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ice-cap-k · 6 months

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Star Fall

Cross-posted on AO3 here: Star Fall

__________________________________________________

Have you ever loved someone so, so much that you actually hated them?

Pearl did. She loved Scott with a raging resentment.

Scott did. He hated Pearl with a cold fondness.

And as the fire scorched the earth around the two of them, Pearl found herself sizing Scott up.

She was bloodied. She was bruised. She had killed again and again.

He was pristine. There was no blood on his hands by choice and by convenience, but that meant little to her. He was a dead shot with a bow and more skilled than any of the people whose blood now coated her axe head.

The few wolves she had left at her side growled bloodthirsty encouragement. Not Tilly, though. Tilly was gone. Part of Pearl’s soul wanted to leap forward to attack with them as Scott stood frozen in shock and awe at what she had done. Cleo was already dead on the side of the hill. What was one more slaughtered friend?

‘Fallen star’ Cleo had once called her by mistake. Technically that was Scott. He was the star child. He was the flash of brilliance.

Pearl was the moon. A beacon in the dark. Powerful enough to raise tides and shape the land as she saw fit. But she had still fallen. Just like Scott. They had taken each other’s hands and strode into a perilous world where bloodlust set in like a disease. It was them against the world. And then Cleo came knocking and it became three against infinity. They were supposed to gaslight, gatekeep, and girlboss their way to the end.

Cleo was gone now. So was Martyn, but he had no intention of standing by Pearl’s side after he realized he and Cleo were inextricably linked. Scott had abandoned her. The mirrored beat of his heart alongside hers was still there, though, even if he didn’t want it to be anymore.

They were never compatible soulmates anyway.

But the other half of her, the one who remembered what had been before things had gone so wrong… that part was still reluctant.

Both of them stared each other down from either side of the hill. Neither was ready to make a first move. The space between them felt as vast as the distance between the moon and the stars.

________________________________________________________

Pearl, Scott, and Cleo sat on the mossy roof of the Scottage. They were sprawled out, taking a moment to relax now that the boogeyman had finished their kill for the day. It was time to take advantage of the quiet lull before someone ended up losing another life and went red.

They were content to lounge comfortably along the awning and while away their time as they sat and talked. Pearl, in her boredom, had found a Sharpie and reached for the nearest thing she could draw on. In this case, that was Scott’s arm.

“Are you thinking about home?”

“Maybe,” Pearl said with a smirk. “Now hold still, Scott. I’m almost done.”

“Just to be clear, you’re not doing me next.”

“Aw, Cleo.” Scott’s arm shifted in Pearl’s grasp, so she tightened her grip a little. Not enough to hurt him. Just enough to keep him still. She re-adjusted the silver marker in her grip and used it to point at Cleo teasingly. “You’re no fun. It’s not so bad. Think of it like a temporary tattoo.”

“Sure does tickle a lot for a tattoo,” Scott huffed. His fingers flexed against Pearl’s wrist, trying to relieve some of the pressure of her grip. She held on tight, dismissing his discomfort with a click of her tongue.

Cleo snorted. “Thanks. But I’ll still pass.”

Pearl stuck out her tongue at the other girl.

The stars that danced in Scott’s eyes glittered when he smiled. “That’s alright, Pearl. You and I can match. I’ll do you next.”

“Why thank you, Scott. I would love that.” She went back to the drawing on the inside of Scott’s forearm. The silver ink showed up surprisingly well against his pale skin. She filled in the dark side of the moon she had sketched, leaving interwoven layers of lines to make up the illusion of shadows and highlights. A smattering of hand-drawn stars speckled the inside of his elbow. She hadn’t smudged anything yet.

It was a pretty accurate representation if you didn’t count the stars. She knew a few constellations by heart, but not how they would fall in line within the moon’s orbit. Especially not from an Earthside view. Instead, she had focused on the way the light lit up the edges of craters and darkened the depths of dome-like valleys.

“Aaaaaaand… Done!” She finally let go of his hand and smiled as he pulled it back to look over the details. For being a bored doodle on her friend's arm, it may have just been some of her finest work. “What do you think?”

He ran his fingers along the inside of his arm. The constellations in his eyes whirled and shifted as they scanned the detailed drawing of the moon. He was wary of smudging the ink; careful not to let the tips of his fingers brush against the last few lines she had drawn. There was starlight in his smile, the motes of bright brilliant light dancing around his head in shades of red, yellow, and green. “It’s so pretty! I’ve just decided I’m never washing this off. I never want it to go away.”

Pearl’s heart swelled with pride.

“Now it’s my turn to do you.” Scott held out a hand for the marker. Pearl dropped it into his palm and started rolling up the sleeve of her midnight blue hoodie. She offered the inside of her arm eagerly.

“Okay. You got to draw your home on me. So that means that I get to do the same to you.”The silver-tipped marker hung over her skin for a moment as Scott contemplated how to start. He nodded to himself, coming to some sort of decision before pressing the felt tip against her skin.

Scott was right. It did tickle.

Where her moon was made up of round dots and soft lines interwoven to give the illusion of color differences, Scott’s stars were made of hard edges and sharp lines. The arms of the stairs were thin like needles. The dotted paths connecting them were precise and evenly spaced as the constellation began to wrap around the sides of her arm.

Pearl recognized the blown-up image of Corona Borealis, the “northern crown.” The broken lines gave the cluster of stars its shape, while a few other surrounding stars were drawn suspended in the open patches of skin towards the top and bottom of her forearm.

At some point, the half-drawn scene seemed to catch Cleo’s attention. She rolled over to get a better look at Pearl’s arm. Bits of moss still clung to her bright red hair as she shook it out. “That’s really good,” she said, sounding impressed. “Do all fallen stars know how to draw right off the get-go, or are you two just special like that?”

“Ah-ah-ah! I’m not a star child, remember,” Pearl corrected her. She would have waggled a finger to punctuate her point, but she didn’t want to move her arm and mess up Scott’s work.

“Fine. Do all celestial beings automatically come with massive amounts of talent or do you have to work at it like the rest of us?” Cleo’s words came out clipped. She was short on patience, but well-meaning and almost teasing as she motioned between Scott and Pearl.

“Wouldn’t surprise me,” Scott answered, as he added a few radiating lines out from the far edge of the constellation. “You both know that I’m perfect in every way.” That got a few laughs out of both of the girls.

Pearl shrugged the shoulder of the arm Scott wasn’t working on. “Nah. Me and Scott worked at this. I still practice sometimes. It’s not like I just popped into existence knowing how to build like I do.” She leaned back, looking off toward the cobblestone towers rising over the trees to the south. “Grian, though, he’s built different. If he told me that he’s always known how to make things look nice, I’d believe him.”

The smirk on Cleo’s face widened. “And now you’re using those skills to build a death chamber.”

“Yup!”

“Brilliant.”

There was no guarantee Pearl would ever experience the boogeyman curse, but she wanted to be prepared. She wasn’t like Scott who tiptoed around the idea of death. Cleo and her were more alike in that regard. She was ready to welcome the thrill of the kill. “Thank you for helping me, by the way.”

“Of course. We’re a team. We’ve got each other’s backs…” There was a harsh glint in the back of Cleo’s eyes. A subtle growl to her words as she drew them out. Pearl could tell that BigB’s betrayal at the Fairy Fort was still fresh on her mind.

Pearl didn’t want her worrying about that again. She and Scott wouldn’t do that. Scott was far too honorable, and Pearl had been open with her plans for the trap she had been building underground. “We are,” she stated plainly, hoping the immediate response would help soothe Cleo’s nerves. “And I wouldn’t want to work with anyone other than you two.”

“All done!”

Scott finally released Pearl’s arm. The drawing shimmered in the late evening. It reminded her of her own eyes, the silver ink light and radiant like the disc of a full moon. The interconnected lines of the constellation were like a map leading to someplace neither Scott nor she could ever return to. It looked like he was feeling a little homesick as well.

But this was their new home now. Their new normal. They were embracing it.

“I love it. Thank you, Scott. Are you sure you don’t want one to match, Cleo?”

Cleo’s lip curled. Her eyebrows furrowed as she looked back and forth between both Scott and Pearl’s arms. Finally, she relented with a sigh.

“They are rather pretty, aren’t they?”

That was all the permission Scott and Pearl needed. Scott immediately uncapped the marker once more, while Pearl pulled another out of her pocket. This one a more bronzey copper.

“What do you think, Scott?”

“I think we stick with a theme.”

“Do we do the Earth for Cleo?”

“I think we do the Earth for Cleo.”

Cleo rolled her eyes, but she held out her arms dutifully. “Why would I expect any different from the two of you? It’s not like I’m the only one from here.”

_____________________________________________________________________

Alas, that world was never made to last. True to who he was, Scott shone bright. He outshone everyone, even. The star child who tried to avoid killing others at all costs ended up the last one standing.

Pearl was happy for him. Her and Cleo had cheered for him from beyond the edge of existence, where Grian’s watcher magic kept the lost souls at bay. And when Scott joined them, they embraced him with open arms and congratulations.

Their alliance of three had stood strong until the end, and then it was time to say “So long. Until next time.”

But ‘next time’ involved meeting up in another world, for they could not return to the last.

This new world they were visiting was run by different laws. In the last world, lives could be traded like currency, but in doing so you ran the risk of running out. This was made even more risky with the presence of an insatiable desire for death that came and went called the ‘boogeyman curse.’ Pearl hadn’t minded that part so much.

By the law of this new world, though, you were bound to a soulmate.

Pearl wasn’t sure why the inside of her forearm felt all tingly when the tether was tied around her heart. Warmth spread from one side of her inner arm to the other in a wide, uneven C shape. It was pleasant but unexpected. Nobody else she had seen since coming here mentioned anything about a tingly feeling.

When she pulled up her sleeve, she could see an uneven curve of dots interconnected by broken, glowing lines. It shone silver like the moon. Cold like ice.

Odd.

The others, they didn’t have anything like that. None of them mentioned the trace of needle-like sensations.

They mentioned the overlapping emotions as two souls overlapped into one. They talked about how they could feel a second heartbeat. They complained at length how there would be an occasional twinge of pain in their ankles as if landing after a big fall, or scratches against their skin as if a mob had attacked them.

Pearl had that as well, but it seemed like everyone else also had a strange quirk that had developed outside of the norm. For Joel, it looked like the iris in his left eye had lightened to a muddy red. When she ran into BigB, it was the pair of fluffy ears growing out of the sides of his head. (It didn’t take much for her to figure out whom he had been conjoined to). Hers just happened to be lines glowing on her arm.

So Pearl decided not to think much of it. After all, there was so much to see in this great big world.

______________________________________________________________________

“Scott! Scott, wait!”

It felt like she was crash landing all over again as Scott turned his back on Pearl. If she closed her eyes, she could almost convince herself that the pain in her heart was one and the same as the pain when she fell.

The crushing weight in her ribcage was doubled and staggered as the betrayal and frustration weighing down on Scott mixed with her own heartbreak and grief. Their hearts beat in unison, breaking further and further apart as they did.

All she had wanted was a bit of fun and adventure. So what if she got a little hurt along the way? She hadn’t gotten the two of them killed.

“But you could have,” Scott hissed, reading her mind. He turned on her, fingers curling at his sides. “I was scrambling like crazy to get enough food to take care of the both of us, for you!”

“I was being careful!”

“You went into the NETHER!”

Pearl winced. She couldn’t exactly deny that.

“I can’t believe you. I don’t see you for one day, and you go and do something like that?! You do realize me and Cleo were looking all over the server for you, right?”

The tingling in her arm burned with his anger. She set her mouth in a thin line, not willing to show how much his words bothered her. But that wouldn’t work. They were bound. He could feel her unease as easily as she could feel his fear. His stardust was threaded throughout her moonstone-clad heart.

Considering they could tell what the other was feeling, she didn’t have to say it out loud, but she replied out of courtesy. “I was looking too. But I couldn’t figure out my soulmate. And then I bumped into Martyn and I thought it wouldn’t hurt to have a little fun exploring.”

The anger faded away. To Pearl’s surprise, the secondhand emotion turned to bitter disappointment.

“You couldn’t figure it out?”

There was genuine hurt in his expression when she looked him in the eye. He held his arm out and rolled up his sleeve. The inside of the forearm was shining dimly, just like Pearl’s. Only the marking on his arm was different. It was a large circle made up of curved lines, shadows, and a smattering of stars.

“Oh…” So that wasn’t a large sideways C on her arm. It was the Corona Borealis.

She had forgotten about the doodles they had drawn a couple of worlds ago.

As soon as that thought crossed her mind, Scott’s emotions soured. He could feel her guilt welling up and there was nothing she could do to hide it from him. “I can’t believe this. You actually forgot.”

“No, I didn’t.”

“Yes, you did! You didn’t even realize what that was, did you?” he snapped, pointing at her arm. “You weren’t looking for me. You were looking for anyone who fit the bill for a soulmate.”

“But I’m glad it’s you. We can be Gatekeep, Girlboss, and Gaslight together. Just like last time.”

She reached out towards him, but Scott flinched away. He stumbled back into the trees, putting as much space as possible between the two of them.

“No. No Gatekeep. No Girlboss, and no Gaslight. Not this time. Me and Cleo were there for each other while you were off risking our lives. As far as I’m concerned, she’s my soulmate.”

__________________________________________________________

It was awfully lonely up in Pearl’s tower.

There was Cleo and Scott, who were doing their best to avoid her. And then there was the rest of the server.

Ren had called her a witch. BigB had agreed. She was pretty sure Bdubs and Impulse were afraid of her. Martyn still wasn’t talking to her. Joel and Etho were alright, at least until she stole Joel’s chest plate. Whatever tentative friendship they had before that had gone out the window.

At least she had Tilly. The wolf was resting its head in her lap, begging for scratches around the ears. She whined, shoving her head into Pearl’s stomach.

Scott would feel that. It wouldn’t hurt him, but he would be feeling the rough scrape of the wolf’s claws as Tilly tried to crawl into Pearl’s lap. Just like she could feel the stiffness in her shoulders from Scott’s long day of chopping trees and tunneling out the mines.

Pearl absently rubbed at the space between her wolf’s ears as she stared at the mark inside her arm. The constellation glittered back at her with cold silver light. She could remember the way the marker tickled against her skin as Scott had drawn it.

She should tickle Scott back.

Tilly whined as she gently pushed the wolf out from her lap. She followed at Pearl’s side as she looked out the window.

There was a snow-covered mountain in plain view. That would work.

So she took the ladder two rungs at a time. When she reached the bottom, she spilled out the bucket of water in her inventory so Tilly could leap down after her. The wolf splashed paws first in the puddle she had made. From there, it was only a hop, skip, and a jump to get to the snowy side of the mountain.

As soon as she found a pile of powdered snow, she submerged her arm all the way to the shoulder. Soon the tingle of the mark was overshadowed by the bite of the cold. Pearl pushed herself deeper into the snow drift until she was standing in it. Goosebumps appeared on her skin. It was starting to sting.

Hopefully, Scott felt that tickle.

Tilly, ever the loveable ball of fluff, leaped into the snow next to Pearl. Pearl reached out to scratch the wolf’s scruff and she rolled onto her back. Clumps of snow went flying as the wolf kicked them up, growling with glee.

It gave Pearl something to keep her mind off the cold. Scott’s annoyance was already starting to kick in. Pearl could taste steak on her tongue. Her belly felt full, despite not eating. Scott was eating for the both of them.

He wasn’t coming. She could practically hear his thoughts. No matter how much she tried to get his attention. He had Cleo. It was time Pearl accepted that.

So she focused on the here and now. On her and her wolf. She laughed, flinging her hands out to send a flurry of snow raining down on Tilly.

__________________________________________________________________

Teaming up with Scott and Cleo had been a bad idea. It was a good idea in that if the four of them were ever going to work together, now was the time. The entire server was in chaos, and they were stronger together than they were apart. But it was a bad idea in that both Scott and Pearl couldn’t calm down around each other. There was too much suspicion. Scott was nervous that she would make trouble. That worry planted the thought in her head. It was tempting, but this was also the deep dark where they could easily lose one of their precious lives. And honestly, Pearl was nervous they would leave her alone again.

They were trying, but it wasn’t going the way either of them had hoped.

It was a good thing wardens were blind. The light emanating from both of them kept half the cavern well-lit. Scott’s starlight outshone her own moonlight, and she let it. Not everything had to be a competition and she was trying to stay on her best behavior.

Scott spared Pearl a look out the corner of his eye as they tiptoed across patches of skulk. “You’re not going to pull out a bucket of powdered snow, are you?”

“No.” She pulled the hood tighter over her head as an excuse to avoid eye contact with him. “But I could if you want another tickle.”

“No thank you. I’d rather not.”

Cleo and Martyn were still laying out a trail of wool on the other end of the cavern. It would be a while before they caught up

“You know what, Scott, it might have been hard to forgive you at the start of the season for just abandoning me like that, but you know what? We’re pretty good. You’re a pretty good partner.”

“Thank you. I mean, we tested it last time and it worked well. It was just… you hurt my feelings when you went away with Martyn and then we looked for you for ages and I couldn’t find you. And then I was sad…”

Pearl pushed aside a screen of skulk as they crept towards the warden tunnel. “You know, I’m just gonna talk to that for a second. How about the reverse, right? You were off with Cleo from my perspective.”

Scott frowned. “We bumped into everyone else. We were actually looking for our soulmates.”

“I was looking-”

“Hello,” Martyn called out. He and Cleo appeared from over the deepslate brick wall. “Have you found what we were looking for?”

“Yeah,” Scott said. He and Pearl looked away from each other, taking a few steps further apart. The conversation was essentially over, and neither of them felt any better about the situation.

Pearl could feel it in her bones. This temporary alliance wasn’t made to last. Scott and Cleo were in it for themselves. So was she.

__________________________________________________________________

It was all over, one way or another.

There could only be one survivor.

Pearl was having a hard time looking at Scott and the tears welling up in the corners of his eyes. The constellations in them were dim as he spotted Cleo’s body. Her hand went to the constellation on her own arm. The grief was overwhelming.

“I didn’t think it would end this way,” he muttered.

“To be honest, neither did I.”

She shifted the ax in her hand. They were linked. They could feel everything the other could. They both knew what had to happen. Scott’s thoughts drifted at the back of her mind. ‘She deserves it.’

He reached into his jacket pocket. “Pearl, you deserve this more.” She stumbled back as he pulled out a bundle of TNT.

“Excuse me! What do you mean?!?”

The starlight in his eyes flickered. The fuse lit.

“Tilly death do us part, Pearl. Tilly death do us part.”

The fuse reached the top of the explosive casing.

“SCOTT-!”

There was a supernova of light and fire. A blast that rivaled that of a dying sun.

And then Scott’s starlight flickered out in the shadow of the moon.

#whumptober 2023 #prompt no. 27 #“you drew stars around my scars but now I'm bleeding”#traffic smp #life series #trafficblr #double life #last life #creative writing #major character death #3rd Life | Last Life SMP Series-Typical Character Death #animal death #star child scott Smajor #scott smajor #pearlescentmoon #moon deity pearl #pearl-centric #zombiecleo #soulmate identifying marks

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chenziee · 11 months

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News Coo

@lawluevents - Day 10: Pirate King Luffy AU/Confessions @onepiece-bingo: News Coo

Alternate summary: can't hide shit from Morgans...

HAPPY LAWLU DAY!!

I hope you enjoyed this series because I'm not done with it xD still have some bingo squares left 👀

[ Read on AO3 | series ]

—————

Stretching her arms over her head, Nami sighed in content. Peaceful days spent sunbathing in the Sunny’s garden were always the best.

“Caw!”

Nami paused, shielding her eyes carefully before she turned her eyes upwards, looking at the sky… just before a bundle of papers the News Coo dropped fell right on top of her head.

“Hey! I don’t pay your insanely expensive subscription to be treated like this! I’ll sue!” she threatened.

She only got another “caw!” in response. Somehow, it sounded to her like the stupid bird was laughing and she was so going to have a word with its employer.

Clicking her tongue in annoyance, she grabbed the tightly wrapped papers, trying to untie the cord in a way that didn’t tear the news inside. She really should go grab some scissors. Who the hell tied this thing?!

She barely managed to finish the thought when Robin’s hand grew right in front of her, bearing the very scissors she so needed. Huffing out a small laugh, Nami thanked the archeologist who didn’t even move from her chair or so much as put her book down the entire time Nami was struggling with this stupid News Coo delivery.

The moment Nami snipped the cord, the tightly rolled bundle unfurled and Nami winced at being greeted with her own face smiling seductively up at her from a brand new wanted poster. Why did it keep going up? She couldn’t even collect a single berry from that stupidly high bounty… At least the picture was cute, she supposed.

“The boys are gonna get so noisy again,” Nami groaned to no one in particular. Maybe she should hide these, at least for a little while. Just hold on to this peace a little longer…

Quickly sifting through the stack of wanted posters for both their and Torao’s crew, Nami barely paid attention to the numbers—even their previous ones were stupid high, what did a zero here or there matter anymore? She would never understand why the others always made such a big deal about it. Except maybe Chopper and Bepo, the poor boys deserved to finally get some recognition by now; even Nami felt bad for them.

But then, she reached the end of the bounties and instead, a special report came to view.

And Nami completely froze, staring at the headline with wide eyes. She read it over and over and over again, trying to wrap her head around it but failing.

STRAW HAT LUFFY—THE NEW PIRATE KING

It really said that.

It really fucking said that.

“How?!” Nami cried loudly before she could stop herself. “What the fuck kind of sources—?! We literally left the island two hours ago!”

“Oh my,” Robin said with a chuckle, undoubtedly peeking over Nami’s shoulder with an extra pair of eyes. “Morgans’ quick. He needs to introduce me to the souls of the dead who report to him. I could use them as well.”

“Not now, Robin,” Nami groaned. She had hoped to get in one shopping trip before the world blew up but no.

Not only did the world get turned on it’s fucking head four times over in the span of the past maybe two months—and then eight times more once Robin pieced the poneglyphs together—now she couldn’t even buy some nice clothes in peace.

And judging by the hands that appeared like omens or disaster on the railing right next to her…

She was not not going to even get to enjoy one quiet, sunny afternoon.

—————

“Torao! Look!!” Luffy called, bursting with excitement as he propelled himself away from the garden and back to where Law was taking a nap with Bepo. He felt a little bad about the way he crashed right into the two of them, but he was just so giddy!

“Fucking—What the hell, Straw Hat-ya?” Law snapped once he got his bearings.

“Sorry. But look!” Luffy repeated, shoving the special report he stole from Nami in Torao’s face.

Luffy watched expectantly while Torao read the headline, his eyebrows furrowing more and more with each passing second. Well… that wasn’t a reaction Luffy was expecting.

“Torao?” Luffy tried.

Law was silent for a second longer before he slowly opened his mouth to speak, his eyes not leaving the paper in Luffy’s hands. “How the fuck does Morgans know we’re soulmates and why the fuck does he think we’re getting married?”

“Huh?” Luffy blinked a few times, tilting his head to the side. What was Torao talking about?

As he looked at the paper in his hands, he finally noticed he was holding it out backwards—the front with the headline announcing him conquering the Grand Line was facing towards him… which meant he was currently showing Torao the backside.

The backside, which was apparently also the front side with another bombshell headline.

Slowly turning the paper in his hands, Luffy quickly skimmed the announcement on the other side.

STRAW HAT LUFFY TO MARRY HIS SOULMATE, TRAFALGAR LAW

As he read the words over, Luffy hummed thoughtfully. “Oh, is this because I was planning to ask you once we got to Sabaody?”

“Excuse me?!” Law asked, full of shock, but Luffy didn’t pay him any attention.

“Who cares about that, look at this!” Luffy made sure he was holding the paper right when he showed it to Torao again. He was grinning so wide his cheeks were starting to hurt.

“Did you seriously just casually blurt out you were going to propose to me only to follow that with ‘who cares’?” Law asked flatly, his eyebrows shooting up as he stared at Luffy over the paper—and not paying attention to what was written on it, goddamn it!

“Torao~!” Luffy whined and raised the paper higher. “Pay attention!”

With a resigned sigh, Law finally turned his attention to the most important thing—only for his reaction to be completely underwhelming.

“You needed a newspaper to tell you were the Pirate King now?” Law asked in a tone that sounded so very unimpressed.

“This makes it official! Torao, come on~” Luffy said, a large pout on his lips as he slumped forward, sprawling himself over Law’s lap where he was leaning back against the still sleeping Bepo in a half-sitting position.

At that… Torao finally laughed, the sound light and easy and sending vibrations through Luffy’s body. Ah, Luffy really could enjoy this little moment forever…

“Sorry, I’m joking,” Law huffed, his body still lightly shaking with amusement when he leaned down to press a small kiss to Luffy’s temple. “Congrats.”

“Why are you so mean, I hate you,” Luffy huffed—but his grin made it back on his face full force and he giggled happily. “Thanks!”

Luffy almost had to stop himself from purring when Law’s hand found its way to his hair, running through the strands carefully, fingers lightly scratching his scalp. How did Law do that? Was Luffy turning into a cat now?

Oh well.

Leaning into the touch, Luffy felt himself relax completely. This really was the best day ever—the ending of his dream was within sight, he had the best ship and crew to see it through with, and he had his Torao right next to him.

The only thing that was missing was some meat and—

“The answer is no, by the way.”

“What?” Luffy asked with confusion, turning his head to the side to gaze up at Torao.

“To your proposal. I’m not going to marry you,” Law explained, closing his eyes momentarily. “Who put that idea in your head anyway?”

“Sanji and Penguin,” Luffy replied without hesitation.

Law rolled his eyes. “Of course,” he said with a sigh. “Look, do you even want to get married? Do you realise you’d have to stand there for the ceremony while the cake was right there and you weren’t allowed to eat any of it?”

Luffy paused while the information processed in his head. Damn, he really didn’t think of that…

“Yeah, okay.” Luffy nodded to himself decisively. “Can we just skip to the party?”

At that, Law laughed again, shaking his head as he ruffled Luffy’s hair. “Yeah, sure. I’ll ask Black Leg to make a fancy cake and all.”

“Yay!” Luffy cried before a snicker forced its way past his lips. “As long as you’re happy, too!”

Law rolled his eyes. “I feel like we’ve had this conversation before but you’re literally my soulmate and I love you so what the hell would we need a wedding for? Not to mention the World Government is basically on fire right now, who even has the authority to do weddings as it is?” Law asked in a tone that suggested he wasn’t looking for an answer before he added, “Also it’s just way too much of a bitch so yeah, I’m happy as it is.”

“Okay! No bitch ceremonies,” Luffy said, his voice shaking with laughter at the way Law clicked his tongue at the teasing remark.

And when Luffy pulled Law down to his level, the both of them smiling into the soft kiss they shared… Luffy decided not to mention this was the first time Law told him “I love you” directly.

After all, Law showed his love to Luffy every day in the way he smiled, the way he always left enough room next to him when taking a nap with Bepo, the way he brought out his precious Sora, Warrior of the Sea comic collection from the Tang’s safe storage space so that Luffy could read them.

He showed Luffy he loved him in all the little things, all the little moments they shared—just as Luffy did for him.

And Torao was right; they didn’t need words, a wedding, or even their soulmarks to know it.

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hopeamarsu · 2 years

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Paper planes - part 1

Frankie Morales x fem reader

Rating: Mature

Word count 6,3k

Warnings: Soulmate AU, soulmate-identifying marks, single dad!Frankie, minor angst, dating services, TF boys are a family

A/N: I found this one deep into my Google Drive folders and maybe it’s time it sees the light of day. Then I read it through and realised it’s about 12k words so I split it down the middle. I’ll post the second part in a few days.

Frankie opened the door to the small bar, enjoying the smell of greasy food and beer wafting to greet him when he stepped inside from the cold. He shook off his coat, draping it over his hand while nodding at Mark behind the counter before heading towards their usual table.

Soon enough, a glass of cold, golden deliciousness was delivered in front of him while he got himself seated and settled. Frankie was the first of the guys to arrive though that was not unusual; he lived the closest to the bar and Santi was always running late anyways. Checking his phone for messages from the babysitter (none), Frankie scrolled aimlessly for some articles while he waited.

“Hey man, sorry I’m late,” Benny’s voice pulled him out of his phone and the tall man flopped opposite him. Frankie grinned, pushing his phone closed and taking in the flushed appearance. Benny looked good, his eyes sparkling as he pushed his floppy hair off his face. There was something sparkling in the younger man’s gaze that made Frankie drop his eyes to his hands and when the realisation hit, he grinned wide.

“No way! When? Who?”

Benny grinned back, lifting his right hand to show the colourful mark of an envelope on the inside of his wrist. What had once been a faded grey mark under a standard leather cuff was now bare skin with a mark of a mix of blue and green, the vibrancy of them giving away that Benny now had what all they hoped for deep inside.

Benny had found his soulmate.

“It’s Sam, from the gym. Will usually does my wraps but he was busy doing something,” Benny waggled his eyebrows suggestively and Frankie chuckled low. They both knew that since Will had been introduced to his lady at a corporate event a few months back, they’d been at it like bunnies.

Frankie couldn’t have been happier for his brother, even if it meant that Will missed a couple of get-togethers because of the love he now had in his life. Will deserved the happiness. And now it looked like he could be similarly happy for his other brother as well.

“So Sam offered to help me and, you know you can’t do the wraps without touching, and boom! Instant colour and these full-body tingles all over me - thanks Mark - and we were just standing there, all dumbfounded for a moment.”

“I hope you did something more than just stand there, Benjamin,” Frankie couldn’t help but tease a little, hoping that his weak grin would mask the slight pang inside his heart when Benny cackled loudly and confirmed that yes, there had been kissing and confessions and they were going out on a date tomorrow night.

He knew the likelihood of finding his own soulmate was low; most people never met them in their lifetime. Benny was extremely lucky that way. And with him having a kid and working as a helicopter mechanic full time, the likelihood was even lower since he didn’t have time or funds to attend those lavish matchmaking events that people raved about. Any spare penny he got went to Ella and her future and he wouldn’t have it any other way.

But still, there was the romantic notion inside him that yearned for that sort of connection, that perfect harmony a soulmate love was supposed to bring you. To have that bond and that trust and everything good that came with a soulmate was something Frankie craved deep inside.

He wanted someone to dote upon, to be himself with - scars and all - and know they had been made to be together with him. He wanted to love and be loved in return, the whole fairytale shebang and happily ever after he often read to Ella as a bedtime story.

“You okay man?”

Benny’s voice brought him back to the bar and present and he shook his head to clear out his mind. “Yeah, yeah. Sorry man, I must be still tired of that double shift I pulled.” It was a weak excuse but thankfully Benny got the underlying message and nodded.

“No worries. I’m babbling anyway, so… There was another reason I asked you here tonight.” Benny dug around his pockets for a moment before pulling out a black envelope, thick and glossy and Frankie’s eyebrows shot up. He didn’t even register that Benny said I, not we.

“Tell me you didn’t propose to Sam yet.” He blurted out.

“Nah, I want to enjoy dating first. Someone down the line sure, being soulmates and all, but not yet,” Benny grinned before pushing the envelope towards the brunette. Frankie’s fingers shook a little when he took the envelope from Benny and twirled it around. The cardstock was hefty and beautiful and the golden R pressed on the seal made him look at his brother again, this time with suspicion.

“The Registry? What are you doing with an envelope from the Registry, Benny?”

“The boys and I, we thought…” The second the words were out of Benny's mouth, Frankie barked one of his own out.

“NO!”

“Just listen, Catfish!”

Frankie huffed, crossing his hands in front of his body. His brown eyes, normally soft and tender, were hard as steel against Benny’s earnest blue ones. He slid the envelope back towards the other man with a frown.

“I’m not going to let you spend your hard earned money like this, Ben. Just no. Take it back, get a fucking refund.”

The Registry was one of the world's most prestigious love matching companies. Their success rate was phenomenal compared to the others and they were used by celebrities, politicians, and people with deep pockets and way too much money on their hands. They got the best of the best from engineers, doctors, professionals in their payroll and it showed both in the success stories people could read in the newspapers and their stock price.

The Registry was a modern equivalent of a fairy godmother. They did everything, from matchmaking events to DNA testing that could guarantee you your match and stuff in between also. They had wardrobe consultants, makeup artists and counsellors who made sure you knew exactly what you were walking into when meeting a DNA-approved potential soulmate.

Even if the Registry match wasn’t your soulmate, the match was still solid. People got married, had civil unions that lasted decades when they were matched by the precious algorithm The Registry had developed. Frankie was quite sure the algorithm was more guarded than the Queen of the United Kingdom herself. In normal circumstances, he might’ve laughed about the absurdity of a piece of code being so protected, but not in this case.

The first time Frankie had had the urge to use a matchmaking company to help, he’d looked up the Registry website and his eyes had nearly bugged out of his head once he saw the price tag that came with the prestige. The cheapest thing, a lottery ticket to enter a draw to potentially attend one of their events cost over 500 dollars and everything just went up from there. Their motto seemed to be that the more you invested in the firm, the more guaranteed the end result was.

He’d closed out the site pretty quick, not wanting to feel even more depressed, and had quickly tossed out any notion of using an outside consultant in his search. Years later he had nothing to show for it but the idea of what was inside the envelope still made Frankie feel hesitant.

He wanted love, sure, but not at that cost. Never at that cost. The idea that his brothers had done this, spent their own money on a frivolous thing like a matchmaking service made him shiver. He eyed Benny, working his mouth to not start yelling at him but Benny just looked back with a soft expression.

“Just listen for a moment, okay? Santi and Will are in this with me. We split the cost, Fish. We just want you to find happiness and they are the best so we thought we could give you something to start with. And you’re not getting Christmas presents for a few years.”

The weak joke quirked Frankie’s lips a little. Benny latched onto it immediately and pushed the envelope across the table once more. His eyes, the ones Santi had dubbed as puppy dog eyes, were open and honest as they scanned the older man’s face.

“It’s not the DNA thing, don’t worry. We just, uh, we got you a meeting with one of the Registry consultants who will organise three dates for you with potential candidates. If it doesn’t work out, it doesn’t and we get half of our money back, no harm done.”

He took a small pause, before continuing. “We know you have Ella and she’s your world, but Fish, we know you. We’ve seen the way you look at Will and his lady and I could see it in your eyes now when I told you about Sam. You’re a fucking romantic and so are we. Let us do this for you, yeah?”

Benny fell silent, letting his words sink in. The boxer watched and waited with bated breath before the pilot slowly picked the envelope into his hands. He turned it over again and flipped it open, letting a folded paper fall out with a small, heavier cardboard certificate.

Mr. Morales, you are cordially invited to meet with the Registry matchmaking consultant to arrange a set of 3 dates with potential matches. Please book your first appointment at your earliest convenience.

Frankie lifted his eyes to meet Benny again and the younger man smiled softly.

“We just want you to be happy, man, that’s all. You deserve all the happiness in the world.”

How could he say no to that, Frankie thought and rose from his seat, pulling Benny in for a long hug. “Gracias hermano,” He whispered, letting his emotion creep into his voice. He felt Benny grip him tighter, murmuring thank you’s over and over again.

You wanted to rub your aching forehead so badly. The last client to walk out your door had been a nightmare, though you couldn’t actually say that out loud.

Your newest customer was a daughter of a high-ranking politician. She’d shown up in your office at the appointed time with a list of demands for her potential match a mile long, practically slamming the binder on your table. Before you could open your mouth, she was working her way through it, pointing at the list and commenting on each of the bulleted items.

There had been no time to ask questions, to start on the questionnaire, nothing. She just ploughed on and once your three-hour mark was up, she’d slammed the binder closed and sashayed out of office, leaving only the scent of her expensive perfume to linger. And to think this was only your first appointment with her, the next coming up in two days. You already dreaded it.

You could hardly blame her though, the search for a good match was hard with people hiding their marks and masking their intentions left and right. And with the spotlight on her it was even harder, but you knew that if you couldn’t produce a miracle, she’d be moving up the chain with her money and find herself in the DNA lab.

But before that, your job was to locate five candidates for her and arrange dates in discreet locations. The joys of being a matchmaker.

With a deep sigh, you looked at the clock and shook yourself off your slump. It was nearly time for your final appointment of the day, with one Mr. Francisco Morales. You flipped through his folder, eyebrows raising a little at the lack of information at first but then you saw the little red dot on the upper right corner of the manila folder.

It seemed like Mr. Morales had been brought in via a gift certificate. It wasn’t too rare, but it wasn’t the most common method of how people contacted the Registry to find their match.

Most came on their own or via a referral from an existing client. There were one or two that came because they had to (a testament demanded it, a raise, anything of that sort) but a handful of family members or friends used the gift as a way to make someone happy.

And that’s where you came in. A consultant in the matchmaking side of the Registry. Someone who would sit down with a client, ask them all the hard and easy questions to get a baseline feel for them before moving into questions about their likes, dislikes, and the whole story. After the interviews, two in total, it would be time for the matching and hopefully, by the end of the number of dates agreed, the client would find their match in one of the prospective dates.

If they were extra lucky, they would find their soulmate.

To most, finding their soulmate was a fairytale, a dream songs were made of, but The Registry had done a good job on that front also. It was common knowledge soulmates had matching interests and often gravitated towards the same things. It helped the algorithm forward, but a lot of finding your soulmate boiled down to luck. Which is why most people just wanted to find a suitable match, someone to be happy with. It was good enough.

Was it a little cynical? Maybe. But you had seen the love blossom in your matches so many times that even your bruised heart couldn’t deny the surge of happiness that came with finding love, even if it wasn’t with your soulmate. But still, you held out a tiny flicker of hope you would find them one day.

A knock on your door signalled it was time to focus your attention on Mr. Morales. You placed the folder back on your desk and called them in. The man who entered your room was everything you’d ever dreamt of and you had to fight the urge to suck in a surprised breath when he filled the doorway so well.

Thick, wavy brown hair, brown expressive eyes that looked beautiful, a nose crooked just right, and plump lips surrounded by a little scruff. Not too much, but just the right amount that you knew would feel amazing under your fingertips should you scratch it. He looked warm and cosy despite his nervous eyes that scanned the room.

Simply put, the man was the most beautiful you’d ever seen and for a second, you wished he wasn’t here to meet you in a matchmaking capacity.

Your eyes travelled down to his exposed forearms and long, thick fingers that wrung an old baseball hat between his paw-sized hands; another clear sign that Mr. Morales was nervous to be here. You cast one final adoring look at the broad shoulders and body hidden under a well-worn T-shirt before adopting a professional smile.

He was here to find his match, not get ogled by the consultant, you told yourself sternly. You would daydream in private later about those shoulders caging you under him. And that would be all you would be doing.

“Mr. Morales?”

“Yea-yeah, that’s me.” He breathed, before his eyes widened almost comically as he registered the formal way you addressed him. “Call me Frankie, please. Mr. Morales was my father.”

“Frankie then. Please, take a seat.” You introduced yourself briefly, very much enjoying the way your name rolled off his tongue with that deep, husky bass tone. It sent shivers down your spine and an absolutely inappropriate thought popped into your head about how he would sound in the throes of passion but you quickly banished that from your mind. Stop being so horny, you scolded yourself again. You can do that in your own time. In your own bed. Alone.

“So, how’s all this going to work?”

Frankie looked around the room, taking in all your decorations and the way his eyes moved cataloguing things, you could already tell he was a man who would not miss a single detail. One other thing to file away for later. You smiled softly and pointed towards the folder on the desk.

“Well, it’s pretty simple really. We talk, I ask about your preferences and history and we’ll go from there. I see here,” you picked up the manila and flipped it open, fishing out a pen from your drawer.

“…you’ve been approved for 3 dates. What that means is that after our talks - one for today and the second one… for tomorrow I see - I will compare the info you’ve given me with the information in our databases. Then our algorithm works to find the best match for you.”

You took a small pause, allowing your words to sink in. “Then I will work to arrange a schedule for you and your potential match. You go on a date and if it feels good, it goes on organically from there. With a little luck, you have matching marks under your cuffs and you have found your soulmate. If not, hopefully you find yourself with a good match with someone who you fall in love with.”

“Sounds simple enough. Why the hefty price tag then?”

Earlier in your career, when you had just started working, a question like this had made you prickly. But not anymore, it was actually something most people asked. They wanted value for the amount of cash they put on the table so it was understandable. And Frankie looked earnest, something shimmering behind his dark pools that made you think that he just wanted reassurance that whoever shelled out the money to get him this was using it wisely.

“Well, for starters…” You went on explaining the process in a little more detail, emphasising the number of successes you and your team had had, and told him about all the ways you would hopefully ensure a match. How after each date you would tweak the profile based on the feedback and let the algorithm grow as he spent time with his dates.

You talked about how the session today would focus on him while tomorrow you would talk about his wants and needs for his partner and then you would compile all the information together to create his profile, his baseline.

After his profile would be finished, it would be entered into the system and the algorithm would do its job. The human factor would come in after the algorithm had given you its recommendations and you would review the material and organise the date. Depending on the person, you could either just give out the phone numbers and they could work all the dates out by themselves or you could do the work for them, they would just show up.

“Is that something you would be interested in, Mr. Mor… Frankie?”

“I, umm… Yeah? I don’t, I’ve not been on a date in ages, so yeah. Anything you have to suggest, I’ll take it.”

“Wonderful.” You smiled softly, before venturing forward and explaining that he would need to check in with you after each date, as would the other person also, and you’d once again guide him from there. If it wasn’t a mutual thing, all parties would go their separate ways, and if it was a mutual thing, you could either help or fade out and they could begin truly dating.

You took a swig from your water bottle after you finished, watching as Frankie processed all the information he’d just been given. You saw him glance at your walls again, some pictures of the success stories hanging from them; happy couples embracing, some in their wedding attire. There were some landscapes thrown in to balance it all out. It wasn’t about boasting, but having a visual reminder of what you did. You’d noticed having a visual helped some customers.

“Are we ready to get started?” You smiled after a moment and with his nod, you picked up your pen and notebook. Your notes would go into his folder later, but you didn’t want to make it seem clinical by jotting them straight down to that one. You wanted this to feel more like two people just conversing.

At Frankie’s nod, you began by taking down his basic information; when and where he was born, when the mark had appeared or he’d had it since birth (helped to narrow the age down since the mark appeared within a year of your soulmate’s birth) if there was a time in his life he had felt something major happening with the mark. All the things that could narrow down the pool and timeline.

He spoke calmly, explaining things in detail which you appreciated, the baritone rumbling pleasantly from his chest. You found yourself enamoured by his voice, thinking that he would make an excellent audiobook reader. His voice was like sweet, tangy honey with just a hint of spice underneath. You could listen to him for hours and hours.

When the basics were covered, you moved into his likes and dislikes. What kind of food he favoured, if he had a favourite band, movie, and book.

“Any preference over Star Wars and Star Trek?” You threw out, making him laugh out loud.

“I’m good with both, but I do like what they have done with the new Mandalorian show. The guy’s cool,” Frankie offered and you grinned, almost launching into a conversation regarding the rumours of the new season. Tactfully though you directed the conversation back to topic but based on the twinkling in his eyes, he knew you were a fellow fan too. It made you feel warm all over.

He spoke animatedly about helicopters, something you marked down and when he shyly confessed that he’d been a professional pilot first in the army, Delta Force of all places, and then briefly as a helicopter tour operator before settling into his job as a mechanic, you looked at him with awe. It had been a dream of yours for so long, taking a ride along the coast and seeing the sunset from the air. You wanted to pick his brain about it more, but knew it would be pointless as it didn’t help with the job you had to do. So you let it go with an internal sigh.

“Is there anything else you think that might help us find your match? Or something you feel is important that we know when making the choice for you?” You asked eventually when the conversation finally dwindled.

Mentally you tamped down any thoughts about wanting to place the pad down on the table and take off your cuff to show your own mark. It felt strange, the need inside you something you had never experienced with a client before. Like a burn or an itch under the fabric, almost as if the mark had woken up after being dormant for so long.

But you couldn’t. It would be highly unprofessional, not to mention rude. Marks were a private thing and not even companies like the Registry had the gall to demand their clients show them.

It would have been the easiest way to succeed, but since people hid them from the time they appeared, it was not likely the attitude towards something so private would change anytime soon. You settled for placing two of your fingers on the cool cuff around your wrist discreetly, running them up and down the fabric as a way to ground yourself, while waiting for him to answer.

“I, uh… I have a daughter,” Frankie divulged, a light red tint covering his neck as he rubbed it. You raised your eyes to meet him, registering the love that shone from his brown pools.

“How old is she?”

“Just turned four, my Ella. She’s my light, my beacon of hope in the universe. I’m the primary parent, since it was, umm, not planned. The pregnancy.” It was clear this was a sore subject for Frankie despite him obviously feeling proud of his daughter.

You wanted to ask more, maybe see a picture of her, but refrained once more. You could already imagine the dark curls of his girl bouncing when he ran around with him. It was such a lovely mental image, but you couldn’t go there. Not for you, you reminded yourself again. He is not for you.

Instead, you asked if he wanted to share anything more and when he shook his head, the cap one again between his hands as he kept wringing it, you closed down the cover of your writing pad. Your hand rested on top of it and his eyes honed in on your cuff.

“It’s really beautiful,” Frankie nodded towards it and you looked down with a soft smile.

“Thank you, my grandma made it for me. The design here,” you showed him the lines and the different colours crisscrossing the material, “it’s for good luck and fortune. This here,” you pointed towards a piece of lace that was sown in, “is from the dress my mother met my father in. It’s to remind me that true love exists out there for all of us.”

“It hopefully is,” He murmured so quietly you almost didn’t catch the words. You shared a small smile between the both of you, the weight of his words felt around the room.

“It is, Frankie.” You spoke quietly too. “And hopefully I can help you find it.”

He fiddled with the buttons in his cuffs while he sat at the lounge bar, waiting for his date. It was the first of three you had arranged for him and to say he was nervous was an understatement.

Frankie had not been on a proper first date for ages. Well before Ella was even conceived in fact. Sure, he’d had hookups and one-night stands and brief relationships but putting on the nicest pair of pants he owned with a shirt with actual buttons was foreign territory for him. Santi had suggested a tie with only a small cackle, but Frankie had drawn a line in that; he didn’t want a noose around his throat, thank you very much.

He glanced at his phone and breathed in deep. No messages from Santi which meant that Ella was fine with her Tio Pope. Only Ella’s face smiling wide looked back at him. The clock above her forehead though told him his date was 15 minutes late and Frankie could feel the cold sweat creep up his spine. Was he really going to get ghosted, he thought, on a matchmaker-made date nonetheless? He took a small swig of his beer, hoping it would calm his nerves.

“Francisco?”

He looked to his left at the sound, taking in the gorgeous woman that stood by his seat at the bar. Curly hair framed her lovely face and her eyes peered curiously at him behind her glasses. She had rounded cheeks that Frankie just knew would look adorable when she smiled. But she wasn’t smiling now, her face looking more stern than happy to be on a date.

“Yeah, that’s me. Just, uh, call me Frankie. And you are Anna right?”

“Yes. Listen, I’m in a bit of a time crunch so I’d rather not do the whole wine-and-dine-will-you-come-back-to-mine-and-we-will compare-our-marks-at-date-three -thing, I just want to get it over and done with. So. I show you mine, you show me yours?”

Her voice was cold and hurried, Frankie barely catching all the words. But as she began to take off her mesh-covered cuff from her wrist, his brain came back online. “Here, now?” He lowered his voice, taking a small look around the room but no one seemed to be watching them, not even the bartender. His own hand rested on top of his own cuff, keeping it secure and hidden.

“Yes, here. Yes, now.” Anna rolled her eyes, snapping off the final button and folding the cuff in her hand. “Ugh. Don’t tell me you are one of those people.”

“What people?”

“You know, those romantic idiots who think it’s all fate and the marks need to be hidden away for eternity. It’s the 21st century. If it wasn’t so frowned upon, I wouldn’t even wear this thing,” she grumbled while shaking her own cuff in the air. She then nodded towards his cuff.

“Come on, I haven’t got all day.” When he hesitated, she reached forward, making him pull back instinctively. She huffed again, rolling her eyes.

“Fine. Just look and tell me if this is your mark,” she thrust her hand towards him, palm up and Frankie looked down, taking in the small dove on the left side of her wrist. He thought about his small mark and shook his head.

“No, that’s not mine.”

“Oh well. Good luck to you then, Francisco.” Anna spoke and turned on her heels, walking out briskly. All business that woman was. He sat back down on his seat dumbfounded. In all his nervous thoughts this was definitely not what he had envisioned his first Registry arranged date would go.

He drowned the rest of the beer in a haze, tipping the bartender before walking out to his truck. Once he was driving down the roads, away from the inner city, he called Pope. The man picked after just one ring.

“Hermano, tell me this is you calling that you won’t be home tonight and mi princesa can spend time with Tio Santi tonight?”

“Unfortunately not.” His voice was flat.

“Lo siento. What happened?”

“She demanded I show her my mark after barely changing names first. She also left the second I told her her mark wasn’t mine.”

“Sheesh. She’s no good for you then Fish. But you have two more dates left, don’t let this bring you down.”

He knew that, but his heart ached for what had happened now that he could think about what had transpired in the minutes they’d been in each other's company. He’d been rejected on sight almost and while he could understand the need to find The One, Frankie still felt his confidence plummet with the blatant rejection.

“Yeah, well… I’ll be there soon, okay?”

“See you soon. I’ll heat up some grub for you.” The phone line cut and Frankie was left alone with his thoughts.

When he reached Pope's house, Frankie killed the engine of his truck on the driveway and remained seated there. He could see lights in the kitchen, a shadow of Pope dancing around with Ella in his lap through the thin curtain and he couldn’t help the small smile forming on his face. Even if he never found his true love, his soulmate, he would still have his brothers and Ella. It would be okay. And Pope was right, someone like the lady tonight was not for him.

He dug out his phone and shot a quick message to you to let you know what had gone down. When Frankie pressed send, your kind eyes drifted to his mind. He recalled how delighted you’d been when he had shown you a photo of Ella at your second consult meeting, your soft tone in his ears asking about her. He’d been more than happy to talk about her to you and not once had you seemed to dislike the topic or the pride he felt at his baby’s achievements.

You’d been so kind and compassionate as you listened to him stumble his way through your questions. Your comments had been thoughtful and encouraging when he divulged some of the tainted sides of his history. You’d never once mentioned all the time he took from your other clients and meetings, letting him work through the words and bad memories at his own pace.

Maybe it was your warmth, and your attitude that made him feel at ease, talking about those hard moments in his life. Frankie wanted to bask in your light and enjoy it indefinitely. Even if you were way out of his league with how beautiful you looked and how gorgeous you were inside and out. If he would meet you at a bar, he’d definitely ask you out on a date.

Would it be against the rules to ask you out if none of the dates panned out? Was it wrong of him to wish the dates didn’t pan out so he could do it? What would the date look like, if he got to take you out? Frankie let his mind wonder about it, just for a moment.

He would take you somewhere nice, but not too upscale of a place. Somewhere where you could have fun together. He’d trade stories with you all throughout the evening, make you laugh and witness how the laughter would light you up. He’d hold your hand during dessert, run his thumb across your knuckles. He’d ask to kiss your pretty lips at the end of the date because he wouldn’t be able to resist you.

He could trail his hands on your arms, trace your spine as he pushed you against the side of this truck when he couldn’t get enough of you and the way your body melted into his. He could drink down all your moans and sighs and whimpers when he backed you to his bedroom after making out with you on the driveway. He could wake you up in the morning with his head between your legs as the first rays of sunshine cast a warm glow on your naked skin, illuminating it in a divine light.

Frankie's eyes widened when he realised just what route his brain had gone down. Here he was, sitting in his truck on his brother's driveway and sporting a semi because the consultant assigned to his case was hot and beautiful and everything he’d ever desired. He was such a pervert.

Shaking his head, Frankie stepped out of the truck, tucked himself in more firmly, and walked briskly towards the front door. He delighted in the way salsa music poured out of the house, and Ella’s giggles reached his ears when he stepped inside the warm house. He didn’t even notice that his phone pinged with a reply from you.

Hey, the date went bust. Will you let me know when the next one is?

I’m so sorry to hear that Frankie. Give me a call if you wish to talk about it, but I’ll get to work finding the next date for you in the morning. Have a lovely evening.

“Hey Frankie, how are you?” Your voice was warm over the phone a week later. “How’s Ella?”

“I’m good, thanks. She’s thriving. Apparently they learned a new song in the nursery today and she’s been singing it all evening.”

You chuckled, hearing faintly a kid's voice singing loudly in the background. It was definitely off-key but endearing and you warmed up from the inside every time you could hear a glimpse from her.

You had been talking almost daily with him since his disastrous date, polishing and perfecting the algorithm. You finally felt comfortable in your decision and wanted him to know quickly so he could plan for Ella while he went out. Despite the small pang in your heart about sending him out with another potential match, you knew it was your job to make good, valid choices from the pool the algorithm had chosen for him. And if you had gone a little over what was normally considered a good job with a client, no one had to know.

“I actually have news for you, Frankie. I think I have a potential match for you and would like to arrange a date for you two.”

“That’s, ummm, that’s good. When, when would this date happen?”

If there was a slight tremor in his voice, you chose to ignore it. Everyone got little cold feet at times, right? And his first attempt hadn’t been that good so it was only natural, you told yourself. There was no reason to get worried.

“I was thinking this Friday, if you can swing it.”

“Yeah, I’ll ask Benny to come over with Ella. Or maybe Will. But yeah, I can do Friday. Just… just no fancy dates this time, okay? I don’t…” His voice died off and you could hear how uncomfortable he was. Your mind raced through some possibilities until it clicked and you smiled warmly. He’d mentioned that truly competitive sports weren’t his thing, but he enjoyed a little friendly competition from time to time.

“How about glow-in-the-dark putt-putt golf? I know this great place, a little off the beaten path but it would give you guys a chance to talk and get to know one another while playing and having some drinks on the side. Very low-key and low-effort.” You waited anxiously for his answer. It was definitely not something the Registry sent their dates to normally, but you had a feeling that Frankie might appreciate it.

“Glow in the dark? Can’t say I’ve done that before so sure, why not. Just as long as I can wear jeans.”

“Jeans and comfortable shoes. I’ve been to the track before and you’ll enjoy it, promise. I’ll text you the details tomorrow when I’ve spoken to your date and organised everything , okay?” You knew he could hear you smile, you’d always been told you had a very expressive voice.

“Sounds good, can’t wait. Thank you,” he spoke your name with his low tone and it made you smile even wider. How your name rolled off his tongue had nothing to do with it, you were just excited he was eager for the date.

“Great! I’ll send you the details tomorrow. Have a good night, Frankie. And have fun on Friday!”

Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed it!

(please let me know if you want to be added or removed from the list any time!)

Everything taglist @clydesducktape @miraclesabound @10blurredsmoke10 @caillea @princessxkenobi @sixshooter665 @amneris21 @greeneyedblondie44

PPCU taglist @littlemisspascal @darklingveracruz @tintinn16 @evyiione @beecastle @marvelousmermaid

#frankie morales #frankie morales fanfiction #frankie morales x reader #frankie morales x fem reader #frankie morales x you #frankie morales imagine #triple frontier fanfiction #triple frontier imagine #francisco catfish morales #francisco morales #catfish morales #soulmate au #soulmate identifying marks #minor angst #my writing #hopeamarsu

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i-am-so-sad-i-cant-cry · 5 months

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#MegOp #g1 MegOp #Soulmates AU #transformers g1 #maccadam #g1 transformers #soulmate identifying marks #transformers fanfiction #fanfiction #fanfic #my fanfic #my writing

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cocteauazaka-retired · 7 months

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Taken

His eyes lit up when he heard my name for the first time, and his jaw went slack in a silent gasp. I knew the words he would say before they even left his lips, those same words that had been in every romance movie I had ever seen: "I think... I think you might be her."

---

I've never been comfortable with the idea of soulmates.

"Don't worry!" My parents would tell me. "Once you meet him, it will all make sense!"

I didn't want it to make sense. Until I met the man whose name was marked on my body, I was not and could never be whole. The thought would keep me up sick with anxiety. I had an other half that I was separated from, rent asunder and if I couldn't find it, then I would never be happy.

"You'll meet him and your whole world will change!"

All my life, people blamed my unhappiness on being unable to find my one. Some even go so far as to pry for the name, thinking that if they just help, all will be well. That I'll forget how they treated me. A girl I used to call my friend once pulled down my pants to get a glimpse of my thigh, hoping to see the name for herself. My mark is so covered in scars that it's illegible. I can never make myself forget it.

Of all the people in my life, the only person who has ever been able to truly comfort me is my sister. She met her soulmate as a kid, at the time a rare and fortuitous occasion, but when they died in middle school, she was left truly and undeniably alone. She understood my frustration, knowing that while even a gaping wound would eventually heal, the knowledge that you're only half of what you should be will always stay fresh.

She understood the feeling of whispers behind your back, that you would never have a soulmate or that you hated the idea of having one. Her thigh has the same scattering of scars that leave their name unreadable. But more than that, she taught me how to move on. She helps me find value in myself as an independent woman in a society, and I remind her that we aren't broken.

Because of my sister, I don't care if I'm "complete". I don't care that I'm destined to meet someone who will fix the unfixable, who will make everything better. I am enough, for myself and for her.

She was my first kiss. And my second, and my third. I've stopped counting, but she's still keeping track. We carved our name in the other's thigh and swore it would be the last blood shed over a name. I'm too busy being enamored by the most beautiful woman alive. She fills me with joy and wonder, and every day I'm in awe of the fact that I have the opportunity to spend it with her.

---

I always knew this day would come. It's hard, but I look him in the eyes and my breath catches. My chest feels hollow, as if the only thing left inside me is my free-falling heart. I don't even have to ask for his name because my body knows he's The One.

"I'm sorry," I say, and adjust my bag, already taking a step past him. "I already have a soulmate."

---

Originally published on AO3 under WeaselWoosh

#figured I'd touch this up and post it here #original writing #siscon #shipcest #soulmate identifying marks

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cha0ticspacebi · 1 year

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You're An Image Caught in Time: Chapter 7

You got your soulmark when you were very young. You knew who you hoped had left their mark but since they never said anything to you, you resigned yourself to a life of bitter unrequited love. As much as you wanted to meet your soulmate you knew after all these years they must not want to meet you. Though the mark never faded some days you wished it would. Especially after meeting Billy.

☆ You can find me over on A03 as Cha0ticBi ☆ Master list link!

Childhood Friends! Eddie Munson X Reader

Tags: 18+ NSFW (MDNI), slowish burn soulmate AU, reader is in an abusive relationship with Billy Hargrove, Dark! Billy, Eddie is a sweetheart but bad at feelings, hurt/comfort, eventual smut, eventual happy ending

Warnings: rape/non con elements, emotional and physical abuse, graphic depictions of violence, suicidal thoughts

Chapter 7/28 Previous chapter → Next chapter

Eddie walked slowly towards you. The closer he got the more mist formed in his eyes dousing the flames. He was almost right in front of you when you closed your eyes. You wanted them both to just go away and leave you there in that bathroom to deal with this on our own. This is no one’s fault but your own. If you could just listen and behave for once none of this would have happened. Billy’s voice, ever present in your mind. Your friends didn’t need to deal with this, you would figure this out on your own. Somehow.

Eddie’s throat was dry as you heard him whisper from beyond your eyelids, “Robin? Go get Ms. Kelly.” You felt her arms leave your sides and then the bathroom door quickly opened and closed again. You knew you were alone with Eddie and that fact made it even more difficult to open your eyes again. You felt his fingers ghost over the marks on your wrists as he lifted your hands.

“Hey pretty girl, can you open your eyes for me?” his voice and choice of words made you teary eyed again as your subconscious decides now is a great time to recall when he first used those words.

Your mom had bought you a new dress to wear for the first day of school. You were so excited to show everyone! It was fluffy and covered in flowers. You were so confused why they were yelling,

“She looks like a whore. Get that shit out of here,” your stepdad finished his drink.

You started crying. You couldn’t help it. They didn’t like that. Your stepdad grabbed your hair and threw you outside in the rain. He started laughing when the hem of your dress got dirty from splashing in the muddy water. Mom did nothing. They closed the door and left you out on the porch, your dress ruined. You trudged your way slowly across the muddy road and it got worse. You tried to stop crying by the time you made it up Eddie’s stoop and knocked on the door.

He opened the door and looked at you with a smile, “Hey pretty girl, you wanna play in the rain with me?” He ran outside and twirled around, getting soaked. Soon you were a matching pair of muddy messes.

You reluctantly lifted your eyelids and saw how close he was standing to you. Two wet lines glossed down his face. A faint discolored area on his right cheek. He looked so vulnerable. Even as a kid you never saw Eddie cry, or show any weakness for that matter. He was always your knight in shining armor ready with a book, a blanket, and laughs when you needed them. Until he wasn’t. He abandoned you, remember? The words in your head, though not your own, weren’t wrong.

The sound of your own voice startled you by how broken you sounded, “Eddie. Please just leave me alone. I can’t talk to you anymore. You were right,” you remembered how you felt that day so long ago when the roles were reversed, “It’s better if we aren’t friends.”

His grip on your hands tightened just a hint as he gave them a light squeeze, “If those are your words and not his sweetheart, you’ll never hear from me again. If you won’t do it for me you should talk to Ms. Kelly for Robin. She told me,” his face twisted in anguish, “She told me a lot this week. He hits you doesn’t he? More than just this time. How long has he been hurting you?” A dangerous cocktail of anger and sadness filled his voice as he kept holding your hands.

“Please just let it go Eddie,” you shook your head and looked at the floor. Gravity pulling all the liquid you had left in your dehydrated body out of your tear ducts. You felt yourself getting upset when he wouldn’t drop it. The years of being pushed away finally came into the forefront, “Why do you suddenly care so much? You ignored me for years Eddie! Do you know how much that hurt? To be turned away everytime I tried to talk to you only to finally have no choice but to give up. Now all of sudden you think you can just show up and tell me how to live my life? I can handle this on my own. I don’t need Ms. Kelly, Robin, or you!”

You grabbed your jacket from the floor and pulled it back on. You collected your things from the bathroom stall and left. You walked out of the school building and into the parking lot. You weren’t sure if Eddie was following you but you didn’t want to stick around and find out. You didn’t know where to go. Home sounded like a horrible option, mom would still be there and you didn’t want to even think about seeing her. Not that she would have noticed you’ve been gone for three days, you’d been disappearing like this for years and she’s never cared. Billy was working and… you stopped in your tracks as you headed farther and farther from the school. You didn’t have anywhere else to go. Billy had made sure that you broke ties with all your friends. The list of people you spoke to was so limited that now you had no one. A soulmate who didn’t want you, friends who you pushed away and alienated. You fell against a tree on the side of the road and felt your mind start to separate from your body as you highly considered making yourself lost in the woods. Billy wouldn’t hurt Eddie again and besides it’s not like anyone would miss you.

You don’t know how long you sat there by that tree until you heard a car pull up.

“What the hell are you doing sitting out here? I thought I told you I’d come pick you up. Did you get impatient and just start walking? Holy shit your hands are freezing, how long have you been sitting here! Did the freak say something to you again? Jesus, I'll kill him this time.” You felt a hand lift you from the ground and guide you into the warm car.

“Wake the fuck up, you’re acting like a zombie,” his hand stung your cold skin as he smacked your cheeks, “What the fuck is wrong with you? Wake up!” He screamed and slapped your face harder, knocking your brain back into place.

Billy was staring at you with something that some outsider might call concern in his eyes. You tested your facial muscles and tried to regain any sort of feeling. Your mouth hurt as you tried to speak, “I’m sorry Billy. Can we go home please?”

“Jesus yeah we can go home,” again he sounded relieved but you knew it wasn’t genuine. He shifted the car from park and pulled away.

The road curved and lifted with small hills as Billy drove back in the direction you’d walked hours ago. The sun was on its way down already, the winter season making it feel much later than it was. Over the horizon you noticed a figure walking in the same direction as you. Your heart sank. Eddie was in the street, probably looking for you, you saw as you got closer that his hands were cupped around his mouth and he was shouting. Billy stepped on the gas.

“Should I hit him? 10 points if I do!” His voice sounded manic. He gripped the steering wheel hard and flicked his head back and forth between you and the road, “Come on no one will miss him!”

Your body felt incredibly weak. You wanted so badly to reach out and stop Billy but you couldn’t, your muscles were still frozen.

“I heard a rumor, you know. I guess he’s been going around telling everyone he’s your true soulmate, not me. Can you imagine? That freak with a soulmate!” He revved the engine again, speeding up even more.

The air left your lungs. That wasn’t possible. He would have told you! Besides, his soulmate was Chrissy and he said he didn’t like to talk about it. Why would he be spreading rumors about that? Billy’s just lying to upset me. There’s no way. Why wouldn’t he have told me? Eddie was getting closer.

“Come on Billy this isn’t funny, if you kill him you’ll go to jail.” Eddie was just yards away from you. He turned around and saw the car. You screamed, “Stop Billy!” Finding your strength to grab the steering wheel from him and swerve out of the way just in time. The car jerked sharply to the left as you pushed the wheel away from Eddie’s direction. Your neck bending back between the front seats as you watched out the back window to make sure Eddie was ok.

Billy’s manic voice continued, his words morphed into crazed laughter, “I can’t believe I didn’t see it sooner. You actually care about him don’t you!”

“No Billy,” your chest ached as you lied, “I just didn’t want you to go to jail for running someone over!”

“Don’t bullshit me! I can tell when you're lying,” he continued yelling, “You want to prove to me you don’t have feelings for him?”

“Anything Billy!”

He got a look in his eyes. Your already cold face went white. There was one thing Billy always wanted to do and you somehow have avoided it this long. His perversions scaled far beyond just rough sex. A lifetime passes in that car before you finally reach your destination. Billy’s house. Max’s mom was at work and she wasn’t home from school yet. There was no one here to save you. This was it. Your muscles constricted with fear. You clawed at your skin, phantom pains pricking all over your body. He got out and pulled you by the arm into his room.

He pushed you onto the bed and pulled his shirt over his head. You cowered in fear as he pulled out his pocket knife. He wasted no time pinning you down. Laughing as you cried. He cut your shirt off and pulled the flat side of the knife across your skin, you felt the edge of the blade nick your skin as your stomach convulsed. Your breaths are erratic. Snot draining from your nose and running down your face as you desperately wanted to get away. Billy’s eyes were dark. His pupils dilated and a sadistic smirk lifted the side of his mouth.

“Careful sugar, ” he pulled the blade up. A small line of red grazing the edge, “Stop moving so much or I could do some serious damage.”

The thought of how your relationship with Billy might progress or eventually end had always been in the back of your mind. You’d always wondered if things with him would escalate too far and you’d finally say enough is enough. You cursed yourself for not seeing it sooner as you reached that threshold in this moment on his bed. There was no more doubt. You had to get away or one day Billy would kill you. Your eyes blinked and noticed that he left the door open. If you could get out of the house maybe you could make it to a neighbor. You tried to calm down but his evil stare filled you with fear.

He dragged the blade across your stomach again, purposely puncturing the skin. You felt warm liquid drip down your side from your hip where he cut you. You scream out in pain and beg for help.

“No one’s coming to save you slut,” Billy yanks your jeans off and undoes his zipper. He pushes your panties to the side. It hurts so badly when he thrusts his way inside your dry entrance. You scream out in pain as he fucks into you anyways. He presses the knife to your throat as he fucks you harder.

“You are mine! You’ll always be mine! You can’t escape me,” his hand pressed into an almost healed bruise in your collar bone, you spewed an endless stream of pleas and cries for mercy. Begging him to stop. He pulls out and for a moment you feel relief but it doesn't last. He flips you onto your stomach and cuts you again as he hoists your hips up with the knife still in his hand. He presses your face into his mattress. He pushes your hair back and begins toying with the knife against your skin, your chest hurts, hyperventilating as you come to the horrific realization of what he’s going to do.

“No Billy! Please, anything but that! Don’t please, I’m begging you stop!” the wide, flat metal glides across your soulmark. Panic fills every word that you somehow manage to speak, “I’ll go get it covered up! Right now, we can go right now! Please I’ll do anything,” every muscle in your face hurt as you cried, tears and snot leaving their mark on his sheet.

“It’s his isn’t it?” His cool, calculated words sent icy chills through your soul, “That freak’s the one who marked you,” he got louder, “Admit it! It’s his isn’t it!” You just cried harder, upsetting him more.

“Wonder what he’d say if he saw my name carved in your skin on top of his mark.”

The angle of the knife changed and you screamed at the top of your lungs hoping someone would hear you and take pity on you. The tip pressed in sharply as he dragged it down forming the first line in the letter B. Thrashing your limbs from beneath him you kicked his balls and he recoiled. This is my chance! You summoned all your strength and kicked him again! Giving yourself enough space to shoot up out of the bed and run! You didn’t make it far though as you tripped on the jeans still wrapped around your feet.

Billy hissed as he recovered from your blow, “Bad idea slut, you are so dead now!” He grabbed your ankle and you screamed again at the top of your lungs, continuing to thrash and whip around desperate to get free. His grip held firm and he pulled you back towards him. Your body was so tired and you started to feel like you’d never have the strength to break free again. He flipped you on your back and grabbed you up by the bra straps. You spit in his face before biting his hand as hard as you could, you even drew a little blood. You kicked him again! Your confined feet whipping up and down kicking him over and over again! The motion loosened the fabric from around you just enough to crawl out of the jeans and up towards the door. You made it to the living room and spotted his keys on the counter. Grand theft auto it is! You snatched them up and ran like hell out into the night air. Pulse racing as you heard him yell after you. You didn’t stop to look back as you shoved the key in the ignition and headed for Forest Hills Trailer Park.

#eddie munson x reader #eddie x fem!reader #eddie munson #eddie munson fanfic #stranger things fic #eddie munson x you #eddie munson x y/n #soulmate au #soulmate identifying marks #childhood friend eddie munson #high school sweethearts #stranger things fanfic #stranger things smut #18+ content

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tokkiheart-writes · 6 months

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I Wanna Teach You How Forever Feels

Summary

In a universe where Oh Seung Moo’s famous thriller webtoon W is also an omegaverse story, his main character Kang Cheol is a Beta who is hiding the fact that he is by using scent blockers so as to appear like an alpha to the general public.

When the author’s daughter, Oh Yeon Joo, is pulled into his webtoon by Kang Chul to save him, she discovers gradual changes occurring to her the more she interacts with Kang Cheol and becomes the lead female.

————

In other words: An AU re-imagining of the show with A/B/O elements which results in a massive overhaul (honestly, the story may end up almost unrecognizable, who’s to say?)

I only have 14 followers on AO3 and 3 here on Tumblr and I’m probably going to lose them all because of this lol

Anyway, sorry for bringing this into creation, my brain wanted to write my first A/B/O fic and wanted to make one for W: Two Worlds.

Not that it had a choice, this is the only fandom I write for lol

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rosealiceroyal · 7 months

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Soulmarks determine your soulmate—whoever shares your mark is the person you’re meant to be with for the rest of your life. Alex’s nails dig into the picture as he remembers the words from all those years ago, the pamphlet he’s read so often it’s etched into his mind. He turns his wrist and places his own mark next to the boy’s.

The scale mocks him in its asymmetry. Regardless of Alex’s wishes, it didn’t morph into the stages of the moon in the last five minutes.

Alex stares at the boy a few seconds longer, the bright blue eyes and sandy blonde strands so beautiful he inadvertently likens it to sunshine. His lips are curled into a secret smile and just for a moment, Alex dreams that the smile is for him, reaching across the ocean, warming the secret parts of his heart he’ll never admit he has. He allows himself another moment with the boy before he moves away, leaving the magazine on his sister’s desk.

Princes don’t fall in love with boys anyway.

Or, 5 times Alex and Henry think they don't belong together, and one time they do.

Language: English Words: 9,705 Chapters: 1/1 Comments: 21 Kudos: 1,037 Bookmarks: 205 Hits: 11,944

#red white and royal blue #rwrb #henry fox mountchristen windsor #alex claremont diaz #firstprince #alternative universe #soulmates #canon divergence #alex x henry #soulmate identifying marks #fluff #angst #5 + 1 things #falling in love #getting together #5+1 fic

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sea-owl · 2 years

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Sasuke was 5 years old when he learned his soulmate's name.

He watched in a trance as clumsy words, as if the writer had just learned them, appeared on his left arm.

Hi! I'm Sakura!

Sasuke stared some more before he gasped in realization, he's seen this before! Itachi-nii had writing appear like this on him as well. He has said that his soulmate can write to him on his skin!

Sasuke runs around the house looking for a marker, finally stealing one from Itachi's room. Using his best penmanship he writes back.

Are you my soulmate?

Yes!

Sakura writes to Sasuke for hours, telling him how excited she is to start the ninja academy and become the best kunoichi in Konoha.

By the time Mikoto calls for dinner Sasuke thinks of telling his family that he's been talking to his soulmate. But then again, if he tells his family then Itachi-nii will want to meat her and everyone likes Itachi more.

Sasuke pulls down his sleeves to hide the writing. He wants to keep Sakura to himself for a little bit longer.

Sasuke was seven when he became the only survivor to the Uchiha massacre. He was never more grateful that he never spoke of Sakura to his family.

Sakura doesn't know he's her soul mate. When they were kids the excitement of writing to each other led to Sasuke forgetting to tell her his name.

He's never been more grateful for it now. He couldn't imagine the danger Sakura would be in if word got to Itachi that she's his soul mate. And Sasuke knew if he ever said her name and soulmate in the same sentence then Itachi would know.

Sasuke made sure to keep his distance from Sakura. It was hard. On rougher days when the nightmares would not stop Sasuke had to restrain himself from running up to Sakura and hiding her away where he could protect her. He started to wear arm coverings so he could reread every word Sakura wrote to him and not wipe it away like most do, or waste chakra bbyu having a genjutsu constantly over his arms.

He had to be content with writing to her. For her own safety no one can ever know. He was grateful that Sakura was content with just them writing to each other, choosing to have their bond be platonic, at least on her side.

The writing was their only communication after he left with Orochimaru.

I wish I could hate him

Sasuke blinked at the writing. Did Sakura mean him?

Pulling out a hidden marker Sasuke began to write.

Do you mean Sasuke?

Yes

As if a damn broke Sakura's words came flooding in down Sasuke's arm and then leg when Sakura must've run out of room on her own.

I should hate him, he left me on that damn bench. He betrayed our home all in the name of power and revenge. What's he gonna do after huh? Waltz back like nothing happened?

Sasuke winced. He knew there was a chance of never going home when he left but he knows he has to avenge his clan, no matter what it takes.

I want to hate him so badly sometimes. Maybe I wouldn't hut this badly if I hated him.

Gods, Sasuke felt like an ass. This was the last thing he ever wanted to do to Sakura, but it was necessary. He had to hurt her to protect her, and Sasuke hated every second of that night. And the worst part is Sakura will never know. She will never know how he purposely avoided looking at her that night because he knew if he did he wouldn't have left. Sasuke probably would have begged Sakura for forgiveness if he had looked at her, and Uchihas don't beg.

He doesn't deserve you Sakura

It was a stab to the heart to admit, and the knife was pushed further in when Sakura did respond.

Sometimes I wished I fell in love with you

Sasuke has felt like shit for the past few hours. And that was the nice way of putting it. His head felt like there was cotton in it, every single one of his limbs felt like it was tingling, and there was a huge bruise on the left side of his stomach. A bruise he would have definitely noticed getting based on how big it was, and like the rest of his symptoms it came out of absolutely no where.

The worst part was that Orochimaru took notice of that bruise.

“They say that soulmates with strong bonds not only can see what marks their skin, but also feel everything their soulmate does.”

Sasuke’s hand tightens on his sword. Was this all from Sakura? If so what happened to her and why the hell didn’t Naruto protect her?

Back in his room Sasuke wasted no time grabbing the marker.

What happened?

What are you talking about?

Sasuke had to hold back an annoyed growl. This was not the time for Sakura to play dumb.

The bond Sakura, I can feel what happens to you. And I have a huge bruise on my left side.

You can see where I got stabbed?

Stabbed?! Sasuke had to stop himself from rushing out of the hide out and tracking Sakura down. He left to protect her damn it! Where the hell was Naruto when she was stabbed? He would have never trusted that dobe to protect her if he knew this was going to happen.

Sakura, explain

Sakura goes onto retell her fight with Sasori of the Red Sand, a member of the Akatsuki. How he had stabbed her with a poisoned sword, but she was prepared as she had created an antidote earlier for another victim of his. She also explains how he and his partner, Deidara, had taken the Sand villages Kazekage, and extracted the One Tailed Beast from him. That was why Naruto wasn’t there during her fight, he was chasing after Deidara.

Sasuke was a mixed bag of emotions, on the one hand he was proud of her and how strong she has become. On the other hand, Sakura was in contact with the Akatsuki. What if Itachi saw her, saw Sasuke’s writing on her arms, and she became a target?

Sasuke picks up the marker again but this time he doesn’t write any words. He just draws cherry blossom on his arm, hiding within the center of the flower, where the little stigmas were, was the Uchiha fan. Sakura never noticed, but Sasuke always felt comfort in knowing it was there, even if just for a moment.

Kabuto had brought some sickly looking Ninja in. His name was Sai, and apparently he had come from Konoha.

Sasuke was going to kill him. He was finally getting some rest after that scare with Sakura almost dying. Then that bastard had to go and wake him up just to try to kill him. Sasuke doesn’t care what plans Orochimaru may have had for this bastard he was going to -

A flash of pink bursts out of the hide out, and the next thing either boy knows Sakura has her fist wrapped around Sai’s collar. Sasuke’s eyes widened; he can see the flower on her arm that he had drawn only an hour ago.

All their talks, and she had never once mentioned a mission to find Orochimaru’s hide out.

“Sakura.”

For the first time in three years, Sasuke looks into his soulmate’s eyes. He’s afraid of what she sees.

“Sasuke-kun.”

After Itachi’s death, after learning what Konoha has done to his family, Sasuke can’t bring himself to respond to Sakura’s writing. She continues to write to him, telling him of all the preparations she has done for the upcoming war, and training all the medics she can beforehand.

Every day Sasuke would read over his arm, and not respond. If he was lucky, he would find the strength to draw their flower. Sakura never pushed for him to write back, she assumed that he was busy for his own preparations. She would be half right.

“I will always love you,” Itachi said, bumping his forehead against Sasuke’s. Sasuke felt lighter, Itachi literally looked lighter as he began to glow. He gave Sasuke one last mischievous grin. “So what’s her name?”

Sasuke blinked once, but then looked down to where Itachi was pointing. His wristband had slipped, and the flower was visible. “Her name matches the flower.”

“Lady Uchiha Sakura. It has a nice ring to it,” Itachi laughed before disappearing.

They had won the war, and Sasuke left again. This time it was to seek atonement. He wanted to be better, see the world anew. He wanted to be the man that could stand at his soulmate’s side.

He poked her forehead, right on her seal, with a promise of “next time.”

Missing an arm now, Sasuke’s left leg became dedicated to the flowers he would draw for his soulmate. His right left was for conversations. They write to one another every day, with Sakura telling him how her day went and asking about his. Sasuke tells her about his travels, how the world is chaning now after the war. Sakura tells him about her work with creating a children’s mental hospital.

I’m proud of you Sakura.

You know I just realized that we’ve been talking for 14 years now and I don’t even know your name.

Sasuke blinked. Has it really been that long since Sakura first wrote on her skin? Sasuke smirked. He can’t believe it’s been this long and this is the first time she’s brought it up.

Sasuke continued with his action on knocking on Sakura’s door.

“Sasuke-kun you’re back,” Sakura greeted.

“Uchiha Sasuke. My name is Uchiha Sasuke,” Sasuke said, holding up his arm that matched the Sakura’s.

#damn this was long #but i'm weak to souldmate fics #i adore the concept of communicating with each other via writing on yourself #god knows that's probably the only way to keep communication with sasuke sometimes #sasusaku #sasusaku soulmates #soulmates #soulmate identifying marks #soulmate au #sasuke uchiha #sakura haruno #uchiha sasuke #haruno sakura #long post #naruto #naruto soulmate au

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wizardheart83 · 7 months

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#rings of power #trop #rop #rop fanfiction #behold my fic #soulmate identifying marks #ish

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multi-fandom-oneshots · 1 year

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What Souls Are Made Of (Bucky Barnes/Darcy Lewis Soulmate AU)

A/N: Not betta’d, not proof read.

Soulmate Identifying Marks: the first words your soulmate speaks to you are tattooed on your skin.

Darcy frequented coffee shops almost every day. She always ordered an iced coffee, no matter the weather. In the 100 degree New Mexico heat or in the middle of a New York blizzard, never did she order a hot coffee. The reason for this quirk of hers? She didn’t want to scald her soulmate when she inevitably spilt coffee on them. Her soulmark, black script under her left clavicle, written with a penmanship that Darcy was awed over were the words “It’s okay Sweetheart, I didn’t like this suit anyways.” She wasn’t one hundred percent sure that she’d meet her soulmate at a coffee shop, but that was the only logical explanation for how Darcy would ruin someone’s outfit, so she kept her fingers crossed and set aside an astronomical coffee allowance each month. When Darcy moved into the tower, Jane always teased her for bothering to walk the six blocks to the nearest coffee shop when Avengers Tower had it’s own coffee place only a few floors below them. She just always stuck out her tongue out at her best friend/boss on the way out the door.

Bucky didn’t have a soulmate back in the 40s. He was a blank, just like Steve, it was one of the reasons he and the punk bonded the way they did; they only had each other. Throughout his time as The Asset, he couldn’t remember ever realizing he had a mark. When your brain is being frozen and thawed over and over, memories turn into a haze of confusion. When he finally had come back to himself, falling from the Triskelion he filed it away for later, not wanting to think about the fact that he had a soulmate. Finally when his running was over, when he had obliterated every hidden Hydra base he had memory of, he found a safe house in the middle of nowhere and tried to put the pieces of his soul back together. His soulmark scared him, it rocked him to his core. Their placement wasn’t lost on him, words scrawled down his right forearm, his dominant hand, the hand he always shot with “You’re covered in blood”. He was terrified that somehow Hydra would find him, turn him back into their weapon, that the Soldier would meet his mate first, and he had no doubt of what the Soldier would do. Their inky black letters were the only reassurance Bucky had that he hadn’t already met them. That his soulmate was out there somewhere, alive and well. He prayed to a god he didn’t believe in, hoping he’d never meet them.

—

Bucky hated going to his therapy sessions, he hated having to go meet with a government appointed shrink who he knew was more worried about cataloging every detail about his time with Hydra than they were helping him heal. But it was a requirement of his freedom, that he meet with a shrink once a month, to prove he was making progress, that he was no longer the monster he once was. He scoffed sardonically at the thought, he knew better. He would always be the monster they made him, it was always lurking in the back of his mind, waiting. But he pretended, he put on the black suit in his closet, showed up and told them what they wanted to hear, that he was cured, no longer the weapon he had been, trying to believe the lies himself. This day was no different, he was leaving Dr. Adam’s office blocks away from the tower and trying to calm himself. He counted to 10, breathing in and out slowly, trying to make the anger boiling up in him subside. He was tired of jumping through hoops, putting on the stupid government monkey suit, sitting through an interrogation every month. He still wasn’t free, not really, he had just traded one handler for another, no matter how Dr. Adams had tried to spin it. His head was spinning, he had to get away from the crowds and the noise on the street. He ducked into an alley, one he often used it to cut through to Stark’s gaudy building, ripping off his suit jacket and loosening his tie. He couldn’t breathe, he was suffocating. He started muttering to himself, repeating the grounding words Sam had taught him over and over again like a mantra. Bucky finally came back to himself, not knowing how much time had passed. His panic attacks always felt like they went on forever but usually they only lasted for a few minutes. They became shorter the more he used the techniques Sam had been teaching him. He ran his flesh hand over his face, wiping away the sheen of sweat that had appeared. Taking a deep breath he grabbed his phone out of his back pocket, glancing at the time, 2:08, he was late. He and Steve had planned to meet in the gym at 2:00. Working out and talking things out with Steve always helped after his therapy sessions. He cursed unlocking his phone to shoot Steve a text letting him know he was okay just running behind, when he heard a scream.

——

Darcy knew a petite woman probably shouldn’t be cutting through alleys alone by themselves in New York City. It didn’t matter that it was the middle of the afternoon, nothing ever good happened in dark alleyways, even in downtown Manhattan. But she was running late, her favorite coffee place always closed at 2:30 for the afternoon, reopening around 5:00 pm for the after work crowd. She normally wouldn’t have cut it so close, but she and Jane had to catch a flight to New Mexico at 4:30, planning to observe a meteor shower in the middle of the desert, and she couldn’t miss it. According to Jane this shower only occurred once every 200 years, so she knew that if she was late Jane would kill her. Any sane person would just skip their coffee run, shrugging it off and go back tomorrow, but Darcy was not sane. What if today was the day she’d meet them? What if she didn’t go today and that was when fate had decided that it was time, and if she missed them what if she never got another chance? Meeting your soulmate was never a guarantee and Darcy was not taking any chances. So she prayed to Thor, shooting up a glance at the sky hoping Heimdall was watching and ducked into the alley.

Darcy wasn’t stupid, she kept her head on a swivel, she was halfway through the alley. It was long, cutting her commute by two blocks but she had never had any issues before so she hoped she wouldn’t today. She spotted the man sitting at the bottom of the fire escape before he saw her. He had a bottle of liquor in his hand, muttering to himself and then taking a deep swig from the bottle. She debated turning back, but something was nagging her to keep going. She stood up straighter, digging her hand into her messenger bag. She admonished herself when she realized in her haste leaving the lab that she had forgotten to make sure she had her taser. That would be the last time she let Stark tinker with her toys, her science bro hadn’t put it back in her bag like she had asked him to. But Darcy wouldn’t let herself panic, nothing had happened, she would just confidently walk past the man and be on her way. She suppressed her cringe when he noticed her walk by and catcalled her. She ignored him, head held high and increased her pace minutely.

“I was talking to you, bitch!” The man yelled, getting up from the fire escape.

Darcy knew she should’ve just kept walking, ignoring her indignation and keep her mouth shut, that would be the smart thing to do; but Darcy never considered herself smart.

She turned back, outraged at the audacity at this man. “And I was ignoring you, bitch!”

“The fuck you just say to me?” The man yelled walking towards her before bracing himself on the railing of the fire escape, clearly drunk.

“You heard me.” She said, turning and storming off, muttering about sexist repugnant assholes and their lack of respect. It was then when she was shoved from behind, slamming into the brick wall on her left. She let out a shout, she hadn’t heard the man come up behind her. She turned, laying a solid right hook into her assailant, she had been aiming for his jaw but she had underestimated how tall he was. The punch landed on his shoulder, making the man stagger back but it didn’t give her the advantage she needed.

She was shoved again hard against the brick, her head slamming back into the brick with a crack. The man was right on top of her, pressing her against the wall.

“You should watch your mouth Bitch. Wouldn’t want to piss off the wrong guy, never know what might happen. .” He sneered, pressing something cold into her abdomen, if she had to bet it was the end of a gun.

She wanted to scream, to panic, to blindly lash out at her attacker but a voice sounding strangely like a certain red headed Russian she knew told her to be calm, to take stock of her position, analyze what assets she had to her advantage. Her arms weren’t pinned to her sides but there wasn’t anything within arms reach. She knew she didn’t have the strength to fight him off outright, so she decided that running was her only option. If she could get in a good strike or two and then run, she should be able to escape and get help. She’d have to take him by surprise, but she could do it.

“You’re right.” She spoke softly, slowly raising her hands to her sides in surrender.

The man smiled “damn right, pretty girl like you shouldn’t talk like that, especially to a man.” He raised one hand to her face.

Darcy tried not to flinch away, focusing on how the movement exposed his face to her. Now was her chance. Natasha always told her that the eyes were a weakness, that when cornered she should use any weakness her attacker had to her advantage. So she struck, using her sharp nails to her advantage, gouging at her assailants eyes. He screamed, automatically reaching up to protect his eyes. The sudden movement made her vision swim, she definitely had a concussion. She shoved him then, trying to get him off of her enough so she could escape but his weight mixed with her incoordination from her head injury made it so he didn’t move very much. He pushed her against the wall again, and Darcy fought, panic finally taking over. She kicked out blindly, hoping to knock him off balance so she could escape.

She heard the gun go off before she registered the pain in her side. She slid down the wall, hands automatically going to where the bullet had lodge in her stomach. She watched her attacker run away, having enough energy to push the panic button hidden on her necklace as her vision grew black.

—

Bucky was running before he realized it, he was so focused on the man running out of the alley that he almost ran past her. She was slumped against the brick wall, one hand clutching her side, the other holding on a pendant around her neck. She seemed vaguely familiar but he was unsure where he had seen her before, if he actually knew her or if she was just a random face in the crowd. He shook his head, as if he could shake the feeling that he knew the woman bleeding in front of him. He knelt, laying her body flat, leaning over her to check for a pulse. She was breathing thankfully. He placed pressure on the wound with his metal hand and grabbed his phone out of his pocket with the other, dialing Steve and putting the phone up to his ear before applying pressure with the other hand.

“Buck you’re—.” Steve answered but Bucky cut him off.

“Track my location, I need medical, one civilian, gunshot wound to the lower left abdomen, I’m not far from the tower.

Steve was gone, the voice of the Captain replacing him “Okay Bucky, they’re on the way, I’m headed your way too, ETA 2 minutes.”

Bucky straightened his head where it had been cradling the phone, letting it fall to the ground. He didn’t know the woman bleeding underneath him, but he would save her, he needed to save her.

—

An extreme jolt of pain brought Darcy back to consciousness. She moaned and opened her eyes, squinting against the sunlight. There was a man above her, she panicked momentarily before she realized it wasn’t the same man that attacked her. He was on the phone, she heard him talking frantically, calling someone for help. She studied the man before her, the figure was blurry but she could make out some of his features. He was handsome, striking blue eyes and beautiful brown hair that was tied back into a man bun. She didn’t normally like longer hair on men but he pulled it off. His hair style was a contrast against his outfit, he was wearing black pants and a white button-down shirt. It was a shame he was covered in blood, why was he bleeding?

“You’re covered in blood.” Darcy spoke, raising a weak hand to poke the man on the chest. Another wave of pain radiated from her side and that’s when she looked down, noticing the man had both hands pressed to her side. She frowned then, she was bleeding, why was she bleeding? She ruined this man’s nice outfit. Tears sprang to her eyes then, she hadn’t meant to ruin his suit. A part of her knew that the last thing she should be worried about was this man’s clothes, she was literally bleeding to death, but the blood loss was getting to her and clearly making her brain a little insane.

“I ruined you outfit.” She said as she ran her hand down the mans front, as if she could wipe away the blood.

““It’s okay Sweetheart, I didn’t like this suit anyways.” The man replied in a soothing tone. She hummed and blinked hard, trying to fight off the darkness. He had a nice voice, she thought as the world around her started to fade. It was warm and she was so very cold.

—

Bucky was counting the seconds that went by since he talked to Steve. Two minutes, who knew 120 seconds could go by so slowly. At 51 seconds he pressed harder on the woman’s side, hoping he wasn’t pressing too hard but the blood was seeping past his palms. He heard the woman groan then, the excessive pressure and pain rousing her from her unconscious state. She was frowning up at him, a confused look painted on her face. She licked her lips and Bucky tried not to notice how nice her lips were, or that they were painted the same color of the warm liquid leaking between his fingers. His eyes were torn away from her face and to his chest where her small hand nudged his chest.

“You’re covered in blood” she spoke, the words sounding as if she was confused as to why that was.

Bucky inhaled sharply, her words setting off alarm bells in his mind. This injured woman bleeding out beneath him was his soulmate. She was his, and she was dying. He leaned on his army training to keep his fear at bay. His panic would not help either one of them, and he would help her, she would not die today, he wouldn’t allow it. He was roused from his thoughts as her her hand traveled the length of his chest.

“I ruined your outfit.”

She was crying, tears silently falling from the biggest blue eyes Bucky had ever seen. She was scared, he could see it in those aegean eyes. She was scared and yet here she was worried about how her blood had ruined his suit.

“It’s okay Sweetheart, I didn’t like this suit anyways.” he spoke in what he hoped was a soothing voice. He wanted to ease her worries, if she only knew how much he hated this suit. He hated it even more now that it was covered in his soulmates blood. She smiled up at him as her eyes began to close again.

“Come on doll, you gotta stay awake okay? Help is coming.” Bucky urged her. He wanted to pat her face, to rouse her but he could’t remove his hands from the oozing wound. How many seconds had It been? Surely it had been two minutes. The panic was setting in, this wasn’t what Bucky had planned, this wasn’t how their meeting was supposed to go.

“Please, please doll, just stay with me. Stay with me, please, please.” That’s how Steve found him, begging his soulmate to stay with him. Bucky didn’t even realize help had arrived until he was being shoved aside by Stark’s medics. Steve had to forcibly drag him from his soulmates side.

“Buck, they got her. They’re helping her, she’s gonna be okay Bucky.” His best friend was in front of him now, grasping his shoulders shaking him. “You okay Buck?” Steve questioned, concern lacing his voice.

“It’s her Steve. It’s her and she lost so much blood and I couldn’t—” Bucky choked on the words “—I couldn’t stop the bleeding. She wasn’t supposed to be the one bleeding. It wasn’t supposed to be hers.” It was then that Bucky felt the tears, tracks of wetness falling down his cheeks. He went to wipe them away but stopped short, catching the sight of his soulmates blood on his hands.

The sound of Iron Man’s repulsors drew both he and Steve’s attention. “Where is Darcy? She activated her panic button.” Stark questioned anxiously.

“Who?” Steve questioned as Bucky pointed towards the medical team.

“Darcy!” Tony rushed over to the woman surrounded by medics. “I have a medical team ready back at the tower, she stable enough to be moved?” Stark asked worriedly

“Times not on her side, sir. We were able to temporarily cauterize the bleed but it’s not a permanent fix, any jostle and the bleeding will start back up. She’s lost a lot of blood.”

“FRIDAY notify medical, we’re gonna need an OR right now. I’m bringing Darcy in through the the Penthouse.You guys get her ready to move, I’m taking her back, quickest way to get her to medical.” Tony demanded turning back to face Bucky and Steve.

“Did you do this? Did you lose control? If you hurt her, I’ll kill you.” Tony pointed accusingly towards Bucky his voice laced with malice.

Steve opened his mouth to object at Stark’s accusations but Bucky spoke up first. Unsurprisingly Stark had suspected he was behind the bloodshed. He knew what it looked like and he knew what Tony thought of him. “I was at the opposite end of the alley, heard her scream, came running. The person who attacked her ran, couldn’t chase after him and keep her from bleeding out. Don’t know what he looked like. Tell the doctor’s she’s got a head injury, she wasn’t making much sense when she was awake.”

Stark nodded once in comprehension, not even apologizing for his assumptions before he turned, bundled the brunette in his arms and took off.

“Steve, please, I gotta…” Bucky’s voice trailed off, turning back towards the tower.

“I know Buck, go. I’ll meet you in medical once we’re done here.”

Bucky took off running, sprinting as fast as he could, his thoughts racing faster than his feet. Darcy…his soulmates name is Darcy. His soulmate was Darcy and she would live. She must live.

#james bucky barnes #Bucky Barnes #darcy lewis x bucky barnes #bucky barnes x darcy lewis #avengers fanfiction #the avengers #marvel soulmate au #soulmate au #soulmate identifying marks #tony stark #Iron Man #captain america #Steve Rogers #Winter Soldier #angst #angst with a hopeful ending #avengers soulmate au

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chenziee · 11 months

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Drastic measures

@lawluevents - Day 7: Free day @onepiece-bingo: Fake/Pretend relationship (+ free space because free day so it checks out okay)

Alternate summary: long time no outsider POV

[ Read on AO3 | series ]

—————

When Yamato took a step off of Onigashima’s soil for the first time in twenty years, his heart was beating a mile per second. He was just so excited! Excited for adventure, friendship, and seeing the world. He didn’t even care about the disdain the people of Wano might treat him with considering his lineage—after all, he had Oden’s spirit within him, as well as the help from Luffy and his crew, Momonosuke and the Akazaya samurai, Hiyori, Tama, and all the samurai from the allied forces. People who knew him and accepted him.

He had all this support and connections already, he was prepared for the threats, fearful eyes, and distrustful body language. That was all within expectation and nothing Yamato couldn’t deal with.

What he wasn’t prepared for, however, was the heart-eyes, awkward propositions, and weird stares.

To be perfectly honest, he didn’t notice any of it himself at first but once Robin teased him about all his apparent ‘suitors’, it became impossible not to recognise the strange vibes his observation haki was sending him. And soon, it became pretty damn annoying.

At first, Yamato tried to ignore it, then he tried turning people down, he even tried running away! But unfortunately, his height made it impossible to hide even in the crowds of the celebratory, post-battle festival.

Drastic measures had to be taken.

“Someone, please, pretend to be my boyfriend or girlfriend!!” Yamato begged, going so far as to bow to the group of pirates he now called his friends.

A beat of silence passed, only interrupted by Luffy slurping up his soba noodles.

“Sure why not?” Nami agreed then and a wide, happy smile pulled on Yamato’s face as he looked up—only to freeze at the cold, calculating stare Nami was giving him. “I charge by the hour. I do accept payment in treasure but you are the one paying the exchange fee.”

“Stop that!” Usopp snapped, slapping Nami’s shoulder lightly… only to get hit right back.

Yamato made a mental note to never ask Nami for any favours unless he had substantial monetary back up. It didn’t seem like she offered a friends-and-family discounts…

“Sorry, Yamato,” Sanji said, not even looking up from where he was chopping up vegetables inside his Special Soba stall. “I’d do it but my hands are full.”

“You just want to fawn over the girls that flock around here. Seconds.” Zoro snorted before he held out his empty soba bowl expectantly.

“What did you say, Marimo?!” Sanji snapped, baring his teeth—yet he still grabbed Zoro’s bowl immediately, refilling it up carefully.

Giving up on that front as the two continued to bicker, Yamato’s eyes turned pleadingly to the remaining two of the group. However, before he could so much as open his mouth, Trafalgar Law interrupted him.

“You couldn’t pay me enough,” he declared flatly; asshole looked Yamato dead in the eyes when he said it too.

“Torao, are you gonna finish that?” Luffy asked, leaning over Law’s shoulder with a hungry look in his eyes as he stared at the bowl in Law’s lap, to which Law wordlessly handed his soba over with something of a small smile on his lips.

Yamato clicked his tongue, an unhappy frown making its way to his face. Why did none of these people even bother thinking about it for a second? Hell, half of them didn’t even seem like they heard him begging. But he was desperate here! Maybe he should go ask Robin—no wait, she was on a date with Franky. Jinbe? He would probably feel like he was being put on the spot…

It wasn’t like he could go ask Hiyori when she was performing either!

Argh, where was Kiku when you needed her?! He was sure she would agree to help him…

With a sigh, Yamato threw his hands up in the air before he turned around, ready to leave and beg someone else—or come up with another plan. It couldn’t be so hard to pretend he’s a child or something right?

“Yamao! Wait, I’m coming with you!”

Yamato perked up at Luffy’s call, a gasp escaping him as a wide smile spread on his lips and he whipped his head around, looking at Luffy with hope.

“Just give me a second!” Luffy added, quickly raising Law’s bowl to his lips and gulping down what broth remained inside before handing it back to its owner with a bright grin and thanks.

Law only rolled his eyes but Yamato couldn’t help but notice the small smile was still there when he responded with a simple, “Yeah, yeah.”.

Somehow… Yamato felt like that was an expression that he had only ever seen Law wear when looking at Luffy. But what did he know? Maybe it was just a coincidence—after all, Yamato barely knew the man; he spent way more time with the Straw Hats and the Kozuki clan while waiting for Luffy and Zoro to wake up than any of the other pirates.

Deciding not to dwell on it, Yamato simply grinned when Luffy jumped up from his chair, taking off before Luffy could get ahead.

“Let’s go!!”

—————

Yamato didn’t remember the last time he had this much fun. Honestly… probably never.

He had amazing fun with Ace four years ago, but drinking and sharing stories by a bonfire was a much different kind of fun to watching Luffy break three fish scoops in a row before giving up and trying to grab the fish with his bare hands. Which didn’t even work, by the way, not to mention the both of them got a life-time ban on goldfish scooping for ‘traumatising the goldfish’, whatever that meant.

Yamato didn’t remember the last time he ate this much food either; after years and years and years of surviving on leftovers and stolen scraps, it was almost overwhelming having this much of a choice! But with Luffy next to him, well… he didn’t have time to think about that. Not unless he wanted there to be nothing left for him.

“What’s up with your body?!” Yamato asked with a laugh, watching Luffy’s giant stomach deflate at an unbelievable pace as his body digested the insane amount of food he had eaten in the past hour.

The two of them were taking a break on the sidelines along with Chopper, whom they met twenty minutes before at the cotton candy stand. The festival was still going strong, laughter and music present in all corners of the Flower Capital while people celebrated—celebrated the freedom that came with the fall of Orochi’s long rule, celebrated the first dawn in twenty years.

Yamato understood; he shared their feelings, their happiness, relief, and excitement.

He almost felt like he was bursting with it. And with the food in his stomach.

“Why does everyone always say that? Everyone eats and then digests,” Luffy said with a pout. “Torao even said he’ll experiment on me one of these days!”

“Your metabolism is not normal, Luffy! I told you this! Multiple times!” Chopper snapped, before he sighed, his head dropping back to the ground where it was before. “Ah, I can’t even get mad. I’m so full.”

Easy laughter bubbled out of Yamato’s chest. “I love you guys!” Yamato announced, earning himself two blank, perfectly confused looks.

“Eh?” Chopper barely let out.

“Yeah, what brought that on?” Luffy asked with a frown on his face.

Yamato grinned at them, shaking his head. “Nothing, I just wanted to say it. I’ve been having so much fun. Thanks.”

“You—you saying that won’t make me happy!” Chopped cried, waving his hands in front of himself awkwardly as if he could physically push Yamato’s words away.

Luffy, on the other hand, only laughed back. “No problem. Man, I didn’t know dates were so much fun! I need to take Torao on one.”

Yamato blinked. “Wait what?”

Now it was Luffy’s turn to blink. He turned his head to the side, staring up at Yamato with those big, innocent eyes that clearly said that he had absolutely no clue what the fuck Yamato was confused about. “Huh?” he only hummed questioningly.

“Luffy, are you dating Trafalgar Law?!” Yamato asked accusingly.

“Well yeah!” Luffy snorted, soon laughing outright and Yamato wasn’t sure whether he was laughing at him for not realising, or if he was laughing just because he was happy. “He is my soulmate, you know.”

“He’s your what?!”

Tilting their heads to the side, Luffy and Chopper exchanged a glance before they simultaneously looked back at Yamato. “You didn’t know?” they asked at the same time.

“No! I—” Yamato started talking but then he stopped.

Suddenly, he remembered the strange, soft look of Law’s that seemed to only be reserved for Luffy. He remembered the way Luffy would wordlessly steal all Law’s bread off his plate without the other pirate even blinking or protesting. He remembered the way Law let Luffy hang onto him or do things that only his bear seemed to be able to get away with.

And he remembered the two of them shared a room in the Shogun’s castle during their stay.

…no, Yamato wasn’t suddenly feeling incredibly slow and stupid. Nope. Not at all.

Never.

“Wait, you agreed to go on a date with me while your soulmate was right there?!” Yamato cried in alarm, looking around in panic as if a jealous lover might appear right behind him with sword unsheathed and ready to take his head like some vengeful spirit.

Luffy, however, only laughed. “Eh, if Torao minded, he would have said so.”

Yamato wasn’t convinced… but he decided that was a problem for later.

Now, Luffy was already getting to his feet, offering Yamato a hand to help him stand up as well, and a grin spread on Yamato’s lips.

What festival game would they get banned from next?

He couldn’t wait to find out.

—————

“Torao, you sure you’re okay with this?” Usopp asked uncertainly, watching as the two menaces ran past them with Chopper in tow, all three of them laughing like idiots while they ran away from some poor stall owner who was shouting profanities at them.

Usopp wasn’t sure he wanted to know what that was about.

“Why wouldn’t I be?” Torao asked back, raising an eyebrow.

“Because,” Usopp said slowly, gesturing vaguely with his hands, “your soulmate agreed to be someone else’s boyfriend.”

If at all possible, Law’s eyebrows shot up even higher. He stared at Usopp blankly for so long that Usopp was starting to feel kind of uncomfortable until he finally turned away, only to then stare pointedly at where Luffy and Yamato were now physically fighting over the last candied apple at the next stall—the very apple that Chopper happily got for himself while the two of them were busy literally biting each other.

“Is that really something I should be worried about?” There was something between disgust, resignation, and amusement in his voice as he said that and Usopp honestly couldn’t say anything to antagonise him.

Because Torao was right; that was the least date-like date that he ever had the misfortune to witness.

But, if nothing else, Usopp was sure it worked for the purpose Yamato had intended at least; it definitely didn’t convince anyone that he was taken, but it was sure as hell working on making even Usopp not want to come anywhere close to where Straw Hat Luffy and Son of Kaido were hard at work at destroying public and private property alike.

If this was what sailing with Yamato was going to be like…

Usopp really worried for the Sunny’s safety.

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