Chapter Text
Harrison Wells was not a very affectionate man. He hadn’t been since his wife, Tess, had died. This did not stop him from taking on protoges and teaching them everything he knew about science. It did, however, stop him from having relationships beyond those tentative mentor-student connections he created with the people who worked for him. Nobody could really blame him for keeping distance between himself and others, but that didn’t stop his workers and almost-maybe-friends from worrying. The fact that not a word had appeared on his body since he had been alive did not help warm him up to the idea of an intimate relationship.
When he had been younger he had waited with bated breath and hoped to one day look down at his arm and see a random word, drawing, line or anything to prove that he had someone out there meant for him. He had slowly lost that hope over time, and even though he was so desperately in love with Tess (who had a platonic soulmate,) the pain of not having a soulmate weighed on his shoulders. It had gotten worse when she had died. He had felt completely alone in the world, and he was vaguely aware that he had shut almost everyone out after that horrifying day. He stopped himself from writing on his arms at all costs. This stiff detachment lead to a greater focus in his work, however, and he dived into his research for the particle accelerator with a new determination. His work within S.T.A.R labs was sometimes the only thing that kept him sane.
He may have been frigid and lonely, but at least he had his work to distract him.
Distract him it did, until the day they finally appeared on his arm. So seemingly innocent, world-changing as they were. The small planets and stars drawn on his arm with an artist’s hand and eye for detail. If it hadn’t been so hot in the lab, hot enough to make him roll up the sleeves of his black shirt, he wouldn’t have noticed them at all. But he did, and the sight of them sent the wrench he was holding clattering to the table, along with the object he had been trying to fix. A piece of tech that had seemed so important before, but now held not even a passing thought in his mind.
He stared wordlessly at them for a moment, blinking his eyes furiously and wondering if he had gotten heat stroke and started to hallucinate. The drawing stayed, innocently scrawled across his skin like splattered hopes and dreams. His shock and confusion slowly turned to hesitant elation. He had a soulmate. He had a soulmate. One who was both artistically inclined and interested in astrology, if the detailed little galaxy spanning across his arm had anything to say about it. One who was probably young enough to be his son, the realization crossed his mind. Though it should have rightly caused his elation to turn sour, he couldn’t find it in him to care, because finally he wasn’t alone. He sat there, admiring the artwork penned onto his skin, for what seemed simultaneously like forever and no time at all. All the while happiness continued to bloom in his chest like a flower he had long thought was dead.
“Woah, Dr.Wells. I didn’t know you could draw like that!” He was shocked out of his reverent gaze by the scandalized voice of one of his assistants; Cisco Ramon. He quickly pulled his sleeve back down over the artwork as he spun around in his chair to face the younger man. Before he could bring himself to say anything, the dark haired man finger gunned at him, “Nice. So, what’s got you so happy this morning, Dr.Freeze?” Harrison shook himself slightly and turned back around, picking up the wrench he had abandoned so hastily earlier.
“Nothing, Ramon. Just this-” he punctuated his remark by tossing the finished object at the other man, who hastily dropped his bag to catch it. It took him a moment of staring to take in the object and realize what it was. He looked up, surprised and practically beaming.
“No. Way.” He clicked it open, and a buzzing noise filled the room. “You did not build a Sonic Screwdriver,” he pointed the offending object at Harrison as he spoke, startling when a slightly mechanic, masculine British voice spoke up.
“Scanning....Human detected. Signs of exhaustion and overheating prevalent. Unarmed. No threat detected.” Cisco stared at the object for a moment, letting go of the button keeping it open and dropping his arm as the screwdriver's top folded back in on itself. Harrison smirked as the man started rambling about cosplay and conventions, before declaring that the invention was ‘Totally awesome!’ and that Harry should please let him have it.
“It was for you, anyway. Use it responsibly, Ramon.” The boy grinned and thanked him before wandering over to his desk to finish the paperwork he had originally come to do, as per Wells' instruction. Distractions gone, he rolled up his sleeves again and stared at his arm for a short moment. He contemplated his actions for a brief moment before finally picking up a blue pen he had set off to the side of some of the papers on his desk. His focus was entirely on the doodle he was adding to the drawing. He set down the pen before picking up a sharpie in a darker blue and adding an outline to the police box he had drawn. It was positioned near the Earth, and it stood out from the rest of the drawing starkly with its cartoonish quality. Capping the sharpie, he let himself sit back to marvel once more at his soulmate’s drawing, before getting back to work. There was plenty things to be done if he wanted to finish his blueprint for the accelerator any time soon, and he couldn’t completely slack off. He had a job to do, even if he was half-distracted by the pounding of his heart and the thought of his soulmate for the majority of the time he spent doing said job.
It had been around five hours of fixing the design and jotting down notes before he was distracted from reading over the latest report on clean energy by a tingling running down his arm. It felt almost electrifying, though he knew that wasn't the case. He set the report aside and turned his attention towards his arm, which was still uncovered due to his hope of catching his soulmate's response quickly. Next to the drawing of the galaxy was a smiley face and the words (handwriting slightly sloppy but deliberate) “I’m practically swooning already. Doctor Who? You definitely know the way to a boy’s heart.” He let out a small chuckle of laughter as he read the words. He was glad his soulmate seemed to be as impudent as he, himself, had been accused on occasion.
He was quick to pick up his pen and write his response below the words.
“I try. British television is a staple in any worthwhile relationship.”
His soulmate was quick to respond. Words scrawled out below his in a flash.
“I think we're gonna get along, then.” There was a simple doodle of a deerstalker and fez next to the words. Harrison grinned slightly at the small objects and chuckled quietly. Despite all his worries, he was sure the words were true. Even if his soulmate turned out to be half his age, he would deal with it. He would deal with anything to keep this refreshingly warm feeling in his chest. And so he responded to the sentence truthfully.
“I’m inclined to agree.”
Harrison Wells was not a very affectionate man, but he could definitely learn to be. If only for his soulmate.