to ignore the writing that was covering his arm.

Please talk to me

I’m sorry

Please

Alex

Alex

Alex

He burst into his apartment and found that, thankfully, George wasn’t home. He ran to the bathroom and turned on the tap. He made sure the water was all but scalding, and thrust his arm under the stream. He pumped soap out into his hands and scrubbed with vigour. He relished in the sight of the water turning black and running down into the pristine porcelain sink. He felt an angry grip around his heart when Jefferson continued to write even as his words disappeared.

Alex roughly turned the faucet off and fell to the floor in frustration. He whipped his pen out of his backpack and wrote very clearly, in large letters, LEAVE ME THE FUCK ALONE.

Thomas’ frantic writing stopped and Alex breathed a sigh of relief. He stood up again and scrubbed the remainder of the writing off his arm. By the time it was off, his skin was tender and red, with only the faintest traces of writing. Alex dragged himself to his bedroom and collapsed on his bed, curling up over top of his blankets and letting the sobs rack his body.

He couldn’t believe that T – his ­T – was Thomas Jefferson. Thomas had made Alexander’s life a living hell; had caused so many panic attacks, so much pain… he had driven him to a point of desperation and self-loathing that no one but his father knew about. T had brought him out of that sadness. Alexander was hit with the irony of it all, and he chuckled darkly to himself through his tears. This boy had given Alex his highest highs and his lowest lows… who was he really?

Alex was startled out of his reverie when he heard the front door open, but then he felt relief wash over him. George was home.

“Alex? Are you home?” he heard his adoptive father call through their small apartment.

“Yeah,” he called back quietly, his voice raw from crying. A moment later there was soft knock on the door. “Come in,” he said, sitting up in bed.

George entered and immediately crossed the room to join his son on the bed. “What happened?” he asked, giving him a serious look.

“I…” he didn’t even know where to begin. He had never told his father about how much he’d been bullied by Jefferson and his crew. He’d only told George that they disliked one another. Should he even go into it? He was about to lie, when his father took note of his rubbed-raw arm.

“You didn’t talk to T today?” he asked with concern in his eyes. He had never seen his son’s arm blank before.

Before Alex could stop himself, there were tears pouring down his face, and he was gasping for breath. Bewildered, George gathered his son into a hug, stroking his long hair gently.

“What happened, son?” he asked once Alexander’s gasping had slowed.

“I met T,” Alexander sobbed.

“You met… Who are they?” George asked, his eyes going wide.

“Thomas Jefferson,” Alexander replied quietly.

“It’s Thomas? Don’t you two not get along?”

A hysterical giggle gurgled out of Alex’s mouth, and before he could stop himself, he was doubled over, a sick laughter rattling him.

“Dad… it’s so much worse than that,” he said once his laughter had subsided. “He’s – uh… he’s sort of the reason why… last year…”

Realization dawned on George and he pulled his son into a hug. “I’m so sorry, Alex,” he whispered, pulling him into another hug.

“He’s made my life hell since I started high school.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” George asked, his words coated in concern.

“I didn’t know how, dad…” Alexander trailed off, and George rubbed his back soothingly.

“I know it’s hard to think like this, Alex, but you have to remember… Thomas was also the one that helped you through all of that.”

The next morning, Alexander had to drag himself out of bed. He stayed in the shower for as long as he possibly could, just letting the hot water wash over him and erase the events of the day before. But the angry thoughts kept coming back to him, more scalding than the water that was reddening his skin.

He exited the steamy shower stall when he began to get lightheaded. He was slow to get dressed and to brush his hair and teeth. When he finally wandered out into the main part of his apartment, it was to find his father sitting at the kitchen table with breakfast and tea ready for his son. Alex couldn’t help but smile at George’s thoughtfulness.

He took a seat at the table and his dad glanced up from his newspaper.

“How did you sleep?” he asked, thankfully not addressing the fact that his son was certainly going to be at least an hour late for school, and, even better, not addressing the distressing events of the day before.

Alexander shrugged and began to eat his breakfast. “Thanks for the food, dad, but you should know by now that tea won’t get me through the day.”

“Fine. Give me your tea, there’s coffee in the pot.”

“Thanks.”

“So… are you going to school today?” his father asked casually as Alexander poured himself a mug of hot coffee.

“Um…” Alex hummed with uncertainty.

“It’s okay with me if you don’t want to go. I understand,” George said in a rush, not wanting to pressure his son one way or another.

“No, I’d like to go,” Alexander said, sipping his coffee. “I want to see my friends.”

“Do they…?”

“No,” Alex answered shortly, taking another sip of his coffee. He’d had his phone turned off since school the day before, and he could hardly imagine the reaction his friends would have to the news about Thomas. That is, if they cared at all… Alex tried to shake the negative thoughts from his mind as he sat back down at the table.

“Okay, well, if you need to come home today… I understand,” George said, patting his son reassuringly on the arm.

“Thanks, dad,” Alexander replied. George’s face lit up slightly at being called “dad.” It was a fairly recent development, Alexander having let it slip a few months prior, and then apologising profusely. George had just wrapped him in a hug and told him he would be proud to call himself Alex’s father. While he was happy about it, it still took some getting used to.

They finished up their breakfast in silence, and Alexander left for school, walking slowly. He was too late for first period, but he would easily be able to make it for second. When he arrived, he walked straight to his French class and sat down in the hall, waiting for the bell to signify the period change.

Once it did, he went straight to the back of the class and sunk as low as he could in his seat. He managed to suffer through French class in silence, aching for the familiar doodle-conversations with T. Tears burned his eyes as he thought about all that had happened. What would he do if he saw Thomas today? He shuddered at the thought and buried his head in his hands.

After what seemed like an eon, the bell signaled the end of class. Head ducked, Alex made his way through the crowd to the doors leading out to the yard. He looked up once he was outside and felt himself smile at the sight of his friends all gathered around their usual picnic bench.

“Alex!” Lafayette cried, and bounded across the yard to scoop his friend into a tight hug. “Qu’est-ce qui c’est passé? Où es-tu venu hier?”**

“I went home, Laf… I’ll explain everything.” Laf put his arm around the smaller boy and led him back to the table.

Once they were there, John hugged him quickly and Herc cuffed him on the head, saying, “You scared the shit out of me! What the fuck happened?”

“I met T,” he began simply, as he’d done with his father. After their gasps of curiosity, Alex told them the rest of what had happened. Thankfully, he managed to refrain from crying, but reliving the events of the day before again was utterly exhausting. He looked up at his friends once he had finished, unsure of what their reaction would be.

John looked livid, his eyes bright with rage. Lafayette had sympathetic tears in his eyes. Hercules looked pensive, but his eyes were angry.

“I wonder what the fuck is going on in his brain,” Hercules said after a long silence.

They were all taken aback by this. Alex was suddenly reminded of his father’s words; Thomas was the one who helped him through everything. But he also caused it.

Alex looked across the yard at the place where Jefferson’s crew usually ate their lunch. Everyone was there except for Thomas. James Madison looked over and caught Alex’s eye. His expression was unreadable, but he gave a stiff nod and looked away. How much did he know? Alex wondered.

“I don’t give a fuck what he’s thinking, Herc,” John said after they’d all let his words sink in. “After all the shit he put Alex through? He doesn’t deserve our empathy.”

“I never said he did,” Herc retorted brusquely.

“I think he does,” Laf said gently. “He is Alexander’s soulmate. Think how terrible he must feel that all the times ‘A’ needed him, he had been the reason… Think how awful it must be to realize that you have completely ruined your soulmate every day for the past two years.”

“I’m not ruined,” Alex said in a stab of hot anger. “He hasn’t ruined me.”

“Alex – that is not what I meant…” Laf stumbled, regretting his words.

Alexander stood up, rage still coursing through him. He knew he wasn’t mad at Laf, but he definitely needed to get away from him; from all of them.

“I’ll see you guys tomorrow,” Alexander said, swinging his backpack over his shoulder and stalking away in a huff.

He felt his anger cool as he walked home, immediately feeling the usual anxious guilt from having yelled at his friends. Why were they even friends with him? He was so shitty towards them all the time…

“Shut up,” Alex growled to himself under his breath, angrily trying to remove the negative thoughts from his mind. He realized that normally, at times like this, he would try to talk to T. He would ask for pretty doodles or just words of comfort. Tears stung his eyes as he realized he had lost T. Now it was Thomas.

They’re the same person, said a voice in his head; a voice that sounded suspiciously like his father. But were they, though? How could T be the same person as Thomas?

With a sigh of defeat, Alexander realized he needed answers. And there was only one way to do that….

Entering his apartment, Alexander went straight to his room to grab a pen. With a heavy sigh, his heart pounding, Alex sat down on his bed, and poised the pen onto the tender skin of his wrist.

Hey.

**  Translation: What happened? Where did you go yesterday?

[puns-and-fics-has-moved]

Finding Her

Part 2/5

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Pairing: marliza (maria x eliza)

Premise: modern soulmate au – Eliza and Maria desperately seek their soulmate in a world where their first words to you are written on your arm from birth.

Warnings: swearing

Word Count: 1698

a/n: enjoy <3

“Wow!” Eliza cried, grinning. “Um… hi. I’m Eliza … what’s your name?

The beautiful girl swallowed, having trouble thinking. “Um… Maria.”

A gorgeous smile lit up Eliza’s features. “That’s a really beautiful name! And, if I may say, you’re really beautiful too, like… your smile is amazing.”

Maria was taken aback. No one had ever complimented her smile. It was always something about her body or her face… never her smile. “Thanks…”

“Look, I’m so sorry, I have to go teach a lesson, but when does your shift end?” Eliza asked in a rush of excitement.

“At three,” Maria replied hesitantly.

“Can I see you then?” Eliza asked, smiling shyly.

Maria nodded, attempting to smile. Eliza waved sweetly and left.

“Do you not want your coffee?” Maria called, but Eliza was already gone.

Eliza pulled on her hat and mittens as she stepped out into the cold January air. That hadn’t gone as she’d always hoped. Maria was beautiful, but she didn’t seem interested in Eliza. At all. She barely smiled at her, looking too shocked to speak full sentences.

Shivering as she shuffled through the slush on the sidewalk, Eliza thought about meeting Maria at three. Maybe she could bring flowers… violets or roses… and then they could go on a walk or to a movie. Eliza couldn’t believe that this was the beginning of the rest of her life with a soulmate. She’d dreamed about this for years… sure the other party had always seemed more interested in her imagination, but she was sure Maria would come around. They were soulmates, after all.

As soon as Eliza had left, Maria leaned on the counter, head in hands, and groaned. What the hell had just happened?

Her co-worker, Aaron, left his cash register, the line having been cleared, and leaned on the counter next to Maria.

“What’s going on?” he asked.

“I’m… I just met my soulmate,” Maria stuttered out, barely believing the words she was saying.

“Wow! Congratulations. Which one was he?”

Maria groaned again. He. It was supposed to be a he. She wasn’t a lesbian… “Can soulmates be just friends?”

Aaron looked taken aback. “Um��� I’ve never heard of that happening. Why?”

“It’s a girl,” Maria said. “My soulmate is a girl.”

“Really? Oh, was she the really pretty one with the long hair?”

“Yeah… I guess so.”

“She seemed really nice,” Aaron smiled. “Really sweet. I guess to balance out your salt.”

“Excuse me?” Maria laughed, punching him on the arm. Aaron laughed too, and started to wipe down the counter. Maria’s face settled back into her pensive pout.

“Don’t you think it’s weird that my soulmate’s a girl?”

“Why would it be weird?” asked Aaron.

“Because I’m straight!”

“Clearly you’re not,” he laughed. “Just get to know her, I’m sure you’ll figure it out.”

Three o’clock came, and Eliza was waiting expectantly in the alcove of the coffee shop, excitement boiling inside her stomach as she clutched a bouquet of violets. Maria exited from behind the counter, took a steadying breath, and walked up to her soulmate.

“Hey,” she said.

Eliza grinned widely. “Hi Maria! Um… I got you flowers…”

Maria spared a quick smile that didn’t touch her eyes, blushing slightly. She didn’t want this to be a date, but Eliza was making that quite difficult.

“Thanks.”

“So… do you want to go on a walk, or we could go see a movie, or grab something to eat, or –?”

“How about some coffee?” Maria said, not wanting it to be something so romantic.

“Coffee? Where? Here?” Eliza asked, confused that after working a 6-hour shift in a coffee place Maria would want to stay.

“No. At the Starbucks across the street.”

“O… kay,” Eliza smiled, still a little confused, but excited to get to know this girl. “So, how was your shift?”

“It was fine. Pretty empty, as usual. ‘Cause of the Starbucks.”

“Right. You know, I’ve actually never been to Starbucks. I’ve only ever been to Costa Coffee or, when there wasn’t one around, Bodegas or whatever.”

“Wow. Weird,” Maria said.

“Well, I mean, it said Costa Coffee on my arm, so I figured –”

“Yeah. I’ve worked at a few coffee shops, trying to find… well, you, I guess.”

“Yeah. Me,” Eliza smiled. They entered the Starbucks and got in the long line. There was a silence as they each figured out what to order, then once they’d received their drinks (Eliza paying), they found a seat by the window.

“Why would they call it a ‘tall’ if it’s a small?” Eliza asked, clutching her tea tightly.

“To be fancy, I guess,” Maria said, shrugging.

“Right,” Eliza said.

There was an awkward silence before Maria realized she was being extremely rude. She hadn’t asked Eliza one thing about herself. Straightening up in her seat, Maria asked, “So what do you do?”

Eliza smiled. “I’m a piano teacher. I go to people’s houses and I teach them how to play piano, and… well, it’s not a big deal, but some nights I play in hotel lobbies and things like that. I do weddings, too… I wanted to be a school teacher, but I can’t spell for shit, so I figured that wouldn’t be good…”

“You have the writing for a teacher,” Maria said, relaxing a little and pointing at her tattoo.

“I’ve been told,” Eliza laughed, noticing Maria’s tension easing a little. “Anyway, do you go to Columbia?”

“I got my undergraduate there. In visual art. AKA, the reason why I’m working at a coffee shop.”

Eliza laughed kindly. “That’s cool, though. Do you still do art?”

“Yeah, sometimes… not as much though.”

Maria was relaxing quite a bit. Eliza was easy to talk to. She seemed so genuinely interested in everything Maria had to say. She wasn’t used to this kind of attention; Eliza seemed so… caring.

“I’d love to see it sometime,” Eliza grinned, leaning forward with a beaming smile on her face.

Maria felt inclined to lean forward as well, but something in her stomach caught. This was a girl. She tensed up again, and it did not go unnoticed by Eliza.

“Are you okay, Maria?”

“Yeah. I’m fine. But, I guess I should be going.”

Eliza’s face fell. “Okay, yeah. Where are you going? I mean, I could walk you –?”

“No,” Maria cut her off quickly. “That’s okay. I’m just down the street.”

Eliza tried not to let the hurt show on her face. “Right. Well, can I text you or something? Later?”

Maria thought about it. This girl was her soulmate. Maybe she should give her a chance…

“Sure,” she said, extending her hand for Eliza’s phone. She quickly entered a contact and turned to leave.

“Maria,” Eliza said as the other girl walked away. She turned at the sound of her name. “It was really nice to meet you.”

Maria smiled slightly, touched by her genuine kindness. “You too,” she replied, closing the door after her and leaving the violets behind.

After an hour on the subway, Eliza finally made it back to the apartment she shared with her two sisters. It was a cozy place, warmly decorated, with books overflowing every shelf (all Angelica’s, though the others read them too) and blankets and pillows everywhere, all in bright candy colours. Normally just the sight of her home could cheer Eliza up, but she was upset from the way her date had gone. Was it even a date? Maria didn’t seem interested at all.

“You’re back late, Eliza, what’s up?” Peggy asked from the kitchen, where she was making dinner for them all.

Angelica was on the counter, reading The Second Sex for the millionth time. She looked up from her book and saw clearly that Eliza was upset. She stood up immediately and hugged Eliza.

“Who do I have to punch?” she asked, taking a step back and looking up and down her sister, trying to see if she was in any way damaged.

“No one,” Eliza laughed. “I, uh – I met my soulmate.”

“Oh my God, who is she?” Peggy cried.

“She’s, well… she’s beautiful. Like, really, really beautiful. But she seems really uncomfortable or something. Like… like she’s not happy that we’re soulmates. I don’t know what it is. We got coffee together and for a little bit, I kinda thought she liked me, but then – I don’t know, she just kind of… rejected me? I mean, she just really wanted the date to be over, and I’m not even sure it was a date! Plus, I got her flowers and she… well, she left them behind.”

Eliza’s eyes teared up as she finished her rambling. Peggy, noticing the tears, pulled her into a hug. Angelica, meanwhile, looked thoughtful.

“Maybe she’s surprised you’re a girl,” Angelica said.

“Hmm?” Eliza grunted, raising her face from Peggy’s shoulder.

“I don’t know, it sounds like she’s denying some feelings. Maybe she didn’t know she was queer.”

“Huh,” Eliza huffed thoughtfully. “That would make sense.”

“My advice,” Angelica continued, taking the mom role as always, “is to keep at it. She’ll come around. Why don’t you ask her out again?”

Eliza nodded and pulled out her phone. She and her sisters deliberated for almost half an hour before crafting the perfect message;

Hey Maria, it’s Eliza. I hope this isn’t weird for you, but I’d really like to get to know you better! Do you want to grab dinner sometime?

“It’s perfect. It’s casual, it acknowledges that she seemed uncomfortable, and it’s definitely a date,” Peggy said with finality. “Send it.”

Eliza looked to Angelica for confirmation. After a moment of thought, she nodded seriously. “Send it.”

Eliza did so, and she and her sisters sat down for dinner with her phone lying on the table. Even when it hadn’t buzzed, they grabbed for it every now and then, just checking to make sure she hadn’t replied. After dinner was done and the kitchen was almost clean, finally a buzz signified a text.

Hands dripping with dish soap, Eliza rushed to the table and her sisters crowded behind her.

Maria: Saturday at 6? La Lanterna di Vittorio?

Grinning, Eliza shot back: It’s a date.