Chapter Text
Her day starts just as normal as another day in the week.
It's Tuesday, arguably the most uneventful day of the week. She kisses Archie goodbye and gets in the car that's waiting for her and arrives at work. She waits the two minutes in the elevator that it takes to get to the top floor and greets the people in her office. She steps through her glass doors, smiles at her assistant and pulls out the designs that have been sitting on her desk for the last two days.
It happens just after lunch, Veronica's in the middle of editing some designs with her assistant.
"Yeah, just some white right on the very edge, to make it pop, 'Lanie." She gestures to the hem of the dress and bites on her pen, reexamining the image.
'Lanie nods, jotting down notes while Veronica mutters something to herself. When her desk phone rings, she nods at 'Lanie to get it while she looks at the next skirt.
Just as she about to make another adjustment, her heart quickens, a blinding flash crosses her vision, and a sharp pain courses through her insides.
Through her soul.
Fumbling with her phone out of her skirt pocket, Veronica calls Archie's phone, once, twice, three times with no answer. Fear pushes her out of her seat and drops the designs on her desk. Rushing out of her office, Veronica kicks off her heels at the building door and sprints down the street. She hasn't run in years, she hasn't needed to run, but it's the adrenaline that keeps her going. It's the adrenaline that pushes her to go even faster. She knows she must look ridiculous running down the street barefoot, in a dress shirt and skirt, but he's in trouble.
Her soulmate's in trouble.
An ache begins to shoot through her legs, and for a fraction of a second Veronica tries to remember the last time she had to move this fast. Wind whips her hair in every single direction and she can't even be bothered to pull it back. She knows the way home by heart, and she can't get there fast enough. Another white flash pulses through her vision and Veronica's heart is in her throat now.
Something small inside tells her she's going the wrong way, but she knows that Archie is at home, trying to finish a song for his next album. She ignores the light tugging that tries to push in some other direction and focuses on pushing through the bodies that stand in her way.
There's no possible way she could move faster, but she wills her body to push harder. Sweat begins to pool around her neck and forehead, dripping down her hairline. It's by no means hot outside, yet she's still covered in sweat by the time she reaches her apartment building. Opting for the stairs, Veronica nearly jumps up them trying to reach her floor as fast as humanly possible.
Knowing her key is back in her purse at her office, she strong arms the door, trying to get to him before it's too late. Pushing through with her shoulder, Veronica breaks the frame of the door to get through and looks frantically around the room to find...
Archie sitting on the couch, strumming his guitar.
When he looks up and sees his wife in distress, he jumps up, walking over to her panting form. "Ronnie, what happened? Are you okay?"
Veronica's legs give out beneath her once she understands that Archie is completely fine. Crumpling on to the floor, Veronica begins to cry in confusion and anger.
They're married.
They are married.
How can they be married and not be each other's soulmates?
It's always been Archie, from the very beginning.
She's always known that it was Archie.
Oh, god.
Archie wraps his arms around her, lifting her up and sitting her on the couch.
"Speak to me, Ron. What's going on?"
Waiting as she catches her breath, Archie brings her a glass of water, setting it on the coffee table in front of him.
Veronica coughs, her lungs burning from the almost 10 minute sprint back to her apartment, and drinks the water. The ache in her legs spreads throughout her entire body as she's filled with complete realization.
"Did you run here?" Archie asks, taking in her sweat soaked shirt and face. Her hair already began to frizz from the perspiration.
Dropping her head in her hands, Veronica takes a few deep breaths. "Yes, I did."
"Why? Did something happen at work?" Archie rubs her back, allowing her to sit up, and pushes her hair out of her eyes. "Talk to me, c'mon. What happened?"
Exhaling roughly, Veronica looks at her manicured nails. "I ran...because I thought you were hurt."
Her voice is barely above a whisper, and in the heat of the moment, Archie doesn't understand what she's saying.
"But, I'm not. I'm fine. Why would you think I was hurt?"
Veronica's eyes begin to burn as she starts to explain. "I knew my soulmate was hurt." Picking at her nails, she coughs again, the burn of her lungs spreading throughout her entire chest. "Because I could feel my soul hurting," Veronica's voice starts breaking as she finishes explaining. "I thought you were hurt, but you're not."
Wiping her palms on her skirt, she shifts away from Archie's comforting hands.
"And that means that you're not my soulmate." On the last word, Veronica nearly pukes, hating the way it sounds coming out of her mouth.
Archie sits next to her wide-eyed. "No, no, that's not true! You're wrong. Maybe it was something else, maybe you felt something else. It could've been someone else's feelings, you've always been really empathic. Ronnie, no. You're wrong. You're my soulmate. I'm your soulmate!"
Rising to her feet, Veronica's red eyes stare down at Archie. "You aren't! And I know what I felt! My soulmate was― maybe still is― hurt. It was too much, Archie. I couldn't handle it, I sprinted all the way from work because it hurt so much. For a few seconds, I couldn't see, hell, I couldn't breathe! I thought it was you, but it's not. You're fine and my soulmate is not."
Running a ragged hand through his hair, Archie looks up at her with wet eyes. "No. Ronnie. No. We're married, we're Archie and Veronica. We belong together."
"No, we don't," Veronica chokes out, a sob fighting it's way through her words. "We do not belong together."
Silence overtakes the room as the weight of the situation takes precedence. Veronica turns to look out of the windows. The beautiful glass windows that covered the entire wall so she could look out and admire her city. New York City. Her city. Their city.
They built a life together. It took so long to finally get it right. They'd been through so much, too much to not be each other's soulmates. She looks down at everyone walking on the sidewalk beneath her, living their lives while theirs was falling apart.
Resting her head against the cool glass, she lets her breath fog up the space. Unbuttoning her shirt, she sets her hands on her hips, wondering how she missed it.
She just loved him so much, she assumed it was him. It had to be him, he loved her. He truly loved her.
How could it not be him?
Then, the realization that her soulmate―her actual soulmate― is very hurt. Her soulmate was going through some sort of unbearable pain that pulled her to the brink of death. And that forces Veronica to the trash can in their kitchen, throwing up the contents of her stomach and dry heaving the rest of it.
Archie comes up behind her, rubbing her back. The vomiting then turns into crying and Veronica can't even be bothered to try and clean herself up. Tears streak her face and she sits on the floor, hiccupping and coughing again. Her entire body hurts, her head, her mind, her soul.
It sucks because their entire lives have been upended and Veronica's main thought is the wellbeing of this person she's probably never met.
It's a Tuesday that takes Veronica's life and throws up in the air, laughing while she scrambles to catch it.