now kiss

[misheard]

The Soulmate? Jamjar?? Meme

So whatever you were doing - sleeping, eating, dying - you've been whisked away to a strange place. Well, no, actually it's a pretty cozy-looking apartment, it has an entire fridge and everything - but it definitely is not where you were. You should not have woken up in this apartment's only bed, along with somebody you've never seen before.

After you stop having hilarious misunderstandings with your bedmate, you may make your way outside only to find: it's pretty nice out here? Very 21st century suburbia. Some of the buildings seem a little out of place, like someone requested a jousting arena and a virtual reality room and the Angel did their best to fit them in-

Wait, back up a second.

The giant angel flying by (white wings, halo, radiance, the works), upon seeing you gawking, will happily inform you that this is your new home, and they brought you here because your soulmate was tragically born in another world. But now you're here together, living peacefully with nothing to stop your love from blossoming!

And no, they won't send you back. You'll be much happier here once you get used to it. Living side by side with your soulmate and being encouraged to get to know them, or get to know them, what else do you need?

Options, because we like options:
1. Soulmates are a known thing. Apply all the soulmate tropes you wish - not seeing color until you meet your soulmate, having your soulmate's name written on your body, etc. You can tell that at least the Angel's claims about this person being your soulmate are true. It doesn't necessarily make things less awkward.

2. Soulmates, what hogwash! Soulmates aren't a thing that everyone knows about and everyone has where you're from. You might believe in them, but you also believed in Santa when you were younger. Or you might think this whole thing is stupid, and your growing attachment to your 'soulmate' is just a coincidence.

(Post with character name/canon name/shipping preference. Due to the nature of this meme, cross-canon CR is encouraged and almost essential unless you have some alternate universe shenanigans in your canon.)

Comments

[ghostfromthemachine]

...

Right, I think I'm making dessert tonight too.

[ it's time to fEED SUGA NICE THINGS ]

[gemuinemanagement]

Isn't that too much

[Says the man who just made her a necklace with real jewels.]

[ghostfromthemachine]

[ straightening up ]

Making sure you have nice things to enjoy isn't "too much."

[gemuinemanagement]

[Hard to argue in the face of that sincerity. His face flushes.]

Thank you

[ghostfromthemachine]

[ she reaches up to catch at his sleeve again, seemingly for no other reason than just to hold onto it (him) for a few moments before she starts to get up. ]

I'm a big believer in enjoying life through self-indulgence, if you haven't noticed. I am going to get that philosophy all over you.

[ ...goodness. she's actually kind of upset, isn't she. not a lot and not at all with him, but.

hmm. that's definitely something to chew on. ]

[gemuinemanagement]

[Why is she upset if she's not upset with him?? Weird.

Maybe he should make her more things to cheer her up...? Matching earrings would be good if her ears are pierced.]

I'll do my best

[He is only half talking about the self-indulgence thing.]

[ghostfromthemachine]

[ she looks more thoughtful than upset now, anyway, and neither was all that obvious without reading in between the lines of genuine fondness to begin with.

...unfortunately, no pierced ears here. his necklace is the first piece of any type of jewelry she's worn, really. ]

That's the spirit~ Pun fully intended.

[gemuinemanagement]

[There's still bracelets and rings - wait, no, rings would be awkward. Don't give your soulmate rings when you're still feeling each other out a little. Bracelets and pendants will do.]

Thank you for the meal

[ghostfromthemachine]

[ she's going to end up feeling like one of those foreign gods that are always depicted decked out in bling, huh. ]

You're welcome~. Though you really should be thanking me after.

[ speaking of. time to go ransack the kitchen and put together a plan of attack! ]

[gemuinemanagement]

[It's What She Deserves

timeskip??]

[ghostfromthemachine]

[ timeskip!!

not long after that, she starts getting... not handsy, exactly; even if they're soulmates and sort of doing activities that are date-shaped, they're not really in romantic territory yet. but— she'd gotten used to touch, and being touched, and having at least one person who would put up with her actually climbing on them when the touch starvation really flared up, and—

Suga's shyness is cute, now that she's realized that's what it is, and she doesn't want to push him too hard, but also: she's maybe dying a little bit. so she starts gently crowding into his personal space more often— casually bumping up against him when she goes past him like a cat, tugging him into her space when she's trying to show him how to cook, idly catching the hem of his shirt or sleeves when it won't get in his way.

separate from that, though, is the narrow-eyed thoughtful looks she starts giving him when she thinks he's not looking. that is not intended to be a long-term siege, however; it's only a day or so before she gives up trying to puzzle things out herself as a lost cause and just asks him. ]

...mnn. ...I'm sorry if this is prying, and by all means tell me if it isn't something you want to talk about, but. ... I can tell you're cursed?

[gemuinemanagement]

[It's a lot, to get used to frequent touch when he's lived on his own for so long and hadn't exactly been touchy with his few visitors. (The only people who really came to see him were Sakuma, who is a middle schooler, and Mochizuki, who is a cop.) But it's also nice, even if it does make him fluster a little each time.

He's not expecting the question, but neither is it something he's reluctant to answer: he nods.]

I don't mind talking about it
But I've never had to explain it before
So I'm not sure where to start

[ghostfromthemachine]

[ she sighs out a breath, relaxing— good, bringing it up didn't poke anything painful. where to start, though... what does she want to know most? ]

... if you don't mind maybe going out of order... why it was given to you, maybe? It doesn't feel—

[ —ugh, what if she didn't start talking about the the finer points of earning curses to the person carrying one. wrinkling her nose up. ]

[gemuinemanagement]

I made a promise
To get a spirit to spare my friend's life
At least for long enough that they could get away

She didn't want my body because of the glowstone smell
My voice was the only thing she wanted to take

[If he were speaking, his voice would be shaking.]

[ghostfromthemachine]

"Fair trade," was it...

[ it comes out muttered and bitter, and she follows it a quietly unhappy near-growl in the back of her throat before she shifts to do one of her boneless leans right up against his side. ]

...Her loss, thankfully. ... Was anything actually done to make her want your friend, or was it just—

Was it just a case of the wrong place at the wrong time?

[gemuinemanagement]

Shii-chan made a promise first to protect me
She wouldn’t have been in danger if I hadn’t gone into the forest
It’s my fault

[ghostfromthemachine]

... I don't know about that. I— what I was going to say earlier was that the curse felt... "fair," for lack of a better way to put it. But not "deserved."

Suga.

[ no honorific. at some point she must have slid too close to that empty headspace where she feels more like a set of scales than a person; it even feels vaguely wrong that she isn't using his full name. ...he still smells the same, though, so at least there's that, but she still has to pause to try to reel herself back in. ]

Why did you go into the forest?

[gemuinemanagement]

[He hesitates a minute, not quite able to look at her. ]

I was a child
The other children used to tell me that my mother must be living in the forest, since I had none
When my father died and I was alone, I went looking for my mother

[ghostfromthemachine]

—ah.

[ it sound a little like she'd gotten punched in the gut. ...it feels a lot like she'd gotten punched in the gut. she hesitates herself, then tugs on his sleeve awkwardly. ]

Can I—

[ holding her arms up. are hugs allowed? please let her apply hugs. ]

[gemuinemanagement]

[Why does she want to hug him, when he just admitted to nearly getting his best friend killed for such a stupid reason?

But he's not a good enough person to refuse the comfort that's offered. Hesitantly, he wraps his arms around her and holds her tight.]

[ghostfromthemachine]

[ she returns the embrace, echoing the way he's holding her, and—

that was a mistake. that was a mistake— she shoves down both the memory that threatens to surface and the starving impulse to keep going, get closer ruthlessly. not right now. not. right. now. ]

Sometimes something can be a consequence of your actions without— without being something you need to blame yourself for. Sometimes things just... go wrong, and... you can look back and say "I never should have done that," but in that moment there was nothing else it would have been realistic, or— or fair to expect from yourself.

[ there's so much more she could say, wants to say. but half of it comes from projecting and all of it comes from a sort of panicked desperation to force her way in between him and anything resembling how she used to feel, so she shoves that all down too. instead, she just says, raspy and fierce: ]

There is nothing wrong with a child wanting their mother.

[gemuinemanagement]

[No one's told him that before. That even though it was because he went into the forest that day, he didn't need to take the blame on himself.

Silent tears start to flow, soaking her shoulder. He can't answer while he's holding her, so all he does is tremble and cry and cling just a little tighter.]

[ghostfromthemachine]

[ his crying is as silent as anything else, but pressed up against him she can feel the hitching in his breathing before the dampness on her shoulder. she puffs out a shaky breath of her own; forces herself to loosen her grip with one arm so she can reach up to cup the back of his head.

hugs will continue until morale approves, or at least until he's ready to let go. ]

[gemuinemanagement]

[It takes a while. He's cried before, but ever since Shiori left, he's mostly had to cry on his own. Her grandfather was never the touchy kind, though he cared in his own way.

It's different, crying into the arms of someone else. Someone who understands.

After a minute, he pulls back enough to wipe his face.]

[ghostfromthemachine]

[ she sniffles, and reclaims her arm to take the opportunity to do the same. her waterworks were less impressive, but her face is still wet. ]

...Sorry. I'm glad I could say something you maybe needed to hear, but... it really wasn't my intention to bring up something that hurt you.