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fortunesrevolver · 7 years ago

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Series: Tales of Destiny Request: Modern soulmate AU w/any Tales ship of mine -> How do they meet? What's the defining soulmate mark/sign? For: @animeartfreak

Ignore the omake. It’s something of an inside joke between myself and Sen.

ANYWHO… This story ended up exploding into something WAY bigger than I’d originally planned for it. I have tons and tons of notes left, and I sort of had to pull things together and make it… not nearly as long as it was going to be. I might revisit this later and even break it down into a multi-chapter story sometime, but for now, I wanted to at least meet the qualifications of the commission.

Because once I hit ten pages I realized I needed to end this thing. Whoops.

It all started with a knock on the door.

Water dripped down Lion’s face as he stood outside the apartment. His clothes clung awkwardly to his body, accenting his already too-small frame. It was pathetic, really, and all he wanted to do was crawl away somewhere he could be alone and lick his wounds. He hated throwing himself at the mercy of another, but this was the only place he knew was safe to go.

When the door finally opened, his gaze snapped up, expression twisted in irritation. “What--”

The man who stood before him was very much not his sister, nor anyone he had ever seen before. For a brief moment, the only thing noticed was his startlingly blue eyes, until his focus returned with a snap and his nose wrinkled in distaste. The stranger, whoever they were, was tall, muscular, and looked like someone dropped right out of a farm. With a haystack for hair to match.

“Hi!” And they were way too happy. “How can I help you?”

“Who the hell are you?”

Clearly, this was not the greeting the man -- a hayseed, Lion decided, as his childish face couldn’t possibly be that of an adult, but he also refused to believe was younger and taller than him -- had expected. The ‘Hayseed’s’ eyebrows furrowed in confusion before he seemed to realise there might be a problem. “Oh! Right. My name is Stahn, and you… You’re soaking wet! Were you outside without an umbrella!? It’s storming!”

Lion’s eyebrow twitched, his irritation quickly growing. “How observant,” he muttered dryly. “Where is my sister?”

“Your sister…?”

“She lives here,” Lion’s eyes narrowed, “unlike you.”

“You mean Rutee!” Stahn beamed, “I’m her neighbour.”

“I don’t care,” the bluntness of Lion’s tone seemed to have absolutely no effect and it did little to help his already foul mood. “Why are you in her apartment?”

“I… have a key?” It sounded closer to a question and Lion by no means wanted to know the answer. “I usually let Atwight out while Rutee is at work if I’m home.”

Wonderful. So Rutee was now letting wayward idiots into her home. Perhaps he’d have to find another safe haven. “...nevermind.” He had enough problems right now. He didn’t need a headache to add to it. “I’m leaving.”

“Wait!” Stahn leapt into the hall, throwing his arm out. A hand caught Lion’s wrist, stopping him from moving forward and his entire body went rigid.

“Don’t touch me!”

Stahn jumped, eyes wide as he stared back at Lion and snapped his hand back in alarm. “I just… you should really come inside. I can’t just let you walk off. I’ve got a little sister myself and I’d be really mad if someone let her run back out into a storm.”

“I’m perfectly capable of--”

“You’ll get sick if you don’t dry off!” Stahn protested, cutting Lion off. “And you--you’re bleeding!”

Lion looked down, scowling. It looked as if the makeshift bandage he’d been hoping to conceal had finally run its course, leaving blood to seep through his shirt.

So much for not making a scene.

“Fine.” Lion snapped, just wanting to get out of sight before anyone else made their way down the hall. He’d get in, clean up, and get out. “Just stop shouting and move.”

Seemingly satisfied with Lion’s response, Stahn moved back and into the apartment, leaving the door open. He waited for Lion to step inside before he closed the door and promptly disappeared down the hall.

How had he gotten himself into this mess?

Not only did Stahn appear too trusting -- Lion could have been lying -- he didn’t seem to be bothered or suspicious in the slightest that Rutee might not even want Lion there. Did he invite everyone he didn’t know into the apartment? How many people had managed to make it inside with Rutee’s name alone?

He did, at least, owe some benefit of doubt in this case. For all the times he’d been mistaken as Rutee’s ‘shorter twin’, at least he could assume (hope) Stahn recognized family resemblance.

Down the hall, Stahn shuffled through the hall closet, a phone balanced precariously on the edge of a shelf.

“Rutee Katera of--”

“Uh, Rutee?” Stahn paused, his fingers curling around a roll of gauze. Just why did Rutee have so many first-aid supplies…?

“...Stahn? I swear to all that is holy, this better be important. I just about closed a deal with some really fat wallets and--”

“Your brother is here.”

“...what?”

“Your little brother?” Stahn frowned. “You… do have a brother, ri--”

“Of course I do! I have a picture of us on the--nevermind. What’s going on?”

“Well, he showed up and he--”

“There’s bandages in the hall closet. Everything you could need. Tell him I’ll be home as soon as I can.” There was no farewell as the line went dead, and Stahn was left wondering if this was something that happened often. The idea left a bad taste in his mouth.

Back in the living room, Lion sat on a towel, waiting. He didn’t like how exposed the entire situation made him feel. Even opening up to Rutee had been difficult at first, and the only reason he’d truly allowed her to understand was because she knew. She’d seen it first-hand. She’d just been strong enough to escape -- capable enough.

This Stahn seemed like a complete, oblivious buffoon. He just hoped that would work in his favor.

A soft pitter-pat and the jingle of metal reached his ears as he drummed his fingers against the arm of the couch, and he looked up just in time to see a samoyed pad into view. The dog’s ears perked in recognition and her walk turned into a short jog, stopping just short of the couch as she placed her head on the cushion beside Lion’s hip.

“Atwight,” Lion greeted, his tone softening slightly as he ran his fingers through her short fur. “It looks like Rutee still pampers you at the groomer, hm?”

Atwight woofed softly, nudging Lion’s thigh with her nose.

“I’m fine,” he muttered. “He was fairly tame today.”

Atwight nudged him again, her ears folding back against her head as she pressed closer.

“I’m back!” Stahn waved in greeting as he re-entered the room, his other arm hugging medical supplies to his chest. “I found everything.”

“...wonderful.” Lion crossed his arms and tried not to flinch with the movement. The towel he was sitting on was already soaked and likely starting to stain. He should have tried to change clothes when he had the chance.

“So…” Stahn lingered near the couch, his eyes dancing between the various places he could crouch down before Lion scowled.

“Just sit and hurry up so we can be done with this.”

“I know you’re in pain,” Stahn sighed, plopping down on the coffee table in front of Lion. “But you don’t have to be so grumpy, you know.”

Lion could only stare. His tone and manner had always been enough to keep most anyone away. Or at least quiet. Yet here Stahn was, having the gall to call him grumpy and continue on as if it never happened.

“Okay, um… This will be hard with long sleeves. Could you take your shirt off?”

“Excuse me?”

“Your shirt.” Stahn tugged at the damp material. “I need it off so I can reach your arm.”

Lion waited, counting to ten slowly in his head, both to calm down and see if he was missing some sort of joke. When Stahn said nothing and only continued to smile patiently, he felt his eyebrow beginning to twitch again.

“Just cut it off.”

“...huh?”

“The sleeve. Just cut it off. I have spare clothes here.”

Stahn didn’t move, his features working into a frown. “That’s a waste of a shirt. Wouldn’t it be easier to--”

“I said just cut it off!” Lion snapped, making Atwight jerk with a low growl. “...it’s already stained. Just cut it off so I don’t have to move my arm more and risk staining the couch.”

It was more than obvious Stahn wasn’t buying this particular excuse, but nonetheless, he reached for the scissors and began to snip his way up the seam of the sleeve. “I really think that…” he trailed off, his thumb brushing over a rough patch that caught his attention.

There, on Lion’s wrist, was a startlingly familiar shade of blue. The curved image seemed to form something curved, the blue travelling downward until it was marred and obscured by raised, pale pink skin. Small, white lines spread over the scar tissue like a messy web, and something in Stahn’s chest lurched the moment his stomach dropped. It looked so familiar, but the scars made it difficult to tell. He’d only just begun to lean forward to examine the bottom where something brown seemed to protrude from the bottom before Lion’s voice jerked him back to reality.

“What are you doing? Just cut the shirt!”

“Sheesh,” Stahn shook his head and continued to cut, only slowing his movements once he reached the top of Lion’s shoulder. “You’re kind of grumpy…”

Lion scowled, but made no comment. Not that he could see it, the cut wasn’t nearly as bad as it appeared. For as much blood and pain it had caused, his original concern that Rutee would, not for the first time, have to apply stitches finally faded.

“Lilith used to have to patch me up like this all the time,” Stahn hummed, his touch and each brush of antiseptic oddly gentle. “We grew up on a farm--”

“I wouldn’t have guessed.” Lion muttered, his sarcasm lost on Stahn, who nodded.

“--right? But we had a lot of animals, and the sheep were totally my responsibility. I mean, they listened to Lilith more, so I don’t know why grampa had me doing it, but. Sometimes they’d get me good with their feet or knock me into the fence.” He laughed, grabbing a roll and patch of gauze. “I guess it’s what I get for chasing them around when I was little.”

“You… chased sheep.” Lion deadpanned, raising an eyebrow. Somehow it wasn’t surprising in the slightest. “You’re an idiot.”

“...yeah,” Stahn sighed, “that’s what Lilith said too when she found out.”

Pursing his lips, Lion said nothing. He hadn’t been inviting more conversation, but Stahn was deceptively easy to talk to. It was irritating and Lion hated it, yet he continued.

“Lilith is your…”

“Sister,” Stahn supplied. “She’s my younger sister, but you wouldn’t think it if you met her. Like, she’s really mature. Smart and strong too -- I’m really proud of her. And boy, can she cook. I really miss her homemade meals.”

“...so just like us.” Lion almost chuckled. Almost. He swallowed the sound before it could escape, but allowed himself a small smirk. If Lilith was just as Stahn was describing, then he could relate all too well.

“Just like who?”

“...no one,” Lion shook his head, quickly pulling himself back into his stoney state. “Nevermind.”

“Oh, uh, right.” Stahn nodded, but his deterrence lasted only a moment before he started talking again. “Anyway, we look a lot alike, so people say, but now that I think about it…” he trailed off and examined Lion thoughtfully. “You and Rutee look a lot alike too.”

“...really now.”

“Uh-huh, like you could be twins.”

“I look like my sister,” Lion snorted. “Imagine that. I’ll assume that was meant to be a compliment.”

“Well, sure, Rutee is really pretty. Kinda scary sometimes, but pretty. And you’re really pretty yourself.”

“...excuse me?”

“You and Rutee are… pretty?”

Lion hadn’t actually expected him to repeat it. Honesty seemed to be something Stahn had a limitless supply of. It was almost as bothersome as it was impressive. Still, even if he didn’t want to admit it aloud, he could appreciate it. It was a refreshing change from his home life.

“Hmph.”

“You don’t really talk to people much, huh?”

“I don’t make a point of pointless chatter, no.” Lion shrugged and flicked his bangs from his face, a motion that seemed to make Stahn almost choke. “I’d rather listen to the birds than make streetnoise.”

“Birds, huh…?” Stahn hummed, thoughtful as he looked outside, almost as if he had, somehow, expected to see one through the storm. “Birds are nice. I like their songs.”

Maybe ‘simple’ was something that should be added to Lion’s growing list of descriptive words for Stahn. Not that he cared, no, not at all. He was just… making the time pass. It wasn’t as if he’d see this overly happy weirdo again.

“Dogs are nice too.” Stahn continued, “I like dogs. I have one next door. His name is Dymlos. He was really tiny as a puppy but, wow did he grow. He’s huge now.”

“...I prefer cats.”

“Atwight seems to like you a lot though.”

“I doubt Atwight cares of my preference.” How had Stahn even made that correlation? “I’ve known her for a few years.”

“Well, you know that thing they say.”

“...about what?”

“Dogs, duh!” Stahn pointed to Atwight. “They know when you’re a real jerk or a nice person. So, obviously you’ve got to be a great guy.”

“...your sense of trust and judgement is truly skewed.”

“Nah,” he shook his head. “Dogs are a great judge of character. Dymlos has never been wrong once. I doubt Atwight has either.”

“Dymlos must enjoy making your life difficult, then.”

“Hey!” Stahn pouted, his lip protruding dramatically and trembled with a fake wibble. “I’m his favourite person!”

“I’m sure,” Lion shook his head, aware of how his face had shifted.

“Oh, wow…” Stahn gasped, making Lion look up. “You’ve got a great smile.”

“E-excuse me?” Heat began to pool in Lion’s cheeks. How had they gone from dogs to this? “I hardly--”

“It’s a compliment!” Stahn protested, pouting for a second time. “I just meant it looks nice.”

“You can’t just…” Lion trailed off, shaking his head. Did Stahn have no shame at all? Who told a complete stranger they were pretty and had a nice smile in the same sitting? “Forget it. Are you almost finished?”

“I… finished a little while ago,” Stahn admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. “I just wanted to talk?”

Not bothering to respond, Lion looked down at the the bandaging covering half of his upper arm. It was, surprisingly, given Stahn’s appearance, very neatly done. Almost as well as Rutee’s work. No uneven wrapping, not too tight, but not so bulky he wouldn’t be able to hide it.

“It’s not messy,” he admitted. “Your work is adequate.”

“Uh, thanks. ...I think.”

“Hmph. It was a compliment.” Lion stood and rolled his shoulder, testing his range of movement. It wasn’t the best, but easy enough to cover. He’d be able to able to write, at the very least, and for a while, he’d simply have to return to his left-hand for fencing.

There were no competitions anytime soon; hopefully no one would give the shift a second thought.

“Lion?”

“I’m going to change.” It was a short explanation, but Stahn didn’t press further, and Lion was, silently, grateful for it. The room was beginning to feel much too comfortable and fearfully comfortable. It was a foreign sensation he wasn’t sure what to do with and, as always, whenever he started to feel something like this, he had to get away.

Someone like Stahn belonged with the world. Not dragged down into his own darkness.

After all, anytime he’d grasped something close to happiness… it was always ripped away.

“Hey there, my long-mulleted friend.” Stahn peered over his shoulder from where he’d been positioned backward on a chair, watching the hallway. “Where is he?”

“Um, the guest room?”

“Sounds about right…” Rutee sighed. “Damn… I was hoping I’d make it home before he squirreled away.”

“Is this… normal?”

“Yeah, unfortunately…” Rutee muttered, dropping her back on the table. “I can take it from here, thanks for the help.”

“Do you need--”

“It’s alright.” Rutee didn’t even let him finish, her smile taking on that same air Stahn had come to associate with her when she was taking care of smaller children. “Really. I’ve got this. Having you around will only make it worse right now. No offence. But he’s sort of like a new cat. Doesn’t like a crowd.”

“Oh…” Stahn nodded, concern still evident on his face, but he didn’t push. “Okay, but, uh… Rutee?”

“Yup?”

“I think maybe he’s… hurt?”

Rutee paused, her hand resting on the hallway wall. “...hurt?”

“Uh, on his wrist. I think maybe it was his…” Stahn trailed off. It wasn’t exactly polite to bring up someone else’s Soul Mark without them bringing it up first. “There’s a burn there, I think. And lots of scars, and--”

“Stahn.” Rutee cut him off, glancing back with a weak smile. “Later. Just head home and relax. I’ve got this one for now.”

“...right,” Stahn sighed, but it wasn’t right and it wasn’t okay, but he couldn’t push. For now. Whatever had happened had Lion spooked and Rutee seemed to know how to make it better. So he’d wait until that night. Maybe tomorrow. But this Lion person needed some help, and far be it from Stahn to do nothing. Not when he was so certain that--no, he couldn’t let his thoughts go there just yet. He had to see it again first.

Early the next morning, Rutee jerked awake from her spot on the couch, still groggy as a knock rang through the apartment. She groaned, rubbing her eyes as she squinted at the door and tried to decipher if she was dreaming or not. When the knocking didn’t stop, another groan rumbled in her throat as she rolled off the tempting softness of her couch and stumbled over to the door. There was going to be hell to pay for whoever was on the other side.

“Listen here, wiseguy, it’s too damn early for this. What the fu--Stahn?” Rutee blinked, suddenly wide awake as she did a double-take with the door and clock. 6am exactly. Maybe this really was a dream. “What--no, wait, how are you awake? You’re usually a corpse right now.”

“Um…” Stahn coughed, a sheepish smile on his face. “I… couldn’t sleep?”

“What, so you had to wake me up too?”

“Aha, well, funny story, you see--”

Rutee leaned forward, the unusually dark bags under Stahn’s eyes standing out against his skin. It wasn’t a sight she was used to seeing. “Geez, you really didn’t sleep, did you?”

“I’m exhausted!” Stahn grinned, but it was slowly becoming clear just how thick the fatigue in his voice was. “I just… really needed to talk to you. About yesterday. And your brother. It’s really been bothering me and---”

Rutee wasn’t sure if she was touched, stunned, or still irritated that she’d been woken up at least two hours before she needed to be awake. Maybe it was a mix of all three. It was hard to tell when sleep was beginning to claw at the back of her mind once more.

But maybe… maybe this could work in her favour. Lion had tolerated Stahn and, despite a few name-calling incidents, he’d actually asked about him. Maybe Stahn had left a bigger impression than she’d thought. Just what had happened on her way home?

“Okay, okay, I know when you’ve dug your claws into something. Just come in.”

Nodding eagerly, Stahn rushed inside and made himself comfortable in the plush chair across from the couch before he could be invited further. Normally, Rutee would have leapt on the chance to make fun of Stahn’s ‘farmboy manners’ and she filed the information away for another day. Teasing material was always useful.

“Just so you know, the only reason I’m letting you talk about this is because I’m trying to ruin an asshole’s reputation.”

Stahn frowned. “Your brother -- Lion, right? -- he’s not that bad--”

“Not Lion, you dolt.” Rutee grunted, flopping down on the couch. “Mr. Grumpy is grumpy, but he’s a good kid. Pure heart buried deep down. You should see him with his cat.”

“He has a--”

“Anyway,” Rutee cut in, “the guy I’m after is our father.”

Already seeing the questions forming in Stahn’s mind -- his surprisingly active sleep deprived mind -- Rutee held up her hand.

“When we were little, he was really nice. Back when Lion was first born. We were a pretty tight-knit family.” Stahn nodded, and when he didn’t speak, Rutee took it as a sign to continue. “But… when Lion was about… three, our mom got sick. Really sick. Lion and I had to spend a lot of time with our neighbour. She was nice enough, lady named Marian. Great cook. Anyway, mom being sick stressed dad out a lot, and…”

Rutee inhaled, slow and deep as she tugged at her bangs. She’d only told the story a handful of times, but it only seemed to grow heavier with each one. “...mom ended up not making it. It really… messed dad up. He started drinking a lot, who knows what else, really. But I was five at the time, and when you’re five, you think you can take on the world. So I just… kind of ran away. I had it in my head that I’d run off and become a superstar or something and then steal Lion away and life would be perfect.”

By now, Stahn’s expression had twisted into something that looked like he was torn between a sob and a laugh. It might have been comical in another mood.

“...but that’s a sob-story for another time. Obviously I made it alright, but… Lion’s still stuck there. I mean, if my memories of mom suck, I bet Lion barely has any. I’ve been trying forever to try and get him out, but it’s hard to get proof when everyone thinks daddy dearest is a hotshot CEO. I don’t know how the hell he’s been hiding it all.

Loathe as she was to admit it, her best guess was just how easy it was for her father to pay people off. Buying silence was easy when you had an endless well to pull from.

“He’s been hiding…” Stahn trailed off and felt something heavy settle in his throat. “You mean yesterday…”

“...happens a lot,” Rutee confirmed quietly. “Lion… he doesn’t really know anything else. That asshole has him convinced there’s no way for him to get out. It took me almost two years just to convince him he could come see me when this stuff happened. I’ve been gathering all the proof I could, but it just…” It never worked. Try as she might, and she was finally starting to reach the limit of her willingness to stay within the limits of the law.

“I’ve been trying to get custody of Lion for years, but it hasn’t worked. I’m blocked out every office I try. They think I’m some loon who is just trying to dig into the pool myself. I mean, not that I’d say no, but I just…” Rutee’s shoulders slumped. “...I feel guilty that I’m the one who got away on dumb luck and being a dumbass child. I’m pretty luck I got picked up by some nice people and managed to make it back here. So now, I just…”

“I want to help.”

“You wanna what now?”

“I want to help with your brother.”

Rutee blanched, eyes wide. “Whoa, look, Stahn, I know you’re a strong guy and all, but I wouldn’t exactly call you influential. If they’re not scared of me, they’re not exactly gonna quake in their boots at a retail manager--”

Stahn thrust his arm forward, and almost immediately, Rutee’s words died in her throat. Her eyes lingered on the exposed skin of his inner wrist and swore under her breath. “...you gotta be kidding me. Seriously? Really?”

Stahn shrugged, suddenly sheepish again. “I mean, I don’t know for sure, I didn’t get a good look at his, but… I think so. And I felt all warm when I saw it. Like my heart had just--”

“Ugh, ew, no. Don’t. Stop. That’s still my kid brother you’re talking about. But… oh man. This is… this is pretty great. And hilarious.” Rutee laughed, something inside of her bubbling with excited delight. “You have no idea how--seriously. You are the cause of Lion’s sweet tooth. This is rich.”

“I’m the--what?”

“You mark,” Rutee clarified, grabbing Stahn’s wrist. “Your mark is the reason he loves ice-cream.”

Stahn could only stare, and Rutee continued gleefully. “You see, when he was little Marian and our mom thought it was the cutest thing ever. When mom told Lion what his soulmark was -- like that it was ice-cream -- he kept licking his wrist. So mom finally introduced him to what it really was and he was just so happy with it. He kept giggling and pleading for more whenever he saw it and said adorable stuff like ‘my soulmate is yummy’ and…” The happy ramble trailed off as Rutee’s shoulders fell again.

Only a handful of vivid childhood memories and they all revolved around the happy brother she used to know. Not the hardened shell that appeared on her doorstep when he was ready to break.

“Rutee…” Stahn’s voice was soft as he reached out and squeezed her hand. “I’ll help. However I can.”

“...yeah,” Rutee nodded, and stood up. She couldn’t afford to be sad. Not right now. Not when a prize goose had just landed in her lap. “Yeah!I bet we can even use this to our advantage. Just--hold on. I gotta call my guy.”

“Your--”

“Shh, don’t worry about it. Contact of mine. Owes me a few favours for reasons. Just make yourself useful and go make a pot of coffee without burning my kitchen this time. We have a lot of work to do.”

Omake: And then there were Merfish. The end.

So here it is. Stahn and Lion meeting, and what their soulmark was. Mission accomplished. The ice-cream thing is Sean’s fault.

AT LEAST IT ENDED ON A HOPEFUL NOTE.

Ideas that did not make it into the store include:

- Stahn protecting Lion from a thing I did not yet decide (in reference to when it happened in the game.)

- The reasoning behind the scar over Lion’s soulmark. It was Hugo’s fault. He essentially burned it to prove he had complete control over Lion and implied he’d ruined him as a soulmate. The other scars were from Lion himself, trying to cut the burn away or just remove the soulmark all together, much to Rutee’s horror.

- A little more on how Rutee ran away and where she ended up. I didn’t get to fully flesh out that idea. Alas.

- Chaltier the cat. Brief mention, but Chaltier is an adorable kitty Lion hides at Marian’s house. They’re best friends and Chal follows him everywhere when Lion is over there under the guise of Marian being his tutor. Which she is. But I digress.

- SO MANY MORE...

#Commission Fics #Tales of Destiny #StahnLion #Nao Writes Stuff #It ended up being 12 pages oops.#Here we go.

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