Work Text:
Inked words etched onto skin.
A burning sensation as the words are spoken.
In that moment, as the quote fades away, you have found your soulmate.
_
Minghao recalled how his mother had first explained the idea of a soulmate to him.
The person you were destined to be with. The person who is made perfectly to match you and only you. The one person in the world you will fall in love with forever.
He was 6 at the time and, even then, the idea sounded preposterous. Some random words written on his body would indicate who he spent the rest of his life with?
How was that fair? What if he found someone else he loved? What if the person who was supposedly his soulmate was rude or mean? How could everyone in the world be so accepting that this was the way of life?
His mother had simply laughed, ruffling his hair. All the answers to his questions would come in time she had said.
In school, they covered the less romantic aspects of soulmate matching. It wasn’t as easy as having some words scattered on your body; there were laws in place to prevent the system from failing.
Although no one was quite sure how the system had begun in the first place. All the people knew was that it worked, so they upheld it to the best of their ability.
The explanation was straightforward: your quote appears on you between the ages of 10 and 15, it will burn slightly and then fade when your soulmate says the words to you, and your soulmate can be anyone.
The laws, however, were much more strict: you could not share your quote with anyone, you are to cover it whenever around others, and you may not deny your soulmate.
Still, Minghao thought it didn’t make sense. A classmate you had known for years could say one phrase and all of a sudden the two of you would be destined to be together? It was ridiculous.
Unfortunately, He had no choice but to obey. Laws are laws and it wasn’t as if he could get the damn quote removed.
He was 13 when the words appeared on his skin.
It was a late summer night and he was hidden under his covers playing Animal Crossing on his DS when he felt a burning sensation on his left hip. It wasn’t painful but it certainly wasn’t pleasant either. He quickly closed the game and leaped to turn on the light so he could examine the words.
“I’m going to kick your ass for real this time. No joke.”
Minghao looked up from his skin and paused; this was a joke, right? Weren’t soulmate quotes supposed to be something beautiful? Something romantic your soulmate first spoke to you? This was anything but romantic. He decided quickly to shut off his light and go to sleep.
Maybe this was a bad dream. Maybe he read it wrong. Either way, he would look at it in the morning and his soulmate quote definitely would not be a threat to kick his ass.
In the morning, the ink was still written in the exact same words onto his skin. He tried to scrub them off in the shower, thinking maybe his brother had pranked him, but they remained.
Minghao was sure he was stuck with one of the stupidest quotes in the history of soulmates.
It didn’t help that he was completely unsure if this person was an enemy or a friend. He had heard stories of people who discovered their soulmate was also someone they hated, but not once had it crossed his mind that he could end up in the same situation.
Minghao knew himself well and he was positive he could never begin to love someone he once despised.
Drying off after stepping out of the shower, he placed a large bandaid over the words; the law did state no others could see his soulmate mark and it helped him pretend it wasn’t there as well.
Out of sight, out of mind, right? Now he’d be able to continue on with his life not thinking about the stupid, black ink etched onto his hip.
Wrong.
What everyone seemingly had failed to mention was that you could feel your quote on you for weeks after first receiving it. It was a constant feeling as if someone was lightly pressing on your skin. He looked it up online; some referred to it as a “ghost soulmate” or the initial sense your soulmate is going to be with you always.
Minghao thought he was going to go insane.
He wanted the stupid quote gone.
He wanted to find his soulmate now so it would disappear and he could move on.
Weeks turned into months. Months turned into years.
The quote remained.
_
By most people’s junior year of college, their soulmate mark had become a distant memory. Normally, they’ve found the person they were meant to be with and now the quote is simply used as a conversation piece when people ask how the two of them met.
Of course, Minghao couldn’t be that lucky.
While some people are lucky to find their soulmate in high school, the majority of people find them in college, when they’re out in the world on their own. So, when high school passed with no signs of a soulmate in sight, Minghao wasn’t worried.
Freshman year of college went by; no soulmate.
Sophomore year of college ended and still, no sign of any soulmate.
Halfway through his junior year of college, Minghao decides he’s allowed to be pissed off about his situation.
“What the fuck do I need to do to find my soulmate? Fight someone? I will at this point! Do you hear that God? I’ll fucking kick someone’s ass to find whoever I’m supposedly meant to be with.” Minghao groaned, kicking his shoes off as he stomped into his dorm.
“Well, good afternoon to you too, sunshine!” Seokmin smiled at him from his desk. Minghao shot him a weak glare; it was impossible to be mad at the other boy, even now. He walked towards his bed, leaning against with eyebrows furrowed and arms crossed.
“Another person found their soulmate in the middle of the fucking quad and everyone launched into a fucking celebration because ‘Wow, isn’t love so beautiful.’ I fucking hate this shit.” He stomped his foot for emphasis as if he were a child throwing a tantrum.
“Love is beautiful, Hao. Give it time.” Seokmin responded, his eyes trained on his laptop screen. Minghao rolled his eyes; of course his roommate would think that. He had found his soulmate second semester of freshman year.
Minghao was tired of waiting.
Everyone he met at this point had discovered who their soulmate was while he was left in the dust. Friend after friend, classmate after classmate, all finding their true love while he sat around waiting for someone to threaten to fight him.
“All our friends have their soulmates! What about me? Am I supposed to just be alone for fucking ever?” He sighed.
“Mingyu and Wonwoo don’t have their soulmates.” The other boy pointed out.
At that, Minghao rolled his eyes again.
Kim Mingyu, the most perfect man in the world, also known as Minghao and Seokmin’s best friend. The three were absolutely inseparable until Seokmin met Soonyoung and Mingyu met Wonwoo. Now Minghao was lucky if all three of them were able to meet up for movie night once a week.
Seokmin and Soonyoung were soulmates. That was a guarantee; their skin had burned as their quotes disappeared when they both spoke their phrases just as they were taught it would. They were one hundred percent meant to be.
Mingyu and Wonwoo, however, may or may not be soulmates. While they hadn’t had their phrases disappear yet, pretty much everyone was sure the two were destined for each other.
Minghao thought it was stupid. If they ended up not being soulmates, they were pretty much screwed to hell.
“Whatever. I’m tired of being alone all the time.” Minghao said, moving from leaning against his bed to hopping onto Seokmin’s.
“Minghao, come on. You’re not alone. You have me, Mingyu, Soonyoung, Wonwoo, Jun, Chan… Need I go on?” Seokmin said, turning away from his work.
Minghao frowned at Junhui’s name. It struck a nerve considering it had only been a week since the older boy found his soulmate and Minghao was initially convinced it could have been him.
Maybe it was the desperation Minghao had developed over the years that made his feelings for Junhui grow so quickly. Junhui was everything anyone dreamed their soulmate to be, especially Minghao. He was handsome, smart, kind, and he even spoke Mandarin.
Minghao was sure Junhui would be his soulmate. The quote etched on his hip seemed a bit out of character for his shy, older friend but he assumed in time, somehow, the words would be spoken by Junhui.
Spoiler alert: this would never happen.
Junhui was not destined by the stars to be with Minghao. He was ‘made for’ a Chinese exchange student named Yanan.
“I haven’t even spoken to Jun in like a week.” Minghao mumbled. Seokmin frowned at his words.
“Minghao, you can’t get angry with fate. No one controls it. Jun was your friend first before anything. It’s not like he controls who his soulmate is. Not to mention he’s happy with Yanan.” He said.
Seokmin was right and Minghao hated it.
It was easy to be bitter about soulmates when you haven't found your own. Fate and destiny were out of everyone’s hands. He could mope around about not being Junhui’s soulmate or he could remind himself of what Seokmin said: they were friends first.
“You’re right.” Minghao sighed, sitting up. “Whatever. Blame it on the bitterness of being lonely and single for my entire life.”
“At least you admit you’re being bitter. That’s one of the many steps of dealing with grief; acceptance!” Seokmin cheered. He managed to bring a smile onto Minghao’s somber face with his words.
“Plus, Hao,” Seokmin spoke, “It’s not like you can be single forever.”
Minghao really hoped that was the case.
_
Two weeks had passed since Seokmin reassured him he would find his someone.
He had witnessed only two other soulmate discoveries; one at a coffee shop and another at a clothing store. Others applauded the newly found lovers while Minghao sighed and returned to whatever his task was.
He was becoming sick of love.
Now, at one am, instead of being out a party, Minghao remained inside his dorm room.
There were always too many freshmen finding their soulmates at frat parties and, in all honesty, he didn’t know if he could handle seeing more people making ridiculous heart eyes at each other.
Seokmin and Soonyoung had gone, along with Mingyu and Wonwoo. The four tried to coax Minghao out of his pile of blankets, but he adamantly refused.
So at one am, Minghao sat watching his fourth full match of Overwatch League. Alone.
He was about halfway through watching the match when a knock came at his door. At first, he assumed it was some drunk kid knocking on the wrong door; Seokmin had his key and wasn’t the type to lose it, even if he was drunk. Then the knock came again, along what sounded like a sniffle.
Minghao grumbled, pushing his laptop away and crossing the room to the door. As he pulled it open, he was greeted with a tearful Mingyu without any shoes on.
“Holy shit, Gyu, are you… Nevermind, just, come in, come in.” Minghao stuttered, moving back to let the taller boy enter the room. Mingyu wasted no time, making his way straight to Minghao’s bed and crawling under the covers.
Minghao met Mingyu during his freshman year of college in a photography class. At first, Minghao hadn’t liked the boy at all, until the two were forced to work together on a project. After a lot of bickering and a nearly broken camera, the two became friends. He had known Mingyu for long enough to know two main things about him.
One: although Mingyu is emotional, he doesn’t cry as often as you would think he would.
Two: when Mingyu does cry, you have to wait for him to talk about what’s bothering him. If you ask, that will prolong your wait for an answer.
So Minghao silently climbed beside Mingyu in his much too small twin bed and wrapped his arms around him. Mingyu began to cry, his body shaking as Minghao attempted to squeeze him between his skinny arms.
Whatever was bothering Mingyu, he clearly needed this. He needed to let his emotions out. After that, he would be able to clearly talk about what was bothering him, but until then, he could cry all he wanted.
Minghao would still be there.
“I’m so stupid, Hao. I’m an absolute idiot.” Mingyu sobbed, burying his face between the bed and Minghao’s shoulder.
“Come on,” Minghao said, rubbing his hand up and down the other boy’s back, “You aren’t. You aren’t an idiot, Mingyu.”
“No, I am, Minghao.” Mingyu wiggled his way out of Minghao’s hold, sitting up on the bed. One look at Mingyu’s face would make anyone’s heart break. His eyes were puffy and red, tears still filling them as he sniffed, attempting to keep them back.
Minghao had never seen his 6ft friend seem so small and defeated. He sat up as well, shuffling to sit next to Mingyu against the wall.
“Wonwoo found his soulmate. It isn’t me.” Mingyu whispered, his voice shaking as he struggled to make eye contact with Minghao.
Minghao couldn’t help his reaction. His mouth fell open and his eyes widened, completely shocked. How could the two not have been soulmates? Everyone had been so sure they were meant for each other from the beginning.
“Yeah, that was my reaction too. He found them at the party. Some girl in his grade level. He pulled me aside after it happened because I didn’t see it. I know he was trying to be kind about but, fuck, Minghao, you have no idea what it’s like for the person you love to tell you they aren’t meant for you. I had to listen to him tell me it’s for the best for both of us, but it’s not, can’t he see that? I’m not meant to be with someone else, Minghao. I’m in my junior year and I thought I found someone, but I didn’t. I’m alone, I’m completely fucking alone!” Mingyu yelled, sobs beginning to rack his body again.
Minghao wrapped his arms around his friend again, pulling him into a tight hug and letting him cry. This was bad. In 3 years, not once had he ever seen Mingyu this upset. It broke his heart.
Part of him wanted to tell Mingyu they were in the same position, but he knew deep down it was different. Minghao had come to terms with the fact that he hadn’t found his soulmate. There were times he got bitter and angry about it yet he always got over it and went back to his usual self.
Mingyu and Wonwoo had been an item for over a year. Minghao knew things had gotten serious between them and was one of many that had assumed they would eventually announce they were soulmates. Never in a million years had he imagined this scenario for his best friend.
He was at a loss for words. He didn’t know what to do. What do you say when someone has had their heart broken? Silence fell as Mingyu’s sobs slowed, but Minghao didn’t let his arms loosen his grip around him.
“I don’t know what to do, Minghao. What am I supposed to do now?” Mingyu sniffed, wiping at the tears in his eyes.
“Honestly, I don’t know what to do either, Mingyu. You’re in the same place I’ve been in for a long, long time. It’s not fun, I know that, but you’ll be okay. I know you will be.” Minghao replied. He pulled back from their hug and wiped at the stray tears running down the other boy’s face.
“God, this sucks. This sucks so bad.” Mingyu began to laugh, sniffling as he did so. He seemed exhausted by both the situation and his crying.
“I’m sure. Do you want to stay over? I can pull out my blow-up mattress.” Minghao offered.
“Yes. Please. I really don’t want to deal with Jungkook questioning me about why everyone at the party saw me storm out in tears. Tomorrow is going to be a pain in the ass.” Mingyu answered, hopping off the bed with Minghao.
Once the mattress was set up and Minghao had given him an extra blanket to sleep with, Mingyu mumbled a goodnight and almost instantly fell asleep. He had a long night and tomorrow certainly wouldn’t be any easier.
Everyone knew word traveled fast about soulmates on campus. It was mostly good news about people discovering their soulmate, but there were occasions like Mingyu’s every so often. Those were the stories that would send the campus into hysteria.
Minghao tried to shut his eyes and not worry about tomorrow. He would help Mingyu to the best of his ability. He hated gossip, especially when people spoke about his friends.
Sleep was hard to find when he knew how hurt Mingyu was. Minghao wished he could go out and find Wonwoo. He certainly wouldn’t be able to look at him the same after this.
Finding your soulmate while you’re technically with someone else is one thing. Telling them at a party half the school is at is another. Minghao knows Wonwoo and he most likely wasn’t intending to be an asshole, but he had been and Minghao was going to let him know.
That would be dealt with in the morning
_
Two weeks had passed.
Minghao had barely seen Wonwoo since.
Mingyu, on the other hand, had stuck to him like glue since that night. Every free moment they had, the two spent it together.
It was clear from the beginning that Minghao deterred the other students from approaching Mingyu. He didn’t believe his disposition was unfriendly but, apparently, the other students had learned of his bitterness towards love. Thus, they tended to stay away from him.
As long as he was helping his friend, Minghao didn’t care.
“It just doesn’t make sense to me.” Soonyoung said, taking a bite of his salad. Minghao sat in the dining hall, Soonyoung and Seokmin across from him as they ate together. Mingyu wasn’t out of class yet, meaning his friends could finally question him about the situation.
It was hard for Soonyoung, Seokmin, and most of Minghao’s other friends to figure out what had happened outside of the basics. It was impossible to ask any questions when Mingyu was following him like a shadow day after day.
“Trust me, I don’t get it either. They just aren’t soulmates. I mean, I hope Wonwoo’s happy with the girl and I’m sure he didn’t do it to be mean, but it wasn’t smart to do it at that party like that.” Minghao sighed. Soonyoung nodded in agreement as he chewed.
“Yeah, like, it’s Mingyu. We all know he’s not an easy crier, but the guy is pretty emotional and that shit would make anyone cry!” Seokmin pointed out.
“Wonwoo is just more of a straight forward person. I’ve known him since I was in high school and he’s never been one to beat around the bush.” Soonyoung said.
Minghao rolled his eyes. He understands not liking to beat around the bush with the truth; it was something he hated doing himself. However, in a situation like this, it’s better to be careful.
“Sorry, Soonyoung, what Wonwoo did was stupid. Straight forward is one thing, being a dick is another.” Minghao responded.
“He has a point. Mingyu got the short stick in the end. Doesn’t have a soulmate and now he has to hang out around Minghao’s grumpy ass to make sure he isn’t bombarded by half the school.” Seokmin chuckled.
“Hey, I’ll have you know I’m a pleasure to be around.” Minghao argued. Soonyoung and Seokmin shared a look before the two burst out laughing. Minghao was about to bicker with them more when someone sat in the chair next to him.
“What’s so funny?” Mingyu asked, shuffling to remove his backpack. Minghao smiled, happy to see that the other boy was in somewhat of a good mood.
It had been days of attempting to keep Mingyu from holing up in his room to cry after the party. Minghao had coaxed him out with food, movie tickets, and had even offered him free rein of his dab pen for the night. Mingyu had declined the weed but eventually exited his room to go out with Minghao.
Keeping Mingyu happy was a challenge in itself.
Any new soulmate discoveries would immediately make him cry and seeing couples made him get sad quickly. It was like being with a hormonal teenager except they didn’t get horny; they just got sad instead.
Minghao couldn’t lie; at first, he was annoyed by how things were playing out. He eventually started to enjoy his time with Mingyu more and more, beginning to remember what he missed so much about their friendship. It helped that Minghao wasn’t a fan of seeing soulmate discoveries or couples either, so the two worked together to stay away from them.
The situation was fine. For the most part. There was a slight problem with it that Minghao was certainly not ready to face any time soon, which is exactly why he was ignoring it.
It was going well so far.
“Minghao was trying to say he wasn’t a bitter asshole to be around.” Soonyoung chuckled. Mingyu’s eyebrows furrowed, almost like he was confused by the mere proposition of Minghao being a bitter asshole (which he definitely was).
“What are you talking about? Minghao’s nice to be around.” Mingyu said. Minghao felt his face heat up.
The situation was harder to ignore than he thought.
“Maybe to you. Minghao’s mean to me.” Seokmin responded.
“Shut up.” Minghao mumbled. He pulled out his phone, opening up his Instagram feed and scrolling through. He needed a distraction badly. Soonyoung and Seokmin started their own conversation, as they always did, discussing the newest reality TV show they had started watching.
Minghao had paused at a picture when he felt Mingyu rest his head on his shoulder. He felt his body tense up in response to the unexpected contact.
“Keep scrolling. I like your feed.” Mingyu mumbled, his eyes trained on Minghao’s phone screen.
Before Minghao could respond, he looked up and made direct eye contact with the last person he wanted to be around with Mingyu.
Wonwoo.
He seemed to be with his soulmate but was looking intently at Mingyu whose head was still resting on Minghao’s shoulder. He seemed indifferent, as he should be considering the situation. Nevertheless, Minghao almost felt like the boy was jealous.
He felt weird.
“Hey, come on. Scroll away.” Mingyu laughed. Minghao quickly cleared his throat and averted his eyes.
“Fine, I’m scrolling. Someone’s impatient.” He adjusted his shoulder a bit and began to swipe up, stopping to like a photo every so often. After a bit, when he stopped to look up, both Seokmin and Soonyoung were looking at him in an odd way.
Minghao glanced at Mingyu’s head on his shoulder. He felt the heat rising on his cheeks and ears once again.
This was getting worse than expected.
_
7:08pm
[mingyu]
hey
[minghao]
hey
what’s up
[mingyu]
can we smoke?
i want to
[minghao]
lmao yeah
come over, seoks out
[mingyu]
ur the best !!!!!!!!!!!!!
be there in 10
_
Minghao laid on his bed, his back pressed flat against his comforter as he exhaled the smoke from his lungs. He stared up at the ceiling for a moment before pressing the tip of his dab pen to his lips again, inhaling deeply and trying to process his own thoughts.
Things between Minghao and Mingyu had gotten weird. Granted, things had never been normal between the two considering how often they bickered while still managing to be best friends.
The Wonwoo soulmate catastrophe had been a catalyst and Minghao wasn’t sure for what. For two weeks, Mingyu barely left his side. They studied together, went out to dinner, did homework, and marathoned movies night after night. He had become accustomed to Mingyu’s constant presence in that short time, even getting used to the sound of him dropping his phone from across the room.
Five days ago, that had abruptly ended. Mingyu had suddenly become distant, no longer texting Minghao his random thoughts throughout the day or asking when his class finished so they could get coffee. He stopped texting as frequently, stopped showing up randomly to hang out and talk.
It was weird. Minghao despised how Mingyu had so quickly merged into his daily routine once again. He despised how often he opened his messages to text Mingyu about a dog he had seen or a designer’s new release. He hated how Mingyu could text him out of nowhere and how he wouldn’t hesitate to say yes to whatever he asked.
Minghao laid there, his pen resting on his chest, and attempted to convince himself that all of this must mean he hated Mingyu. It was the logical assumption to make, but it didn’t feel right. He groaned, covering his face with his hands, praying he could melt into the covers instead of facing the truth.
He totally liked Kim Mingyu.
A knock came from the door, forcing Minghao to pull himself up and pretend like all was well even though it certainly wasn’t.
“This is bullshit, stupid fucking perfect boy making me feel things… I’m not even his soulmate, this is such fucking bullshit.” He muttered to himself before swinging open the door and plastering a smile onto his face.
“Hey! Were you talking to someone?” Mingyu asks, leaning his head into the room and looking around. Minghao tries to ignore the way his heart picks up its pace. Again, this was bullshit.
“Nope. My pen’s on the bed, use however much you want. There’s water on my desk too for when you inevitably cough your lungs out.” He says. Minghao opens the door wider and allows Mingyu to step inside.
“Thanks. Are you already high?” Mingyu asks, seemingly amused.
“Yeah. Why? Do I seem high?” Minghao responds. Mingyu just laughs and shakes his head in response, confusing Minghao more.
“Alright, it’s been a while since I’ve, you know, done this. Do I, uh, I just hold down the button and breathe in? Right?” Mingyu says as he picks up the pen off the bed. Minghao rolls his eyes and nods, taking it out of Mingyu’s hands.
“Just watch me. Put your mouth on it and just breathe in deep. If you keep the smoke in your mouth, nothing will happen.” He explains. Then, he wraps his lips around the tip and breathes in, filling his lungs as Mingyu stares.
Minghao makes eye contact with the taller boy as he allows the smoke to sit in his lungs before languidly exhaling the transparent vapor slowly. Watching Mingyu stare at his lips fuels the growing fire in his stomach and he pauses, taking a breath to push down the urge to close the few inches between them and do something he would most certainly regret.
Minghao was almost positive he was going insane. Wordlessly, he hands the pen to Mingyu, gesturing for him to do as he did. Mingyu didn’t break eye contact as he took the pen from his hand, pressing the tip to his own lips and breathing in. He coughed out his smoke a few moments later and quickly turned to grab the water behind him.
The room was getting much hotter. Minghao tried to tear his eyes away from Mingyu’s throat as he gulped down the water, but it was nearly impossible with how cloudy his head felt.
He wasn’t sure what was making him feel this way, the weed or Mingyu.
“I feel weird.” Mingyu said with eyebrows furrowed as he stared at the floor.
“Only one hit and you’re gone? Lightweight.” Minghao chuckled, hopping onto his bed and patting the seat next to him, signaling for him to come up too.
“Of course I’m a lightweight, I don’t smoke! I’m going to beat you up, I swear.” Mingyu defensively spoke. He clambered up next to Minghao, almost slipping on the comforter as he did so. Minghao giggled at him, causing Mingyu to laugh with him, smiling his signature crooked smile, canines showing as always.
Minghao couldn’t think, his eyes locked on Mingyu’s lips again. All he could think about was MingyuMingyuMingyu and how pretty he looked and how happy he made him and how all he wanted was for Mingyu to be his.
But Mingyu wasn’t his and Minghao wasn’t sure he ever would be. The last thing he wanted was to get attached to Mingyu only to lose him to his true soulmate.
“Yeah, I knew that from the way you coughed up a lung from one little baby hit.” Minghao responded snarkily, forcing himself to look away from Mingyu, staring at the ceiling instead. The ceiling had become an escape, he realized. It had become his escape from thoughts, his escape from Mingyu.
“Shut up. I’m going to kick your ass for real this time. No joke. ” Mingyu laughed, his head resting on Minghao’s shoulder.
“I’d like to see you try.” As Minghao responded, Mingyu shot up, grabbing his arm at the same time Minghao felt a sharp pain on his left hip.
It was a burning sensation, much like what he felt when his soulmate quote had first appeared. He grit his teeth together, grabbing at where his jeans covered the tattoo. He shoved down the waistband and watched as the quote faded to an opaque gray. He tried to process what was happening, eyes flitting over to where Mingyu sat, his sleeve pulled up as he stared at the now translucent words on his bicep.
They both sat for a moment, staring at each other, mouths wide open in shock.
“I’m way too fucking high for this.” Minghao said.
“You’re my soulmate. What the fuck. Xu Minghao is my fucking soulmate.” Mingyu spoke to himself, his hand still clutching at his quote while he stared at the floor.
“This is so not how I imagined this shit would happen.” Minghao ran a hand through his hair with a laugh.
“Neither did I. Oh my god, this is insane.” Mingyu said.
It was insane. It was absolutely crazy. Minghao had imagined the moment he met his soulmate for years. He had dreamt of what he would say, how he would hug them and ask them to go out so he could find out more about them. Even when he became bitter and hurt, watching others find their soulmates before him, he dreamt about this moment.
And he was high off his ass.
“I can’t believe this happened while I’m high. Minghao, I’m never high. This is so crazy. I don’t even know why I wanted to smoke, it’s like I just knew I had to. This is fate! Isn’t this insane?! This is fate, we were meant to be together. We’re soulmates.” Mingyu seemed to finally have understood was truly happened, turning to Minghao and grabbing his hand.
Minghao didn’t know how to respond.
He was at a loss for words because he never believed in fate before. He had lost all hope that he would find his soulmate and not once had he ever dreamed it would be Mingyu. Minghao was wrong before; Mingyu was his. He wasn’t ever going to be anyone else’s soulmate. He took a deep breath in, squeezing Mingyu’s hand before leaning in and pressing his lips to Mingyu’s.
Mingyu responded, kissing back with an intensity Minghao had never felt before, pressing forward and wrapping his arm around his waist, drawing him in closer. Minghao reached up and threaded his fingers through Mingyu’s dark hair, clinging to him like he was all that was keeping him grounded.
They kissed and kissed and kissed until their lips were chapped and they were both out of breath. Mingyu pulled back but kept his hands on him, resting his forehead against Minghao’s.
“You get to spend forever with me and I get to spend forever with you too.” He giggled, moving to hold Minghao’s hand and squeeze it as he had done before.
“Ugh, don’t remind me.” Minghao replied sarcastically.
“Hey,” Mingyu pulled back with a frown, “It’s not nice to be mean to your soulmate.”
Minghao laughed and pressed a kiss to his cheek, Mingyu’s frown melting away into a smile as a reaction to the unexpected affection. They shuffled around, moving to lie down and cuddle on the small twin-sized mattress.
Neither of them minded that it was cramped. Suddenly all the small issues they had had for weeks no longer mattered. Fate had handled things to this point, it would handle them in the future too.
They laid in silence, holding each other as the light faded out of the room and darkness fell.
“Mingyu..?” Minghao whispered, unsure if Mingyu had fallen asleep.
“Yeah, Minghao?” Mingyu answered.
“Can you move over? In case you weren’t aware, you’re a giant and you’re giving me no room.” Minghao complained. Mingyu rolled his eyes, sighing as he sat up and shifted over.
“There’s the dickhead behavior I fell for.”
_
Inked words faded onto skin.
No more loneliness as you lay in bed at night.
This is proof that fate has done its work and you have found your soulmate.