Chapter Text

00:19:21:56

Manjiro Sano didn’t believe in soulmates. He ideally wanted to choose who he interacted with, rather than the universe deciding for him. 

He’d watched plenty of people meet their soulmate and fall in love, but he didn’t understand- the idea of soulmates felt suffocating. It felt complacent to talk to someone just because of a mark on your body. That’s why he hid his mark, hid the fact he even had a soulmate from most people. For all they knew his timer had already run out. 

“The people here are fucking weird,” Izana came back from taking an order, sulking. He was just like that; someone could say he looked nice and Izana would come back cussing about how stupid they were. Mikey sort of just let him be. They were brothers, but he hoped the way he acted wasn’t at all similar to that. 

Mikey wanted to be as positive as possible. He hated feeling weak, so he hid those emotions as much as he could behind a fake customer service smile. The only people who’d seen him without a mask on were Emma and Draken- Senju and Izana probably had too at some point, but he still wasn’t 100% comfortable with them. In all honesty, he wasn’t really 100% comfortable with anyone.

“Why would you say that?” Mikey asked. 

“The guy with the scar over there- he looked really off when I went to take their order,” Izana told him. Obviously it threw him off more than he’d like to admit because Izana never talked about his feelings, he normally just told people to ‘ shut the fuck up’ and an amalgamation of other cuss words. 

Mikey peeked over to the booth where he had been, but the first thing he saw was the smile of a guy with dark hair and bright blue eyes. 

00:19:20:52

“Takemichi!” The teacher was obnoxiously loud. Mikey hadn’t been paying much attention until the teacher's words jolted him awake. He was surprised he wasn’t the one being called on. He just put his feet up and listened. “What do you think of entanglement?” 

“I think it’s romantic I guess,” The guy said. “The idea of two things being linked like that-” The words left a horrible taste in Mikey’s mouth. Romantic? How romantic is someone the universe forces you to be with? 

“You don’t think it's suffocating?” Mikey cut in, unable to hold himself back. He made sure to be vague, since they were supposed to be talking about atoms. “The idea that you’re attached to someone- or in this case something. You’re stuck to it .” 

“Why would that be suffocating?” The person he couldn’t see and didn’t particularly want to face at that moment spoke again. It irritated Mikey to no end.

“It’s not your choice. You don’t get to pick who or what you're stuck to and you can’t know how much of the things you feel are real,” Mikey scoffed, “That’s not romantic.” 

“Manjiro,” The teacher scolded him, “We’re talking about atoms, not soulmates.” 

“I was talking about atoms,” Mikey corrected. He’d definitely made it vague enough that he could pretend to say it was all about atoms. “Atoms can totally feel romantic things, right Takemitchy? ” Mikey decided to tease him with the way he said his name. 

“Takemitchy?” The guy- Takemitchy questioned. 

The professor sighed heavily and closed his book, “ Class is over .” Mikey jolted up and left when the teacher said ‘over’ . No one had to tell him twice. 

00:19:03:25

“It’s that guy!” Mikey overheard as he was sitting down at the common area on campus. The voice sounded familiar, but Mikey decided to disregard it for now. 

Draken sat near him, “ Yo .” 

“Yo,” Mikey responded, looking back over to the place he’d heard the familiar voice. It took him a second to recognize the guy from the cafe the other day. 

Wherever Draken was Emma was not far behind, “Mikey!” She looked over to where he was looking at, “What are you looking at?” 

“That guy who just walked into a door,” Mikey replied, leaving out the fact he thought said guy was adorable. 

“He’s cute,” Emma replied, looking over and then back to Mikey. “You should ask him out.”

“I doubt we’d work out,” Mikey wasn’t one to ask people out, or go on a date in general. He wasn’t a fan of showing his emotions. Plus, for all he knew, the guy could have a significant other.

“You never know until you try, right?” Emma reminded him with a grin. Draken nodded in agreement. For as long as Mikey knew they had this dynamic- Draken was quieter unless he had something important to say, but he had an overall intimidating vibe. On the other hand, Emma was more vocal, but she looked like the type who couldn’t hurt a fly. It was an inaccurate assumption, since Emma would go crazy to protect who she cared about, she just hides it better.

It was obvious to him why they were soulmates. As gross as soulmates are, he was happy they worked out well. 

00:19:02:03

“Can you serve that table?” Izana asked. Izana seemed to want to ignore the table all together. Mikey was fine with it though, if it meant he could serve the table with the cute guy. As he walked up to the table he heard a familiar name. 

“ What are you having Takemichi? ” The guy Izana seemed to be ignoring asked. The cute brunette responded. So his name was Takemichi- like the Takemitchy he argued with in physics class? Mikey didn’t know how to feel about the situation and didn’t have enough time to comb through those emotions before he got to the table. 

“Hi, may I take your order?” Mikey asked. When he saw the absolutely flabbergasted look on the brunette’s face, he added, “What can I get for you Takemitchy ?” 

“You two know each other?” One of Takemitchy’s friends asked, but Mikey was too honed in on the brunette to answer. 

“A knuckle sandwich- just knock me out.” The way Takemitchy said it almost made Mikey laugh, but he’d trained himself not to show many emotions. Especially when it came to customer service. 

 “We don’t serve those here,” Mikey continued smiling, even though Takemitchy looked like he wanted to drown himself in the bathroom sink. 

“What’s going on?” The guy Izana was avoiding asked. Mikey would let Takemitchy explain it. It wasn’t his job. 

“I’ll just get you some water,” Mikey said before walking away. While he was pouring the cup of water he heard something about ‘ enemies to lovers’ and ‘bad boy with a heart of gold’ . Was the bad boy supposed to be him? It made him giggle.  

Takemitchy was very bright- though when they talked he gave off the aura of a dead man. It was interesting to see how Takemitchy’s whole friend group buzzed around him. He looked like the type who attracted others- that included Mikey.  

Mikey wanted to make an impression, so of course when he put a water down in front of Takemitchy he said, “Since you look thirsty.” 

“Thanks Manjiro.” The words made his heart do a little flip. To be fair not many people called him by his actual name. There were teachers, legal documents- those things used it, but someone he actually thought was cute saying his name? It was embarrassing just how flushed he got from it. 

Mikey turned his head away, pulling his notepad out to hide his face behind it, “You- you’re welcome.” 

00:18:21:27

“Let’s be friends!” Mikey suggested. He liked this person, they seemed interesting. He wasn’t sure Takemitchy would want to be friends- especially after their soulmate argument, but it was worth a try. He held out his hand as a show of comradery. 

“Okay,” Takemitchy took his hand and shook it. Takemitchy’s eyes were full of confusion. He seemed reluctant to talk to Mikey, but Mikey would keep trying. He wanted to know why Takemitchy liked soulmates, why he felt it was so romantic. 

00:17:20:27

Mikey didn’t expect the hurricane that was Takemichi Hanagaki. Takemichi Hanagaki made him question things, made him explain things. Unlike most people who believed in soulmates he was willing to learn about the other side. 

When he and Takemitchy talked that day, Mikey took a leap, “Call me Mikey.” 

Would he regret telling him his nickname and trying to befriend him? While it may end badly, Mikey felt confident he wouldn’t regret befriending Takemichi Hanagaki. 

00:17:15:21

Draken got back to the apartment later than Mikey for the first time in a while. Mikey had been waiting to talk to him for about an hour and instantly went to question him as he opened the door, “Hey I have a question…”

“Yes?” Draken responded, “What is it?”

“I know vaguely how you and Emma met,” Mikey said, “But how did it feel?”

“Huh?” Draken questioned what he’d said, “Is this because of that dark haired guy-” 

Mikey didn’t want to answer that, so he was quiet. 

Draken sighed at the silence, but went to tell him the story anyway. “When we met,” Draken began to explain, “I think you were actually there, but you were doing something else… I’d come over to ride our bikes, I saw her look over with a blush on her face and I was a goner. I didn’t understand it at the time- the feelings I felt, but eventually she confronted me and we talked it over.” Draken sighed, “Emotions are tough, but you and that guy will be fine.” 

“His name's Takemitch- Takemichi Hanagaki,” Mikey caught himself as he went to use Takemitchy’s nickname.  

00:17:03:37

Mikey was working his normal shift when he saw Takemitchy and his friend walk in. Izana went to serve them and Mikey tried desperately not to be jealous, but there was a bit of envy. He wasn’t sure whether he felt that way about the person sitting across from Takemitchy or his brother serving them when he normally did. 

“You look like you’re about to kill someone,” Izana mumbled. 

Mikey clicked his tongue before turning back to a customer, “How may I help you today sir?” 

The guy gave a horribly long order and it made Mikey want to commit homicide, but he smiled and told the order to the people in the kitchen. 

When the restaurant calmed down Izana said, “I think- Well, I know I met my soulmate. I’m not sure what to do about it.”

“Run?” Mikey commented offhandedly as he was doing the books for the day. It was annoyingly difficult, but Mikey was better at math than anyone else here.

“I didn’t ask for your shitty advice,” Izana snapped lightly. “I think he’s a good person and we interact well, but the concept of soulmates just makes it feel fake.”

Mikey looked over, “Then don’t worry about being soulmates. If you enjoy his company, talk to him. It's as simple as that.” Mikey said this but he wasn’t sure if he’d ever be able to take his own advice.

“I said I didn’t want your shit advice,” Izana snapped back, though somehow he seemed calmer than before. 

00:16:19:23 

Takemitchy and him were walking around campus after class when it hit him. He didn’t even have Takemitchy’s number yet. Without thinking he blurted, “What’s your number?” 

Takemitchy blinked a few times before holding out his phone, “Here, let’s exchange numbers.” 

Mikey smiled and handed his phone over. Before Takemitchy seemed to process it, Mikey pulled up the camera app on his phone and took a selfie of them for his contact. “Okay!” 

“Mikey!” Takemitchy whined, “I wasn’t paying attention, I probably look bad.”

“You could never look bad,” Mikey cooed, not even realizing how flirty he sounded. 

“Shut up,” Takemitchy responded. “You’re the one who could never look bad.” 

Mikey could feel himself turning red, before putting his phone away. He almost wanted to run away to hide his emotions, but before he could do so a voice called out to him, “Mikey!” 

Draken was calling him over to ride their bikes. They’d planned to earlier that day, so saying no wasn’t an option. Mikey looked in between Draken and Takemitchy before saying, “I have to go!” He started to walk away, before looking back, “I’ll call you later!” 

Draken was giving him a look when he walked over. Mikey replied, “What are you giving me that look for?” 

“No reason,” Draken deadpanned. When Emma heard about Takemitchy, Mikey would never hear the end of it. He sighed, “Where are we headed today?” 

00:15:17:21

Mikey was bored, so he decided to call Takemitchy. It rang so many times he thought Takemitchy wasn’t going to pick up, but right before Mikey was going to hang up, he heard a static-like sound and then Takemitchy saying, “Hello?” 

“Hey Takemitchy!” Mikey smiled. This guy made him too happy. It shouldn’t make him this happy to talk to him. 

“Hey Mikey,” It sounded like he laughed a bit on the other side of the phone. “What are you up to?” 

“Just on the computer, watching a movie… How about you?” Mikey turned the question back on him. 

“My roommate is giving me a weird look for being on the phone-”

Mikey heard another voice speak up, “Because you never talk on the phone-” The words made Mikey blush a little bit. Takemitchy normally didn’t talk on the phone but he was willing to with Mikey?

Takemitchy cut him off, “Otherwise, I’m not really doing much.” 

Mikey hummed, “So what do you like to watch on TV?” He decided to make small talk.

“I don’t know, I like almost everything…”

The same person from before spoke again, “He likes cheesy rom-coms or superhero stuff.”

“Kazutora stop!” Takemitchy seemed anxious as he replied. Mikey couldn’t help but laugh. It was even funnier when Takemitchy said to him, “Not you too!”

00:14:16:39

Mikey didn’t expect what Emma sent him in a text. 

‘It’s your guy! ’ she said, with a photo of Takemitchy attached. Mikey wanted to bang his head against the wall- though he wasn’t sure if that feeling came from Emma taking an unsolicited photo or from how cute Takemitchy looked in the photo. 

‘ Please don’t take unsolicited photos of my friends…’ Mikey responded. 

Emma sent back a pouty emoji. ‘ I’ll consider it .’

‘Consider it?’  

About ten minutes later, Mikey received a second photo of Takemitchy with ‘He spilled his dinner on himself!’ . Mikey couldn’t help but chuckle at the photo of Takemitchy, covered in food. ‘I know you said not to take a photo, but I know you’re laughing right now’ . Emma knew him too well. 

00:10:15:08

They were in a ferris wheel when Mikey first saw it: the patch of red flowers connected to a red string. Roses were his favorite flower and his hand definitely had a similar red string on it. Without thinking, he kissed Takemitchy’s forehead and sat down across from him. His mind was whirling. What did this mean? Was it just something the universe decided? 

Mikey felt strongly that emotions, sharing emotions, was weak. He couldn’t bring himself to be vulnerable or trust almost anyone. Yet, Takemitchy made talking so easy. It was terrifying. The fact that the universe planned them to fit together so well made him all the more uncomfortable.

Why did he like Takemitchy?  

Maybe writing it down would help him figure out if the feeling was his or not. Mikey grabbed a pen and scribbled things down. 

• He’s different- different than me at least. 

• His eyes.

• The way he scratches the back of his neck when he feels uncomfortable. (and his little stutters when I joke with him)

• His passion, although I may disagree with some things the passion he has for them is unmatched. 

• The way he looks when he’s confused.

• His smile.

• The way that no matter how odd the request, Takemitchy seems to play along. 

• The bear he won me is cute
  
  

The list continued on and on, Mikey had absolutely no trouble writing down what he liked about Hanagaki Takemichi. Mikey had a huge fear of losing control of himself, but maybe it wasn’t the universe deciding they should be together. It was completely possible it was actually Mikey’s feelings, just the universe helping him figure them out…

Draken interrupted his list making, “You okay?” 

Mikey threw the notebook he’d been writing in reflexively, “Yes, completely fine.” The words didn’t sound believable at all and honestly he wasn’t sure why he was so jumpy. Maybe it was the thought that he may actually care for Takemitchy in a way that couldn’t be thrown aside. 

“You don’t look fine,” Draken commented, “You look like you just saw a ghost.”

 “I feel like I actually did see a ghost- just a little bit,” Mikey sighed, “But I’m okay”

Draken made a ‘ hmm ’ sound before grabbing some clothes to change into and walking into the bathroom.

00:09:12:03

Ironically, all that discomfort seemed to wash away when confronted with the blue of Takemitchy’s eyes. Mikey decided he would continue to integrate himself into Takemitchy’s life. In the end, it was his choice how he dealt with his feelings- or maybe he was just trying to convince himself of the fact because he didn’t want to lose Takemitchy. 

“Do you have time today?” Takemitchy asked him. He looked so tentative to speak, but Mikey responded with a smile and a nod. Mikey was on edge, ever since he realized their marks matched, he was wearing his makeup less and less, leaving his mark pretty visible. He already knew who his soulmate was. At this point it was really just deciding how he actually felt about the guy. 

They decided to go to the park. It was a park Mikey knew a lot about, one he went to as a kid. When they sat down in the grass, Takemitchy spoke, “I don’t know why I went to you about this, but I just feel comfortable with you.” Of course he did, they were soulmates after all. 

“You can always come to me about things,” Mikey told him. 

There was silence for a moment before he spoke again, “What do you think love is?” 

Mikey was taken aback by the question, he blinked a few times, picking at grass. Did Takemitchy have feelings for someone? What if it was someone other than him? Mikey should be fine with it, they’re soulmates so it was probably better to defy what the universe had in store for them. He couldn’t help the way his heart dropped at the question, “I don’t know.” 

Takemitchy furrowed his brow, “You don’t?” 

“I don’t really like the word love,” Mikey explained, starting to cool down as he spoke, “It’s too vague. If I like a person, I’ll spend my time with them.” As he spoke he realized he may just love Takemitchy- well, according to his idea of the word. When Mikey cared for someone he’d drag them places, buy them things. He didn’t have much relationship experience, but when it came to his family and close friends… He’d put in all of his time and effort. 

“That makes sense,” Takemitchy responded, looking away, “You’re right, love is vague, but actions are more concrete.” 

“Exactly.” Mikey was a bit uneasy thinking about why Takemitchy had asked the question, but he pushed it aside, driving him home that night. 

00:08:03:32

The next day, Takemitchy and the guy Izana was avoiding showed up at the cafe. 

“I’ll serve them-” Izana moved faster than Mikey. 

“I thought you were avoiding him?” Mikey questioned, but Izana was already at the table, asking what they wanted. 

Mikey watched as they ordered, feeling a bit annoyed that he wasn’t the one who was serving them. He’d talk to Takemitchy later- text him maybe. When he looked over, Takemitchy would meet his eyes and Mikey would flush and look away. 

Mikey should definitely be focusing on orders rather than the cute guy at the cafe. 

00:07:16:23

After texting Takemitchy, they planned to watch a movie together that night. Mikey had been waiting to invite him until there was a night Draken would be with Emma and he had the chance to clean a little. He wasn’t the best at keeping his part of the dorm clean, Draken usually had to buck up and clean it once it got too bad to stand. But for Takemitchy he gave in and cleaned the whole place up.

 “I’m going out now…“ Draken said as he left to go out with Emma. 

“Tell Emma to stop sending me photos of-“ Mikey started. He closed his mouth instantly when he saw Takemitchy in the doorway. His eyes were probably as wide as saucers- like a deer in the headlights. “Takemitchy!”

Draken sighed, “I’ll tell her… I can’t promise she’ll listen though.”

After Draken left, Takemitchy turned to him, “Who’s that?”

“My roommate Draken,” Mikey responded, still reeling from the photos comment he made before. “He’s dating my sister.”

Spending time with Takemitchy was easy. It was easy for him to open up with Takemitchy and easy for him to say too much. It was easy for him to ramble to Takemitchy about his family and talk openly about his distaste for soulmates. He wasn’t bothering to hide his mark anymore because he already knew Takemitchy was his soulmate- it was completely possible Takemitchy knew as well and they were both avoiding saying something. 

“Is there a specific reason you don’t like soulmates?” Takemitchy asked. Mikey didn’t look over as he responded. 

“I already told you why,” Mikey reminded him, “I don’t like the idea of the universe telling me who is ‘meant for me’. I’d like to decide that for myself.”

“To be fair, soulmates don’t need to be lovers,” Takemitchy reminded him. “It worked well for Emma and Draken. Also a couple of my friends-“ There was a pause before he continued, “Actually my roommate may have found his soulmate too…” 

“That’s nice ,” The words came out much more venomous than he meant them to. He quickly changed topics, “Having a soulmate also comes with expectations; ones that I don’t feel like trying to adhere to.”

When Mikey looked up he noticed Takemitchy froze for a moment. He looked a bit pale, almost like he’d seen a ghost. Was it something he’d said? He hoped he didn’t go too far with what he said about soulmates. “Are you okay?” Mikey asked, moving so he was closer to Takemitchy. “You look a bit pale.” Mikey lifted his hand up to cup his soulmate’s cheek.

“I’m fine,” Takemitchy’s smile felt fake, but Mikey wasn’t sure enough to call him on it. “What are we watching?”

Mikey moved, putting both hands on Takemitchy’s cheeks and forcing him to look at him. As Mikey held Takemitchy’s face in his hands, he tried desperately to see what was making him upset. Why was he so thrown off? 

After a second or two, Mikey sighed, “I don’t know what to do with you.” He turned away, slightly frustrated by the lack of knowledge. 

The rest of the night Mikey tried to tease him to cheer him up, but whenever he did that, it always ended in Takemitchy flustering him. “You’re cute,” Mikey blurted. It probably wasn’t the time to say that was it? 

“You’re cuter,” Takemitchy shot back, causing Mikey to feel something. What it was, Mikey wasn’t exactly sure yet. 

Mikey ended up laying on Takemitchy playing with his hair as they watched a movie about soulmates. “Can I ask something?” 

“Shoot,” Takemitchy replied. 

“Why do you like the idea of soulmates?” Mikey asked. Takemitchy had asked him about his distaste for them multiple times, now it was Mikey’s turn to ask about his emotions on the matter. 

“I-” Takemitchy started before taking a breath, “I was alone a lot as a kid, but wherever I went, the concept of soulmates and my mark was there. I guess it just became comforting to me.” 

Mikey sort of understood the concept. Mikey had people around as a child- his sister, Draken, Senju, Izana, but if he hadn’t been surrounded by that- he may have used his mark as something like his little white blanket- a crutch per se. 

“I never thought of it that way,” Mikey responded. “I’ve only seen mine as a hindrance, but it’s understandable some people would find comfort in it.” 

Takemitchy didn’t seem very happy with his words. Mikey wasn’t sure why he looked uncomfortable, so he continued to do what he’d been doing, playing with Takemitchy’s hair and cuddling up against him. Hopefully he’d be able to tell Mikey what was wrong eventually. 

00:04:15:30

It wasn’t a very common thing for Izana to come to see him, so when Mikey opened up his door and saw his brother on the other side of it, saying he was confused was an understatement. 

He’d never really gotten along well with his brother. Their relationship was almost like two explosions going off next to each other- or like cats and dogs. Mikey would definitely be the cat. 

“How can I show I care for someone,” Izana asked, his normal deadpan look of irritation on his face. “All I can find myself doing is saying ‘ shut the fuck up ’ and calling him an idiot.” That… sounded very in character for him. 

Mikey gave him a look, “Do you think I would know?” Mikey sat back down and crossed his arms. “I’m single and have been single for as long as I remember.” 

“But you’re good with friends,” Izana argued. 

“With friends it’s easier-” Mikey started to say, but stopped himself. “To show you care for someone just… talk about what you like about them? Buy them something that’s very specifically for them? There’s a lot you can do… Sometimes you don’t even have to do anything besides spend time with them.” 

As Mikey spoke he realized that he was doing all of those things with Takemitchy: he spent time with him, he hadn’t bought anything yet, but whenever he saw something at the store Takemitchy might like he takes a photo of it, and not to mention how he’s very willing to tell Takemitchy he cares. He knew he was in deep, but decided to ignore the fact for as long as possible.

“If this doesn’t work, I’ll come back here and kill you,” Izana threatened. 

“If it doesn’t work, that’s on you,” Mikey told him. Izana sighed before leaving. He was in and out of the room like a tornado, causing chaos- mostly within Mikey’s head.

00:00:00:15

Manjiro Sano knew there wasn’t much time left on his and Takemitchy’s timer, but he was trying to ignore the fact. Takemitchy enjoyed the concept of soulmates, but how would he feel if Mikey was his soulmate? 

Mikey didn’t know if he wanted the answer to that. 

“Why are we going up here?” Takemitchy asked innocently as they ascended the staircase.

“I like sitting up in high places,” Mikey told him as they found a place to sit on the roof of one of the dorms. “It’s relaxing to me, looking down at the people below makes me feel so small… in a good way.” Mikey stood up, not paying enough attention to what he was doing. “Sometimes I feel like the whole world is on my back… This reminds me it isn’t.” 

Takemitchy seemed anxious, “Make sure to stay away from the edge.”

“I’ll be fine,” Mikey waved him off. He didn’t expect to move his foot and trip, but it happened. He saw his life flash before his eyes for a minute, before he felt a hand grab him. Specifically Takemitchy had grabbed him with the hand his mark was on and when they were put next to each other the red string was very visibly connecting them. It was all just in time to watch them slowly fade away. 

00:00:00:00

Once Mikey was able to get back onto the roof and sit down for a minute, Takemitchy spoke. “I have to go.. I have work.” 

Mikey had a strong feeling that was not true and yet he just nodded. Maybe it was him? Maybe Takemitchy hadn’t known about their marks and didn’t like the fact they were soulmates? Maybe he was thrown off by Mikey almost falling off the roof?

Mikey realized quickly that something was wrong when he called Takemitchy and he didn’t pick up. He didn’t want to be overbearing so after a call and text or two, he left things be. Takemitchy probably just needed time- whatever was bothering him would go away eventually right? 

“We’re all going to a ski lodge in a few days,” Draken told him a week later. “You should come along.” 

Mikey would rather actually jump off the roof than go to a ski lodge right now. He was too worried about Takemitchy to do anything- let alone skii down a hill. That being said, he didn’t want to let people down, so he faked a smile and agreed. 

The ride to the cabin was the absolute worst. Mikey hated long rides when he wasn’t driving, it made him sick. He tried to sleep through it, but it was easier said than done. He was mostly awake until the last portion of the drive where he got a few minutes of shut eye. When they got there, Draken opened the side door of the car, “We’re here.” Mikey was too asleep to process here so he just followed after Draken and Emma, hoping he’d be shown a room to stay in sooner rather than later. 

“Mikey,” Draken’s voice was almost scolding. Mikey was too tired to pay it much mind, “You’re falling behind.”

“Carry me?” Mikey asked, getting a look somewhere in between disapproval and annoyance in response. To be fair, he was already carrying Mikey’s bag, Mikey should at least be able to carry himself. He made his way to his room and took a nap. He didn’t have to work or go to classes, so he was definitely going to get some good rest. 

What Mikey didn’t expect when he woke up was running straight into the person he hadn’t talked to in weeks. 

“Oh, sorry !” Hearing his voice again reminded Mikey of seeing a ghost. 

Mikey wasn’t sure whether Takemitchy hated him- seeing as when he saw they were soulmates, he literally ran the other way. It was the most obvious form of rejection there was. Except, Mikey knew misunderstandings happen, so there was a small part of him hoping desperately that this was a miscommunication of some kind. 

“No, it was my fault. I wasn’t looking at where I was going,” Mikey said. As he spoke Takemitchy tensed up, before nodding and walking right past him and into a room at the end of the hall. “Wait! Takemitchy! ” Mikey felt his heart sink somewhere into his stomach, leaving him with a nauseous feeling.

Mikey decided to snowboard to try and get his mind off of everything. I mean that’s what they were there for anyway. He could snowboard pretty well. Maybe it was his training in martial arts, or his good balance from driving a motorcycle daily, but it was almost like breathing- well, until he almost ran off the track while doing a jump, but that was just a fluke.

When he was riding up the gondola he saw Emma talking with Takemitchy. So he would talk to her but not Mikey? Why? He clicked his tongue, trying to push back the tears of frustration that he felt pooling at the bottom of his eyes. 

He pushed himself to smile and act like he didn’t feel a fire of anger inside of him. The more he thought about it, Emma and Takemitchy hadn’t even talked before- why were they talking now? Did Takemitchy even know they were siblings? 

Draken must have seen past the facade, “Are you okay?” He asked.

“I’m completely fine,” Mikey’s voice came out more vicious than he would’ve liked. 

Draken ignored it, “You haven’t been talking about Takemichi as much for a couple weeks now. Did something happen?” 

Thankfully they reached the top before Mikey had time to answer, “Oh look, we’re here.” 

Draken gave him another look of disapproval but got off the gondola to go down the hill again. 

After snowboarding, Draken and him changed and walked together to the kitchen to get something to eat. Emma and Takemitchy were cooking there. “Hey,” Mikey walked into the kitchen with a fake smile. It irritated him. He knew he didn’t have a reason to be annoyed, but he still felt it. “What are you guys up to?” 

Before Takemitchy could even reply Emma pointed behind him to Draken, “You can help me. Takemitchy you go get some rest.” The way she used his nickname annoyed him further. Takemitchy won't even talk to him, but now his sister was using his nickname? 

Before Mikey could do anything, Takemitchy ran upstairs. This was so stupid. Supposedly the universe thought they should be together? Then why wont Takemitchy even look at him? The universe must have been fucking wrong. 

Mikey tried to convince himself there was nothing wrong, but inside he felt sick. He could barely sleep that night, worried about seeing Takemitchy. Was this the end for them? Why wouldn’t he just explain to Mikey why he’s ignoring him? Was Mikey really that undesirable that Takemitchy had to physically run from him? 

He woke up tired. His sleep was very sporadic and interrupted. The thing is when he’s alone he feels more comfortable crying, more comfortable being vulnerable. He couldn’t stop the tears from coming that night, only falling asleep when he was too exhausted to cry more. 

When he got up he saw Takemitchy looking around as if he was desperate to find something. 

“What are you looking for?” Mikey tried to talk to him again .

“Nothing in particular,” Takemitchy responded, leaning against the island in the kitchen. It was surprisingly quiet and empty in the kitchen. 

Mikey blinked back confusion- Takemitchy actually responded to him and it wasn’t just a reflex… He actually knowingly talked to him. Mikey raised an eyebrow, “Right, you’re looking around like a mad man for nothing in particular?” 

Takemitchy did a little half shrug before running away again. Mikey dropped his head on the stupid island and sighed. How were they going to solve anything if he kept running away? 

“You look like shit,” Izana told him as he walked into the kitchen a little while later. 

“Shut up,” Mikey groaned, looking up at him. 

“Can you go sulk somewhere else,” Izana commented, “I want to cook something.” 

“Yeah, sure,” Mikey went to get up, but something Izana said stopped him in his tracks. 

“Keep trying,” He muttered, “To talk to that guy.. Takemichi .” 

“What do you mean?” Mikey asked. 

Izana pulled something out from the fridge, “ Dunno .” With that word, Mikey knew Izana wasn’t gonna tell him anything, so he walked away before it irritated him.

“Hey,” Emma flicked Mikey in the head as he went to walk upstairs. “Why are you sulking?” 

Mikey continued to walk as he said, “I’m fine.” 

“I know that’s a lie,” Emma followed him upstairs and into his room. “It’s about that guy- Takemitchy?” 

“Takemichi” Mikey commented. She pouted but Mikey continued, “Yes, it’s about him. Happy?” 

“Do I need to kick his butt?” She asked, throwing her fist up and then moving into a martial arts stance. 

“No,” Mikey responded, laying back on his bed. “I don’t want anyone to hurt him, but you’re right, I’m sulking.” 

“You have the right to feel things,” Emma told him. She sat down next to him at the edge of his bed. “You’ve always been one to hold things inside… But you have the right to outwardly feel.” 

He continued to look up at the ceiling, “I know I can, but I don’t want to.” 

She sat with him a while longer, not saying much, “I’m here if you want to talk to me.” 

“By that do you mean you’re physically going to stay here?” 

“Yes!” She exclaimed. Normally it would be annoying, but if he was going to tell anyone about what was happening it would be her. He covered his eyes with his forearm. 

“He saw our marks,” Mikey mumbled. Emma didn’t respond to that so he continued, “Then he ran away as fast as he could, making up a lie as an out. I don’t understand. Was it really that bad to find out we were soulmates? 

Emma sighed, “You want to know what I think?” 

Mikey nodded. Even though he probably doesn’t actually want to know. 

“You’ve always been very openly against soulmates… So how do you think he felt when he knew you were his? How did he expect you to react?” Mikey bit back saying something. He knew somewhere deep down that probably was why, but he still didn’t believe that was all there was to it. “I’d say don’t give up or anything just yet.”

Emma left after giving her opinion. She tried to get Mikey to come along, but he instead decided to curl up into a ball to think through his emotions. Takemitchy was obviously avoiding him. Was it because he disliked him? If so, then why did they hang out so much before? Why would Takemitchy say he was good looking and exchange numbers with him? It didn’t make any sense. 

On the other hand, if it was just about soulmates… Why not just talk to him? Why not ask? It shouldn’t be so convoluted. 

Draken knocked on his door a little later, “We’re having a party. You should come out and at least get some food.” 

“I’ll be down in a minute,” Mikey responded. As much as he’d rather let himself freeze to death in the snow, he dragged himself out an hour or so later when the music from the main room was too prominent to drown out. 

He looked down from the balcony and saw Takemitchy inching away from the main group. Everyone was with their soulmate, so no wonder Takemitchy felt out of place. Mikey walked down the stairs quietly and snuck over to the darker lit area where Takemitchy was headed, leaning against the wall. 

When Takemitchy appeared there Mikey decided to try to talk to him another time. “Kinda annoying huh?” 

Takemitchy slowly looked over at him as he specified, “All this couple-ey stuff I mean.” 

Takemitchy seemed to calm down a bit as Mikey spoke. “Yeah,” He replied. Although it was only a word, it was better than nothing, so Mikey took another leap.

“Well,” He pushed against the wall and held out his hand for the person he’d been trying to talk to the whole time they were there. He was lying to himself internally, trying to convince himself that he’d be fine if Takemitchy ran away that second. “If you can’t beat them, join them.” 

Takemitchy took his hand and his smile grew. 

Mikey dragged Takemitchy to talk to the people in the main hall. They made their way around the room; talking to Takemitchy’s friends and dancing for a little while. 

“How did you two meet?” Emma asked Takemitchy when they went to the kitchen to make drinks. Of course she’d ask that. Mikey sent a glare her way as he continued to pour a drink. 

“We argued in physics class,” Takemitchy replied nonchalantly. The way he said it almost made Mikey laugh. How they met realistically was a bit over the top, nothing about it was nonchalant. That’s why he was interested in Takemitchy in the first place. His passion. 

“Sounds like Mikey-” Emma snickered. 

“ Huh ?” Mikey continued to glare as he set a drink down for Takemitchy.

“It’s true,” Emma responded to him before looking back at Takemitchy. Mikey had a feeling the next words that came out of her mouth were going to be annoying, and they definitely were. “He’s always been like that, teasing the people he’s had crushes on.” 

“Crush?” Takemitchy choked on the drink Mikey had made especially for him. Not to mention Mikey hadn’t really had any crushes before Takemitchy- Was it even a crush? Mikey wasn’t one hundred percent sure. He just liked Takemitchy. 

“Oh-” Emma blinked a couple times before turning away. Mikey took that second to grab Takemitchy’s hand and walk away with him. Emma couldn’t embarrass Mikey if he wasn’t even in the same room as her. 

“We’ll talk later okay?” Emma yelled to Takemitchy as they left. 

The one place Mikey knew they could be alone was the balcony. He realized as they stepped out into the cold, maybe it was a bad idea, but something being a bad idea hadn’t stopped him before. The scene sort of reminded him of up on the roof, weeks before. 

They stood at the edge of the balcony, staring at the snow falling down for a few minutes before Mikey asked, “Why did you run away after catching me that day?”

“It’s obvious,” Takemitchy snapped at him. Mikey was unsure how to feel about the emotion in Takemitchy’s voice. “You don’t like soulmates. You wouldn’t want to keep talking since the universe brought us together, right?” Mikey was slowly putting the pieces together in his head. 

“Wait,” Mikey was confused. It took him a second to gather his thoughts and figure out how he was going to word himself. “You thought that day was the first time I noticed our marks?”

“Wasn’t it?” Takemitchy looked over at him. When their eyes met, Mikey noticed the tears in Takemitchy’s eyes and all he wanted to do was make him stop crying- especially since he was the reason Takemitchy was crying in the first place. 

As Mikey continued to put the pieces together, it made so much more sense. Takemitchy left because he thought Mikey wouldn’t talk to him anymore because of how much he shit talked about soulmates. 

“I knew for a long time before that…” Mikey laughed uncomfortably. He wanted to lighten the mood, but he wasn’t sure how to do so. “You don’t really hide it- Well didn’t.” Mikey was a bit discombobulated as he corrected himself, “Your mark I mean, you didn’t try and hide it.”

“I did once I found out we were soulmates,” Takemitchy countered. Now that Takemitchy mentioned it, all the times he hid his arm were obvious, but Mikey didn’t catch any of them. 

“Oh?” Mikey replied playfully, hoping desperately he could change the mood of the conversation, but knowing deep down it was a cop out. He needed to have a deep conversation with Takemitchy, but letting himself do so was hard for him. 

“I was afraid,” Takemitchy’s words surprised Mikey, but he continued to listen silently. “Once I realized we were soulmates, I knew you were important to me and I just didn’t want to lose you. ”

Mikey took a deep breath. As much as it pained him to do so, he was going to open up- or try to . He’d already told Takemitchy about his mom and dad, his siblings… The difference was past problems you can be over and tell like it’s another person, current problems are burdensome and talking about them showed weakness. He didn’t like feeling weak. Thing is, Takemitchy probably didn’t care if he was weak or strong. If he didn’t say something now, he may lose Takemitchy for good, so he took a breath before jumping into the personal equivalent of the ocean in winter. “When you ran away I didn’t know what happened or why you did it.”

“You said so much about wanting to find your soulmate and then our marks line up and you run… I didn’t know how to feel. I wasn’t sure whether you hated me or if I would lose you forever… I didn’t know what to say.”

Takemitchy was quiet. Mikey wasn’t sure how he felt at that moment, so instead of saying anything more, he decided to let it go. “Let's forget about soulmarks,” Mikey told him. 

Takemitchy’s eyes widened, “Do you mean-” 

Mikey put a hand on Takemitchy’s cheek, “What do you think it means?” It was hard for him to let himself feel things fully. He wanted to be with Takemitchy, more than anything, but showing that emotion- it made him so nervous. Takemitchy to him was someone he held very dear- whether or not they were soulmates wouldn’t change that. “I’ve been trying to talk to you the whole time we were here. You were the one running.” After the words spilled out he wanted to rewind time and rephrase what he just said, but obviously he couldn’t do that. 

“What if we had a snowball fight?” Mikey changed the subject quickly. 

“Neither of us are wearing a coat-” Takemitchy responded. 

“It’s fine-” Mikey packed some snow together and tossed it at Takemitchy. “It won't take long for me to beat you anyway.”

Takemitchy grinned and threw snow back at him, “Oh really?” 

Takemitchy was so cute with the stupid grin on his face. It almost made Mikey want to let him win. He’d already said he would win though, so he couldn’t back down. Plus, if Takemitchy realized Mikey had let him win he wouldn’t be happy.  “You sure you want to challenge me?”

Takemitchy furrowed his brow, “Are you sure you want to lose to me?”

The fight quickly moved off the balcony and to the yard. Mikey was covered in snow and he was definitely shivering. He probably looked like a really badly made snowman. “You ready to admit defeat?” Mikey grinned.

Takemitchy didn’t look like he was ready to give in anytime soon, “In your dreams-” 

“How did you know I dreamed of you?” Mikey commented offhandedly. If Takemitchy’s face wasn’t already red, hopefully it would’ve made him blush. 

Mikey ran straight at him, in hopes of pulling him up in his arms and disarming him. Things didn’t go according to plan, as he slipped and Takemitchy fell on top of him. Mikey’s heart skipped a beat as he noticed just how close they were. Then he saw Takemitchy look from his eyes to his lips and his mind went blank. 

“I’m sor-” Takemichi tried to say, but Mikey interrupted him by breaking the distance, putting his hands on Takemitchy’s cheeks, and guiding Takemitchy close to him. Mikey could feel his heartbeat in his chest, as he kissed Takemitchy. It had been such a long time coming- it felt like someone had shaken a soda can and this was the moment it exploded. Mikey hadn’t even been sure he’d get to be this close to Takemitchy ever again- thinking at some points that Takemitchy hated him. 

As Takemitchy leaned into the kiss, Mikey knew how absolutely stupid he’d been. Takemitchy put his hand in between Mikey’s head and the snow and Mikey pressed his tongue inside Takemitchy’s mouth and pulled at the collar of his jacket. He tasted like cinnamon and coffee- it was a very sweet taste- a calming taste and Mikey couldn’t get enough of it. 

Mikey was slightly nervous he wasn’t the best kisser, because he’d never actually… done so before. Takemitchy smiling into the kiss was enough of a sign from him that Mikey wasn’t doing badly. 

When they broke apart, Mikey couldn’t help but grin as he stared into bright blue eyes. He somehow felt on fire, even though he was laying in a snowbank. 

“We should go inside,” Takemitchy commented. It wasn’t meant to be suggestive, but it kind of gave off the vibe. 

“What changed your mind about it?” Takemitchy asked when they got back inside and settled in, “About soulmates I mean- or did you change your mind about them?” 

The answer was a little bit embarrassing and Mikey had no clue how to word himself, but he wanted to tell Takemitchy his feelings, so he just blurted out whatever came to mind and prayed for the best. “When I found out you were my soulmate, I didn’t know what to do- I already sort of liked you at that point, so it really made me question things. I wrote a list about why I liked you and analyzed my feelings and decided you were important to me in ways that couldn’t be forced upon me- I mean, technically it could but that’s an argument of free will overall…”

“You wrote a list?” Takemitchy questioned, smiling like an idiot. Oh, maybe he shouldn’t have mentioned the list…  

“Yes. A list you will never see.” 

“Oh come on,” Takemitchy whined. It almost made Mikey give in, but he knew just how embarrassing his list was. 

Mikey gave him an unamused look and lied, “Your pout won't change my mind.”

“Tell me one thing on the list?” Takemitchy pushed. Mikey had a feeling he would not be getting out of this without telling him at least one thing… 

Mikey sighed. What was the least embarrassing thing he wrote?

“Your eyes,” Mikey told him. That was probably the best one to mention to avoid humiliating himself, “I like your eyes.” 

“You do?” Takemitchy turned to him as he asked. Mikey could feel his face turning red. It probably wasn’t noticeable though, since his face had already been pretty red from the cold. 

“Yes,” Mikey admitted. “They’re pretty. You’re pretty.” 

Mikey didn’t realize he fell asleep until he woke up in the middle of the night to blow his nose. He realized based on that and the headache rearing its ugly face… He was probably sick. He was too tired to take medication or get a drink of water, instead just falling back to sleep next to Takemitchy.

Months after they’d gotten home, Takemitchy was over at his dorm sitting on his bed when it happened. 

“What’s this?” Takemitchy questioned. 

Mikey looked over and froze seeing the notebook he’d thrown after writing the list in Takemitchy’s hands. “That’s nothing-” 

“You like the way I look when I’m confused?” Takemitchy began to thumb through the list.

Mikey straddled him, “ No .” He grabbed Takemitchy’s face and forced him to look in his direction, “Don’t read anymore of it.” 

“So it is about me!” Takemitchy lit up. Takemitchy’s face in that moment gave Mikey another thing to put on the dumb list.  

“Who else would it be about?” Mikey questioned with a deadpan look on his face. He put their foreheads together desperately hoping he could distract Takemitchy long enough so that he forgot about the list. 

“I’m not sure,” Takemitchy scratched the back of his neck. He was definitely teasing Mikey, wasn’t he? 

“Forget about the list,” Mikey begged. He was probably bright red. 

“You really put my ass on there too-” Takemitchy mumbled. “How-” 

Mikey kissed him to shut him up. He usually loved to hear Takemitchy talk, but in this circumstance every word was making him feel more and more heat in his face and he didn’t like it… Maybe he did enjoy it slightly, since he got to see Takemitchy’s smile. Takemitchy giggling as they kissed made something flutter in Mikey’s chest. “ How romantic Manjiro, ” Takemitchy continued what he’d been trying to say in between kisses. 

Mikey fondly rolled his eyes. Takemitchy brought out the best in him. He brought out the vulnerable, the open, the giggling dork Mikey hid from most people.  

Manjiro Sano had never believed in soulmates. He was intent on choosing who he spoke to, rather than let some universe connection dictate his actions. 

He’d decided at some point that a soulmate is just a suggestion from the universe. You don’t have to be with them, but the marks can guide you to them- a person you may get along with well. He believed that you choose who you talk to and who you befriend.

He knew more than anything, soulmates or not- he would’ve ended up with Takemichi Hanagaki.

He’d watched people meet their soulmates- watched them fall in love, but he had never been able to understand it before. He’d felt that being soulmates was a suffocating label, bringing with it a lot of expectations. That was until he met Takemitchy. 

He didn’t like soulmates, but he loved Takemichi Hanagaki.