Work Text:
Don’t be sad, I promise to always be your friend
That sucks! I promise I will get you a cat when we grow up, five cats. If you want!
Yeah, I promise to make you all the ramen you can eat. Finally mastered my mothers recipe
I know you’re scared, I promise to be with you, whatever you need
I love you, I promise to love you forever
I’ll never want anyone else, I promise to be only yours.
I promise, I will kiss you the first chance I get
The promises had been countless throughout the years. Ink from markers etsed into their skin as they wrote. Her cursive flowy handwriting contrasting his scratchy barely readable ones. She always understood though. The writing as well as the what he was saying. She had been his only friend, his best friend and now. Now she was more, something else. But then again, she always had been.
Soulmate. Everyone had one. Everyone walked around with markers behind their ears or in pockets, writing on their hands and arms. Some found each other early, some late. It was rare to never find yours. It was fated after all. Meant to be. All you had to to was let life do it’s thing and you would find each other. It was said that it was bad luck, exchanging names and addresses. You were supposed to meet at the right time, for the soulbond to be truly strong.
At first, when they were little, they had called each other the others favourite animal in the absence of names. He was fox, she was kitten.
They’re orange! I like orange! He had written in orange marker, to press his point about the amazingness of foxes.
I like orange too. She answered.
Do you have a favorite color? He asked, tongue poking out in concentration as he was writing. The skin on his hand colored, her neat handwriting forming on it.
Purple
Naruto looked through the penbox, fining a light purple one, smiling as he drew.
<3
They still used the silly names sometimes, to be sweet, or to tease. When they grew older, and entered their teen years and high school, the animal names seems a little uncool, embarrassing, he though. He started calling her other things instead, things he heard the seniors say. Beautiful when he wanted to be charming, babe when he wanted to be sweet. Kitten when he was nostalgic. His when he missed her too much.
They didn’t go to the same school, he had figured out as much since they didn’t start on the same days, go on break on the same days. He wondered if she was far away, if he would have to wait long before they finally met. He hoped not. He longed for her so much already. What if he had to wait years, or decades?
Naruto looked up at his hand, resting on the closed locker beside his opened one, orange message forming before his eyes.
Good luck on your test today
I know you’ll do great
(っ˘з(˘⌣˘ ) ♡
Naruto grinded big. She always drew the cutest figures. He picked up the purple pen resting behind his ear to answer.
You too babe.
First days can be scary
You’re amazing
Everyone will want to be your friend
She was starting a new school today, had just moved from the town where she grew up to a bigger city, her father's company expanding. She had been scared, and they had talked a lot about it since she found out a few months ago. Today was the day, mid-term and monday. Horrible way to start really. He hoped she would be okay. Wished he could be there with her, hold her hand. Fight of anyone who looked at her wrong.
I doubt it
But I always have you
He frowned at the message. She always second guessed herself, couldn't see the amazing person he knew she was. At least she had started to trust in him, that had been a battle as well, getting her to trust that he would never leave, he would always be her’s. Somedays, she still didn’t believe it.
Always kitten
<3
“Naruto!”
He snapped his head towards the sound, seeing Sakura walk down the hall, waiving with a big smile. They had calculus together this morning. She was alone and there were writing on her right cheek, odd. Naruto closed his locker and waved back, calculus book under his arm.
“Morning Sakura!” he leaned closer as she came up to him, reading the word ‘Sasuke’s ’ on her cheek. “Where’s the idiot?”
Sakura were usually seen with her soulmate Sasuke, possessive arm around her waist. Sakura blushed, hand coming up to touch the soul writing on her cheek.
“He’s sick today,” she explained, which of course would explain the possessive writing. As Naruto watched, another mark next to it appeared. Slowly the word ‘girlfriend’ formed under the idiots name. Crazy.
“He knows that just makes people watch you even more right?” Naruto sighed, turning in the hallway towards the classroom. Sakura was one of the most popular girls at school, which was why Sasuke was always so protective. Naruto didn’t blame him. If he knew others were wetting his soulmate he would want to stake claim too. Maybe he should. He had no idea who hitted on her when he wasn't there. Many held out for their soulmate but there were some, more and more, who were in couples with people who weren't. Dredd pooled in his stomach, wondering about if here would be people checking his soulmate out today, since she would be ‘The New Girl’. Next to him Sakura smiled, that small thing that she only reserved for Sasuke, blush deep.
“I don’t mind. I like being his.”
Well of course she did. Naruto liked being his soulmates too, didn’t mean he went around marking her up so everyone could see it. Because he want and idiot. Even if the thought was tempting.
“You have math club today?” he asked, steering the conversation in a different direction. Sakura shook her head, pink hair dancing around her face as she did.
“Nope, boxing club. So I’ll probably be a little late to homeroom. Oh! That reminds me. Kiba said he had a friend that recently moved here that starts today. Maybe we’ll see them then.”
“Oh really? I didn’t know Kiba had friends we didn’t know about.” Naruto said as they entered the classroom, sitting down in the back.
“Apparently they knew each other before Kiba moved here. When they were kids.”
Naruto nodded, opening his text book to stare down at the text. He really didn’t get any of it.
“Eeeh, Sakura? Any tips for the exam?”
“Idiot, did you not study again?”
Just as Sakura shut the book on his right hand, hard, another message appeared on his left ring finger.
Do your best fox
The test did actually go better than expected. He was pretty sure he had gotten most of his answers correctly, except perhaps the last ones for extra credit, which he didn’t really need to get an okay grade, which was what he was aiming for. As soon as they got out into the hall, he pulled the marker from his ear, pulling his wrist up and started to write. He was so preoccupied by gushing about how well the test had gone he didn't really look where he was going and just as he turned the corner he stumbled right into someone. The impact caused him to slip, hand scrambling to catch himself as he felt the tip of the marker catch skin. He sat down on his ass, hard. He looked up, meeting pale lilac eyes. This was a new girl. Naruto had never seen her before.
“Oh! Im so sorry I wasn’t -”
There was a line across her cheek, right under her eye, purple stark against her pale skin. Naruto laughed, reaching out to touch it.
“Sorry, seems I got you,” he said as his thumb caressed the soft skin. The white exchanged with pink underneath his touch, eye growing wide. Her hand came up too, hand cupping his cheek as her thumb mimic his movements.
“F-fox?”
Naruto’s breath hitched, eyes growing wide as he pulled her sleeves down, revealing one arm filled with orange, her orange, and one arm with purple, his purple. The conversation they had shared this morning about classes and her new school and his basketball practise. All there. He looked up, meeting her gaze, smiling big as he closed the last inches between them, lips slotting warm against each other. A warm tingling feeling of finally, finally .
She let out a startled yelp before relaxing into the kiss, sighing against his lips. Her hands came up to fist in his sweater as she drew him closer. It was not how he had envisioned their first kiss, sitting on the floor of a high school corridor, inkstained cheeks. It was perfect all the same.