This is the first part of a rewrite of the series that brought attention to my blog in the first place! When I wrote this series originally, it was at midnight when I couldn’t sleep because I had COVID, so I always wanted to come back and rewrite it with a clearer mind.
It’s been a while since I’ve posted, cause I’ve been real stressed about university, but waking up to new notes on this blog is always a highlight of my day! I have so many WIPs for hxh, Overwatch, ff7, the batfamily, and now the spider-verse movies, but I’ve been struggling to complete them to an extent that I feel is worth posting.
Please leave a comment if you want me to rewrite the rest of the series!
Platonic!Yandere!Phantom Troupe X Autistic Reader (Soulmate AU)
Content warnings: Yandere, vague mentions of violence. Read at your own discretion.
“To my dearest soulmate.-“
No, too affectionate.
“To my soulmate, I am incredibly excited to welcome you here-“
The sentence is jarring, start with an introduction.
“To my soulmate, my name is YN, and I am so excited to finally have the chance to communicate with you!”
Good enough. You were so happy to be writing a letter like this, being able to rewrite and start over as often as needed, without the pressure of saying it right in the first try.
Having finished one sentence, you sighed as you looked down at the number of things you had crossed out before it seemed right. Then, you turned to your notebook, where you had spent years collating everything you wanted to put into this letter, trying to find some inspiration for what to do next.
“I have been awaiting this day, carved into our bodies, for my entire life.”
Was that too formal? Too strong?
Ugh. This was hard.
You despised knowing nothing about your soulmate, the enigma of their identity making them feel otherworldly and strange. Without knowing even the slightest bit about who they were, you had no frame of reference for what they would consider too much or too fast, leaving you to blindly feel your way towards a half-coherent letter.
Jo was sat across from you, in their favourite shabby armchair, pretending to watch the football you had put on for background noise, and not-so-secretly keeping an eye on you. From your dejected sigh as you curled up on the sofa, your childhood friend could tell what was bothering you from a single glance.
“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, they’re your soulmate, they’ll love you no matter what.”
“But they shouldn’t!” You sighed, “I want to impress them, make them feel welcomed and happy!”
“And that’s what I’m gettin’ at! Their personality must be suited enough to yours that they’ll find your way of doin’ things loveable!”
You grumbled with no coherent response, looking again at your paper.
They’d find your way of doing things loveable.
You could work with that.
“I hope that I, and my friends, can make you feel happy and welcomed in my home. The time we will spend, with our bodies swapped, will be precious, and there will never be another time like it in our lives. You are precious to me.”
Your lips tugged downward in a frown at the last line, the irritating thoughts about potentially annoying your soulmate flooding you again. You had just let the pen run wild, trying to encapsulate even the smallest fraction of your feelings about the situation, which always ended up feeling like too much as your emotions overwhelmed you.
Just as you considered scrapping the whole thing and starting again from scratch, Jo caught your eye with a stern glare, as they always did when you doubted yourself.
“I have longed to know who you are for years; your mystery has entranced me. I want to see the destiny the universe has seen fit to bestow upon us both."
As you relaxed into the motions of the pen, the waterfall of words falling from your fingers, you stunned yourself with short poetic verses.
"Even though romance holds no place in what has been destined for us, I want to make you so happy that you may bear your heart to me as I may for you. Please take care of my body while you have it. I hope that one day I might trust with this on more than just blind faith.
All my love, from the bottom of my heart, your soulmate."
It felt weak. You felt weak.
Was it really right to say you loved someone you hadn't met? Even as soulmates, it felt like a betrayal.
"Hey Jo, do you mind reading through this for me? If I keep looking at it, I'll either throw it away or throw up."
"Ahh, YN, you know I'm not so good with words and that stuff, yeah? That's your job, ain't it?"
"Oh, hush, I've read your poetry, you big romantic!"
"What?"
You quickly hurried past them, dropping the drafted letter onto their lap before heading to the kitchen. Your hands were shaking; you needed to get some water before you passed out.
Your breaths were coming short as you downed a second glass of water, one arm shakily holding the lip of the sink for support as the anxiety began to weigh on your mind. You had less than a week; on this Sunday evening, you'd lie in bed and wake up in the body of your soulmate. It was Tuesday evening, the soft autumn air swirling dead leaves outside your window.
A phone began ringing in the living room, so you set down your glass on the draining board and began heading back through, only to realise the call wasn't for you when you heard Jo's voice.
"Yeah, I hear ya. No need to yell, old man... Oh, shut yer trap; you know I'm only half joking... You know I said wasn't working tonight... Yeah, yeah... You piece of shit! Fine, I'll be there, but you better be payin' me double time for this shit."
Jo rounded the corner, grumbling under their breath. They paused at your side, leaning in slightly to speak, the smell of beer on their breath and thankfully not overwhelming.
"Listen, yer letter was grand, okay? You've got a talent for these sortsa things. I've gotta head out, alright? Probably won't be back until morning. I'll bring you back something nice alright, repayment for skipping what should have been a nice night together."
"It's alright, really. Just take care of yourself, okay?" You reassured them.
They walked out into the biting chill, heading down a dark alley like it was their own front door.
--//--
Chrollo looked himself in the eyes, the cold water he splashed on his face dripping from his hair.
He had felt strange the past few days, like something was clinging to the back of his mind, tugging his attention away from his work. As if a song was stuck in his head, but he couldn't remember the melody.
The Mediterranean heat must have been getting to his head; that was the only explanation. He composed himself, wiping his brow before he went to slick his hair back, turning his focus to the heist he and the Troupe would be carrying out that Sunday.
--//--
The week had been long and stressful for everyone involved. You tried not to be too much of a perfectionist, but you wanted to make the best impression possible.
The morning of the day you would switch was upon you, and you came downstairs to find Jo asleep on your couch, as they often were. You smiled at their sleeping face, very peaceful compared to their usual furrowed brow.
Their face was made up of sharp lines, almost geometric perfection, except for the mess of freckles covering their cheeks and forehead, adding just a hint of softness.
As you prepared breakfast for the two of you, Jo woke up with a sleepy groan, trudging over to the kitchen counter.
"Today's the day, huh? The last day of me being your best friend?"
"Jo! Don't say it like that! I'll always love you, you know that!" You defended yourself.
"Oh, don't worry, I'm just joking. You deserve to be happy with your soulmate."
You frowned at that again, remembering the situation with Jo's own soulmate. You had both been so excited to look her up after the switch, only to discover that she had died in a sudden car crash within an hour.
After that, they became much more clingy with your time. When they were around, at least. They had also begun taking on many more "jobs" that took them far away.
You sympathised with their situation, but you could tell they harboured jealousy for your soulmate.
You sat down on the couch, breakfast in hand, as Jo came to sit at your side. You flicked through channels on TV, trying to alleviate the awkward tension that fell over the room.
"Listen, I'm not jealous."
"It's okay to admit it; I can understand your perspective! But you can't keep me from my soulmate!"
"No, it's not that! It's more that I'm... paranoid."
"Paranoid, about... what, exactly?"
"About your soulmate! I can't explain it, but I've got this bad feeling!"
"A bad feeling? What kind of bad feeling?"
You learned a long time ago that Jo's intuition was often correct, but were they really concerned or just trying to pull you and your soulmate apart?
"I just said, I can't explain it! I just don't want anything bad to happen to you!"
You sighed as you felt that both of you were becoming too worked up.
"Okay, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to accuse you. I think... we're all quite stressed right now. Let's have a proper talk when we're not all so high-strung."
"Yeah, yeah."
Today was gonna be fun.
--//--
Chrollo smiled at the carnage surrounding him, watching as his friends unleashed their power on these pathetic guards. They heard the approaching rumble of reinforcements, which, by their calculations, should contain the man they were after.
His incredible enhancer ability would be handy for Chrollo, so they had spent days sieging the fortress he defended. As Nobunaga took to whittling down the primary reinforcements, Chrollo found himself distracted once again. That strange feeling in the back of his head, the itch he couldn't scratch, saying that something was wrong.
He shook his head to free himself of these thoughts, as the intimidating man faced him, seemingly unaware of exactly who he was fighting.
--//--
Despite your small fight with Jo, the day had gone well. You had prepared several cakes, which you poured plenty of love into. You also wrote your letter into one coherent piece and placed it in an envelope, which you taped to inside of your bedroom door.
A group of your friends arrived, all bearing various snacks and drinks to add to the table. As the conversation began to flow, you anxiously reminded them of the careful limits you had gone over for what they were allowed to say to your soulmate. They all laughed and smiled, promising to go along.
Almost on autopilot, you turned to Jo for reassurance, and they were in a good enough mood to laugh softly and promise to keep the others in line.
You knew Jo wouldn't go back on their word, no matter their personal feelings about the situation.
With everything laid out enticingly on a coffee table, you retired to your bedroom for the night, your gut swirling with anxiety and excitement.
You laid back on your bed, crossing your hands across your stomach. You had until exactly 21:29 to wait for the switch.
Looking over at the clock you had bought for this express purpose, you saw 21:27.
It'll probably feel like forever, you thought, plenty of time to get comfortable.
21:28
That's fine; you took a few deep breaths, settling down into your pillows. You closed your eyes softly.
Breathing deeply. With your eyes closed.
In, and out, in, and out.
Curiosity got the better of you.
Your eyes snapped open, turning back to the clock, getting to see just the slightest glimpse of 21:29 before everything changed.
--//--
Chrollo sighed from the driver's seat, just a straight highway unfolding seemingly infinitely in front and behind him. Confident in his ability to avoid traffic by instinct, he allowed his eyes to drift to the clock on the screen, 00:28 blinking back at him.
That time bothered him.
It wasn't unusual for him to stay up past midnight, more common than not, in fact, but that itch he couldn't scratch, that sweet song that slipped his mind's grasp, was back in full force, making him grit his teeth in irritation.
He returned his eyes to the road before him, though he only caught a glimpse of the asphalt-laden horizon before everything changed.
--//--
In a moment, you felt everything shift. You could feel it down to the change in the structure of your skeleton. Every muscle was different, every sensation infinitely sharpened by the new body you inhabited.
You felt that you were sitting, not lying down. You saw that you were looking out at a road.
And then, finally, you realised you were driving the car.
It was common knowledge that the swap allowed people to speak in the native tongue of their soulmate, but you wondered if you would be the first to discover that the same thing applied to driving skills.
You focused on the road and on keeping your breathing steady, aware that a panic attack here would result in much more than a headache and a sore throat in the long run.
Once finally began to calm down, you briefly peeled your eyes off the road to look your soulmate in the eyes in the rearview mirror. His grey eyes were striking, and his raven black hair was slicked back to his head, revealing a strange tattoo in the centre of his forehead. He was quite attractive, all things considered.
You felt a brush of air across your chest and again glanced down to notice you were completely shirtless, other than a feathery collared jacket that did nothing to hide your soulmate's toned body. Definitely a bold outfit choice, but you couldn't deny that it suited him well.
After a few more moments assuring yourself of the safety of the road, you tried to look at the other passengers of the car. You had seen them when you looked at yourself in the mirror, but you couldn't bear to think about them at that moment.
In the passenger seat was a pink-haired woman, her face stoic as she stared ahead. Behind you was a grumpy-looking man with black hair leaning into the window. In the centre of the backseat was a blond man with a cute face, tapping away at a modified phone of some kind. Furthest from you, behind the passenger seat, was a gruff-looking man with slicked-back blond hair.
None of them seemed to have noticed a change in their driver's behaviour, so you had a few more moments to collect yourself before you spoke up. Although you were still grappling with the fact that your soulmate had entirely forgotten about your switch, you didn't want to waste your time.
"I don't know... quite what's happening here, but I'm this person's soulmate."
You could taste something sweet with just the slightest hint of bitterness on your own breath.
The car had been silent before you spoke, but the silence grew heavier. Now every eye was on you, and you almost wished you hadn't said anything, that you had let the switch play out in complete silence before returning to your own body.
"What?" The taller blond man finally replied.
"I'm... their soulmate? Did they not tell anyone?"
"Boss had a soulmate?" He turned to the other blond man, ignoring you completely.
"Not as far as I know!"
"Look at me."
That last bit was said by the pink-haired woman next to you. With no small amount of fear in your heart, you ripped your eyes away from the road to look her in the eyes. Her cold, calculating eyes pierced you through and through. After what felt like aeons that she spent observing you, she let out the slightest gasp.
"You're not lying."
As soon as you had the reassurance that they believed you, you looked back at the road, relieved to see no danger.
"Are you serious? Are you messing with us, boss?" The black-haired man spoke, his tone rising to aggression.
"Calm down, all of you! This is the boss's soulmate, obviously!"
"But why wouldn't he tell us at all? This is crazy!"
"I don't know! Maybe he wanted to test us?"
"Sorry to interrupt, but what's going on here?"
The pink-haired woman turned back to from where she had been scolding the other passengers, sighing before she spoke.
"Look, sorry about all this ruckus. It's just that we're pretty close to our boss, and he never even told us he had a soulmate!"
"Seriously? Weird..." You trailed off, unsure of how to fill in the dead air.
"My name's Machi; what's yours?"
"I'm YN. Who is this?" You asked, gesturing slightly at your own body.
"Oh right, our boss's name is Chrollo. In the backseat, there is Nobunaga, Shalnark, and Phinks." She pointed each one out to you.
Behind you, Shalnark and Nobunaga were whispering to each other as they looked intently at Shalnark's phone.
"And where are you from, YN?" Shalnark spoke up again, a bright smile on his face as he watched you through the rearview.
"I'm from CN; where are we right now?"
The conversation continued like that for some time, with simple back-and-forth questions. Jo had advised you not to share too much sensitive information, and you couldn't help but get the inkling of a feeling that they were right.
The way that Shalnark would ask you questions before he immediately turned back to his phone alighted some anxiety in your gut, so you tried to turn the conversation back on them.
"So, you say that my soulmate here is your boss? What do you do?"
You didn't miss the beat of silence, but you tried to give them the benefit of the doubt that they had been put on the spot.
"We're traders, mostly," Shalnark started, "We travel around, buying and selling antiques and treasures and stuff!"
"Wow, that sounds like fun!"
"It can get tiring sometimes, but it's really fulfilling!"
There was a breath of relief from the car before Nobunaga spoke up, excitedly telling you a story of a time they had visited your home country for their business. Finally, it felt as if the atmosphere was relaxing, with everyone joining in to add details to the story.
You smiled softly, relieved that you no longer felt like an insect under a magnifying glass. It was pitch-black outside the car, and there were very few other cars on the road, so you felt safe enough to relax your grip on the steering wheel just a touch as well.
As you leaned back in the driver's seat, listening to Phinks avidly tell you about the food they had enjoyed in the capital of your home country, you felt the night's excitement finally hit you.
And how unlucky that you had just relaxed when you suddenly found yourself back in your own living room.
--//--
Chrollo snapped awake in his place, feeling that he had gone from his spot sitting to lying down in the blink of an eye. Immediately, he threw himself into a standing position, assuming the car had been surprise attacked.
At the same moment, he reached for his knife while attempting to summon Bandit's Secret. His anxiety only heightened when he realised that he had neither.
Finally trying to observe the situation and pinpoint his potential attacker, he slowly began to piece together what was going on.
He was in a neat bedroom and had been lying in bed. On the bedside clock, he read 21:29 in red blinking letters.
Oh shit.
Oh fuck.
His soulmate.
Ten years ago, he had made sure that his soulmate date was entirely obscured by his spider tattoo, going as far as to go to a different tattoo artist than the rest and killing them afterwards. He had to protect his soulmate, lest they be used against him. But in his attempt to defend them, he had completely forgotten to prepare anything.
Shit.
He looked around the room, trying to get his bearings now that he wasn't in danger. A mirror poised on one wall allowed him to observe his soulmate. He ran a hand over his cheek as he watched the skin move in abject fascination. All these sensations were raised in intensity; even in this body without Nen, he felt everything to a pinpoint. He suddenly became aware that he could taste a tiny bit of mint; they had even taken the time to brush their teeth to ensure his comfort.
There was an envelope taped to the inside of the door, obviously meant for him. Picking it off the door with an uncharacteristic level of gentleness, he sat back down on the bed to read.
The letter nearly sprung tears to his eye; how blessed was he to have someone so passionate! He could feel the depth of emotion poured into the letter, the way you spilt your heart out on the page.
He sat on the bed, eyes scanning over every line, reading and rereading the poetry before him.
"Do you think they're okay? I heard some movement inside, but it's been silent since. Do you think they fell and hurt their head?"
"Ugh, I'll knock and go check."
It hadn't occurred to him that there would be other people here - just another example of the care and thought you had put in.
He opened the door to a freckled face, who wore an expression of surprise as their hand was still in the air, having been about to knock. Immediately, he turned on the charm, knowing he could at least cover up for his lack of planning on this end.
"Oh, sorry about that; I didn't realise I was expected!" He added his best chuckle, followed by, "My soulmate is quite the poet; I've been entranced!"
He waved the letter to show it off before stepping past the newcomer. But he stopped briefly while he was right next to them. He could feel it.
The cold, calculating look in their eye, the robust build, the scars along their hands. They were from Meteor City.
With a polite nod, he continued into the living room, though he could feel that person's eyes on him the whole way. He was greeted with three cakes and a wide selection of snacks and drinks. He cursed that you wouldn't be getting such a cosy reception on your end.
The conversation flowed easily as soon as he introduced himself; everyone was excited to tell him things or ask him questions. He easily lied his way through questions about his profession; it was like second nature to the charismatic thief. Everyone in attendance was charmed by him except that damn person from Meteor City. Just as he began considering if he might have to kill them, they leaned forwards, interrupting another one of your friends.
"You smoke?"
Chrollo had smoked once or twice in his youth but had never had a taste for it. He shook his head no, hoping they would drop it there.
"Too bad, 'cause I do, and I want a private chat with you. Step outside."
With their authoritative voice, he knew he was not avoiding the following conversation.
The biting chill on his cheeks felt much sharper than usual, his own body having learned to withstand much harsher conditions. However, he was scarcely given a moment to enjoy the sensation before Jo interrupted.
"You're from Meteor City."
"I'm aware."
"Hmph. Are you a thief?"
"Of course, aren't you?"
"My work isn't the prettiest, but I'm not that low. I owe that to YN."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"They lifted me up and out of that place of their own goodwill. When I escaped that place, we met by chance, and they offered their hand to give me a new life. They're the reason I stay on the straight and narrow. I'll do anything to protect them; you should know that."
"I will, too; surely you should know that. I'm their soulmate."
"And you're also a thief. Probably a prolific one, from how easily you lied about your career. I want to protect them for their sake; you just want to protect them for your own sake. You won't be taking them anywhere; I'll steal them away where you'll never find them again if you try."
"That's quite the threat; are you sure you can follow through?"
"I'll have to, for them."
Chrollo chuckled at this silly notion. As if they could really do anything to take his soulmate away now that he knew they were here.
He watched Jo's silhouette retreat back into the warm light of your home, a smirk spread across his face at their sheer bravery, before everything changed.
--//--
Snapping back to your own body, now standing, was jarring, to say the least. Jo looked over their shoulder at your gasp as you nearly lost your balance, rushing over to catch you before you hurt yourself.
"Oh, hey there!" You laughed, looking up at them.
"Hey." They sounded standoffish, but their smile was undeniable.
"What are we doing outside?"
"Oh, I just wanted a smoke, and he followed me to chat."
You couldn't smell any smoke in the air, and you felt like something was being hidden from you, but you were just so tired and happy to be back that you chose to push that down for now.
"I'm gonna go to bed. Can you tell the others to go home? I need to just lie down ASAP."
"You got it. I'm gonna have to head out again soon as well, so I'll see you again whenever I get back."
--//--
"So." Machi started, addressing the newly-returned Chrollo, "What was that all about?"
Everyone was hushed, awaiting the boss's answer.
"You already know that was my soulmate. I had... forgotten to tell anyone."
More silence flooded the car as the other members of the spider internally debated whether or not they wanted to risk their necks by making a joke.
"Well, you'll be glad to know we're on the right path to get to them!" Shalnark cut in with his usual cheer, hoping to distract from the current situation.
"Really?"
"It'll be a few days even if we pick up the pace, but Feitan is currently in that country and can start keeping an eye on them ASAP. I'm concerned about their safety, especially considering their medical records."
"There's no need for too much worry," Chrollo said calmly
"What do you mean?!" Nobunaga was incredulous; how could the boss take his soulmate's safety so easily?
"Someone is protecting them already, someone we'll have to take care of, but a valuable protector, for now, all the same."
--//--
Thanks for reading!
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