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

[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.

[gemuinemanagement]

[His handwriting is still a little shaky when he answers.]

It's okay
I would be curious too

[ghostfromthemachine]

[ shifting around to his right side so he's got room to write, though she stays close ]

...I was actually... um.

Not that I didn't want to know the circumstances, or about you in general, but I also... I wanted—still want—to be patient, I guess. So I mostly just wanted to see if it was something I could safely break.

[gemuinemanagement]

[Break it?

That is a thought that has never even occurred to Suga, and he has to take a minute to puzzle it over.]

I think
Shiori's far away now and should be safe
So I don't think she would be in danger if it was broken

[He would have a very pissed off Kotori Obake, but that's different.]

[ghostfromthemachine]

...Maybe. But. You accepted the trade, so going back on it... that can backfire. Badly. And depending on what kind of spirit she is, what rules she goes by... sometimes even spirits normally bound to one place can leave if the conditions are right.

[ case in point: herself, even before she'd gotten the hang of going where she wanted under her own power. she fusses with the scar on her wrist, frowning. ]

That, and... I don't know if it would be the right thing to do by the spirit herself. Which— I really wish I could disregard that, seeing as what she did wasn't right to you, but... it would be a bad idea.

If I could meet... either of them, actually, the spirit or your friend, that would be enough for me to feel safe in breaking it. But since I can't... mm. I'm going to have to think about it. There might be another way to handle it, but brute forcing it's risky.

[gemuinemanagement]

[Ah. Of course he shouldn't have gotten his hopes up.]

I'm used to it
It's okay

[ghostfromthemachine]

[ she reaches up to pat his cheek. ]

Even so, I'm not going to just give up on the idea. Being stubborn as Hell—

[ she grins, crooked but sharp ]

More stubborn, actually— is what I'm best at. You're my friend, at least, and... mine, no matter how you look at it. If you don't want me to do anything, I won't, but otherwise I'm selfish and prideful enough not to want to share parts of you with another spook.

[gemuinemanagement]

[Processing... hang on...

A statement of commitment??

aaaaa. Give him a second.]

[ghostfromthemachine]

[ ...she looks away and pats his shoulder, this time, trying to ignore the heat in her own cheeks. it's objectively true! they're soulmates! admitting it shouldn't be embarrassing except for the part where she kind of sounded like some sort of possessive manga protagonist, why is she like this. this is the price she pays for wanting to sound cool... ]

[gemuinemanagement]

[He's fine. This isn't embarrassing at all, he can deal with this.]

That would be nice
Is there any way I can repay you

[ghostfromthemachine]

...just hearing your voice would be enough.

[ a beat ]

And keep working on your cooking.

[gemuinemanagement]

I almost didn't burn it last time

[ghostfromthemachine]

Progress is progress~. Though— that was serious as much as it was teasing, I should say. Chances are anything I do will leave me needing to stuff my face, so there's your incentive to work extra hard.

[gemuinemanagement]

You're the only person I'd want to cook for anyway

[Yes, it's nice if the food he makes for himself tastes better, but he's used to living off of things even he can't mess up. Doing something nice for Kaiko is different.]

[ghostfromthemachine]

[ sdhgsdg welp, the blush is back. ]

Ah... that's. Um. I guess maybe not extra incentive, then.

[ ...that knocks a thought loose, though. most of the things she used to make for other people (and thus the things she's been trying to teach him) were— well, meals. lots of traditional cooking, lots of things that required having a feel for timing and what something should look or smell like when done right.

but if you consider what she'd make for herself... ]

... actually, in that case. Have you ever tried baking?

[gemuinemanagement]

[He shakes his head. He heard it was harder than cooking, so he didn't even attempt.]

[ghostfromthemachine]

[ brightening. she's a genius! she's a genius who is going to have CAKE ]

We're fixing that. Baking is actually a lot easier than cooking, so long as you've got a recipe and are careful about following it— there's less guesswork involved.

[gemuinemanagement]

I'll do my best

[But if he doesn't have to guess, then that should be something even he can do...!]