Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

After the quest, they went to the tavern, with the rest of the group sleeping in the lean-to building which the owner shared for just a couple of silver coins, Pike and Meklavar decided to loosen up. Just after a couple of golden drinks.

" Oh, you say I am a bad liar? " Pike said.

" I don’t say, I know so. " Mek was slurping the drink from her fourth cup, Pike being not so slightly behind with half of her amount liquor in his system.

"How do you know! I am an excellent liar, thief and even more an actor! "

"I would love to see that. " The dwarf's sarcasm was felt harshly, but the thief was too drunk for his own good.

"OKAY!" he yelled enthusiastically grabbing Meklevar’s furry cape and helmet. He threw his scarf over her.

"HEY!" she shouted.

"I need props so I am more believable impersonator! I just need one thing…"he looked at the woman. He studied her every feature and after this intense minute of staring he could say his companion was pretty and her eyes were the color of the most beautiful sunsets ever he had seen once on the South of the country. The area full of beaches and warm ocean water. "A! The gloves! Give me!"

"Okay, just because I want to see how terrible an actor you are. Go on." She took off her gloves revealing sweet much smaller hands…

Cute. Pike thought to himself.

"Ahem… I MUST FIND AND RETURN MY FAMILY TREASURE!" Pike used the higher pitch he could get. He couldn’t sound near the original, but it was decent. Meklavar said nothing after a few more quite good parodies, her face was showing she is impressed a bit though. When she had the last gulp of the golden drink in her mouth unaware of the fact the cat-thief was yet to drop his biggest impro ever. "Oh, Pike! You have come to save me. Oh, Pike! I shall give you a kiss as a reward!"

Mek spewed out what was left in her mouth.

" I DON’T SOUND LIKE THAT!"

The said drawing

Chapter Text

Out of the thin air, humankind was stricken with some kind of disease.

Many of them, thinking the marks left on them had been some demonic powers committed massive-suicides.

The illness or rather the chemical modification in human DNA occurred when the subject met its soulmate. The touch of the soulmate makes changes to the human nervous system by allowing foreign pigments to enter to the touched region of skin. The effect given was equaled to magnificent, of course, if someone likedrainbow-colored hand markings in random parts of their bodies. 

The society had accepted it later and then the faith in meeting your significant other and marring them one-day trope merged within the folklore.

Katie Holt had never expected to meet the soulmate. She had been working on her assignments on astronomy and planning her own future - launching into outer space, exploration on the furthest planets and their moons. When called out as a nerd in school she pretty much accepted this state - no man would have her as a wife, because she would make him look dumb and this is what any wife was permitted in this society - to outshine the man one promised to be faithful to. It's not like she dreamed of family, because she never did. 

She never thought of what was coming to her.

Katie was sitting in front of the guy who had-happened-to-be-in-the-same-room-as-her-when-her-soulmate-mark-appeared's family. (She refuses to call him her soulmate) She sincerely hoped they would not ask about the mark their son gave me "the fateful day" we met. But still she feared the blue was seen through the foundation. She wasn't the type to wear make up - her skin was pretty much clean and soft without any skin care regime and her mom - Colleen taught her that make up is useless - that it's to hide the truth, but in this instance when hiding the truth was needed. Yes. The make up - even natural looking - was a must. 

When she had met Lance McClain it wasn't the best first impression you could have ever made to a stranger or rather a schoolmate you had never talked to. The first day of a new school and Katie knew she was already in deep trouble.

Katie didn't know why but the moment the girl stepped in the building she felt the people could smell she was an easy to bully nerdy girl. In spite of two periods in between classes she was called names and pushed around. Three boys who were doing that all morning decided to take her pocket money. They were chasing her. You would have said nor knowing the school was her disadvantage, so after three long-corridor-run she stormed into the classroom eventually dumping on someone and falling them both on the ground.

The pretty boy with beautiful cellular blue eyes and a tan complexion. Katie had definitely never seen him during her time here, he's probably older. He groaned, oh, right! They were on the floor technically, he was on a floor with her on top of him her cheek slightly brushing his hand.

"I'm so sorry," Brunette said standing up and cleaned the dust out of her shirt. She came out of the classroom as fast as she went there before looking for the bathroom.

The moment Katie felt the burning on her left cheek, she knew it was it, dad kept telling her when he caught Colleen when she when she was falling from the stairs in their university he felt the burning fire on his right hand and forearn, but she was still slightly hoping it was just her imagination.

"You have to be kidding me" She said to herself looking at the school mirror. The reflection showed clearly the blue spirals motive on her left. Right, when she had fallen on him she must have touched his arm with her face.

Katie jet again repeated the sentence when a week after the incident she found out McClain's were those type who respected the Soulmate Marks to the point when Mrs. McClain found out she insisted Lance would invite his soulmate and her family over for dinner. As if they were dating. 

It isn't meant to end good, is it?

"Hey, what was I supposed to tell my mom?" he begged three periods in a row and Katie had been ignoring him, not even looking at him. She had it the worst - on a cheek in the plain sight, so she wore a med mask and covered half of her face with emo fringe.

"I don't know maybe that you don't remember the person or that it appeared out of nowhere - there had been such instances," she said putting physics book into her locker

"You don't know mi Madre, she is a living lie detector!" 

"Do I have to? I don't even know your name, I practically knocked you out and escaped" she bragged

"I am Lance," he said holding out a hand "So what do you say? Saturday at 6? We have peanut butter cookies for dessert."

She looked at him. Various research told that only the first contact with soulmate causes the Soulmark to appear, but still. 

Why had she agreed? 

"Call me Pidge"

Oh right... Peanut butter cookies.

Those were great. Creamy, soft almost nothing like those who were made but Aunt Sanda who tried to befriend Holt by chunky and dry cookies. Pidge had one hypothesis - Mrs McClain was a magician at cooking.

Everything would have been going smoothly and so soft as those cookies...

Lance's dad and Sam talked about the economy.

Colleen were sharing some gardening tips with Rachel - Lance's twin sister (older by 10 minutes, but he doesn't like mentioning it)

Matt was competing against Marco in how many garlic knots they can put in their mouths. Sylvio and Nadia were watching it with amusement with Lance making bets with Veronica. She lost both the bet and the faith in her middle brother. 

"If I were you I would made sweet eyes to your girlfriend, not her brother" she joked. "She would marry you, not he"

"What!?"

Luis and his wife were in the kitchen cleaning - definitely tired from the noise. 

And Pidge was sitting calmly observing how everyone was treating each other as they were all one big family. 

"How have you been, Katie?" asked Lance's mom appearing out of nowhere and sit next to her.

"I ... I am okay Mrs..." She started, but quickly got shushed by the woman.

"Call me mom, dear." Mom smiled. 

" Why?" 

"You see, my husband Romero and I are soulmates, and so were my parents and his... Since the marks appeared, our family have believed it is a sign of a happy bond..."

"You expect me and Lance to be..." She was scared. She couldn't marry a guy she met like a week ago. She didn't know anything about him aside from he was very close with his family, apparently good with kids - he could easily keep up with Sylvio and Nadia and looking at most of the shelves at the house filled with sports trophies and his build - he was a swimmer - he wasn't her type. Like he might have been slightly attractive, but if they were to be married? She was sure they wouldn't make it.

He would want a huge family that was his dream.

She would want to go to space and explore that was her dream. 

"No. I don't want to force both of you on this at your age. But can you... Will you look after him for me?" Mom took her hands in hers "He had it rough... And only dreamed of meeting you."

Meeting his soulmate.

Not her.