Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

**background for this au: soulmates have matching birthmarks in the same place on their bodies**

love. what absolute bullshit.

agatha muttered this to herself as she ran across the cold concrete. ironically, it was valentine’s day and the place she was going was her best friend’s engagement party. she was happy for her, sure, but did she want to go to their party? fuck no. 

granted, she had never met sophie’s fiancé and was slightly scared for what was coming. she had a tendency to date terrible men so agatha could only hope that this guy was at least nice. 

she doubted it.

agatha arrived about 15 minutes late and soon realized she knew almost none of the attendees. after looking around the room for a moment, she spotted hester, the only person she seemed to recognize, and quickly shuffled in her direction to avoid the wrath of sophie who was currently sitting upon a table, sipping a bubbly pink drink from a champagne flute. as agatha moved across the wooden floors, she accidentally stepped too hard, causing a loud thunk to be heard throughout the room.

“curse you stupid shoes,” agatha murmured down at her clumps as sophie hurdled towards her, moving surprisingly fast for someone in stillettos. not knowing if this encounter would be pleasant or a complete nightmare, she braced for impact as sophie flung her arms around agatha’s stiff body.

“oh aggie dear! so glad you could be here” sophie gushed, a slight french accent rolling off her tongue as she hugged her best friend. “all these years and you still haven’t gotten rid of those horrendous shoes.”

“you look… different” agatha stammered, looking her best friend up and down. granted, they hadn’t seen each other in about four years but kept ties over text messages, but she still didn’t realize how much sophie had changed; her barbie-blonde hair cascaded down her narrow shoulders in beach waves and her curves were accentuated by her pink bodycon dress. she was 4 inches taller in her heels that matched her dress and a large pink diamond was situated on her left hand. her skin was smooth and tan, and on her wrist there was a small heart shaped mark that agatha had never remembered her having.

“thank you darling,” sophie cooed, brushing her acrylic nails along her friend’s pale arm. “and you look… the same.” sophie gestured to agatha’s short black hair that had looked the same since she was about 8 and her muddy shoes that she had worn every day for the past 4 years. in a matter of seconds, sophie had grabbed agatha’s wrist and was dragging her across the room back to the table she had originally come from and they were standing in front of a tall boy agatha did not know. 

when she looked up from the floor, her mooney brown eyes were instantly met with a pair of sparkly blue ones. a weird feeling, like a shock or a firework, spread through her body when they saw each other. she didn’t like it, though she kept staring at him as if she was in a trance. he had a mop of curly amber blond hair that looked like it had been styled once this morning but had slowly lost its style over a day of running his fingers through it. his face was sharp and handsome, with a chiseled jawline that could cut diamonds and the only possible imperfection that could be seen is a bump in the bridge of his nose that was dotted with a loose amount of freckles. he was slightly shorter than agatha and was dressed in a crisp pair of blue jeans, some sleek black boots, and a half unbuttoned white dress shirt with the sleeves rolled to his elbows, displaying more freckles on his chest and arms. on his wrist, he had a small heart shaped mark that was similar to sophie’s, but this one seemed a little more real and familiar. underneath the mark, there was a small tattoo of a sword that resembled something from a fairytale. as she stared at the tattoo, she realized his hand was outstretched to her, silently waiting for a handshake. she smiled at him and took his hand, feeling another spark when they touched. 

“hey, i’m tedros. it’s lovely to meet you.” he spoke with a voice like smooth silver as he cocked a grin, his eyes reflecting the sunlight coming in from the windows and dimples making an appearance on his cheeks. his voice had a hint of a british accent which made agatha’s chest feel funny. she coughed quickly and smiled at him, releasing her hand from his grasp.

“agatha. nice to meet you too” 

“agatha…” he pondered, lifting his hand to his sharp chin as he looked to the ceiling. “a pretty name for a pretty girl.” moments after finishing his sentence, sophie slunk herself underneath the arm that was previously perched on his hip and he laughed just a little bit. she brushed her fingers along his exposed chest and leaned up onto her toes to kiss his cheek. 

agatha felt awkward. she decided it would be best to wave a small goodbye and walk to the back of the room to chat with some of her other friends. as she left, she turned back just a little and saw a small frown on tedros’ face. besides the sad expression, sophie and him looked like the perfect couple; both blonde and beautiful and practically dripping with luxury. when she faced forwards, agatha was face to face with hester who she’d accidentally ignored since the beginning of the party. 

hester was followed by four people agatha had never seen before: an incredibly tall albino girl with red eyes that stared into her soul, a slightly shorter boy who looked longingly at the couple at the front of the room, a buff black girl who clutched his hand, her gaze flicking from him to sophie to agatha and back to him again, and a short girl with a huge smile and hands full of chocolate cupcakes. the short girl set down her treats and greeted agatha with a warm handshake.

“hi! my name is dot! it’s very nice to meet you!” she pipped, her voice sounding deeper than expected. agatha smiled down at her and soon extended her hand out to the rest of the group but no one took it. 

“don’t mind them. hester’s just upset you haven’t spoken to her yet, anadil is just like this all the time, and nicola and hort are just jealous” dot said, nodding her head in the direction of sophie and tedros. 

hort blushed. nicola punched her in the arm. 

“... jealous that they got engaged so fast because nic and hort have been dating longer than those two have even known each other,” dot added quickly, causing the two to move away from the group towards a table with drinks. 

agatha understood and turned her attention to hester who, underneath her thick glasses, seemed pissed. actually, pissed is an understatement. otherwise, she looked as pretty as she always did, her eyeliner sleek and precise as usual, her nose ring and tattoos hardening her already tough appearance, and her red streaked hair blazing like demon horns underneath the bright lights. agatha ignored her expression and kissed her cheek, acting almost like she hadn’t just ignored her girlfriend of two years for the past 30 minutes. 

“what do you think of him?” hester growled under her breath. “you seemed so infatuated so what's the deal? you like him or something?” 

so that was the issue. agatha smiled and rubbed her hand up and down hester’s arm. “i mean he’s better than her former suitors, but he seems a bit daft. nice, but an idiot” she spoke, soothing hester and bringing about a smile instead of her usual scowl. she laughed grittily and leaned close to agatha, intertwining their fingers and kissing her softly.

the rest of the night was a blur. agatha branched out and made friends with most of the attendees, even spending time talking to tedros who turned out to be a really nice guy. they exchanged phone numbers as well. sophie protested but soon shut up when tedros promised to buy her a new purse. the food was delightful, the music wasn’t half bad, and agatha got to spend time with her girlfriend which was rare for them; hester’s schooling and job had a demanding schedule which left her with little to no free time which didn’t bother agatha since they weren’t super lovey-dovey, but she still enjoyed the time they could spend together, even if it was only a few moments between classes. 

agatha and hester left the party together, holding hands as they walked the quiet streets of their university towards hester’s dorm. they soon reached her building, saying goodbye with a short kiss under the yellow haze of the street lights. as her hand pulled away, agatha noticed a mark on her own wrist that she had seemed to forget about for the evening.

a small heart shaped mark.

well shit.

Chapter Text

that night, agatha could barely sleep. 

her mind raced with thoughts, rampant with reminders surrounding her best friend’s fiancé: sophie is lying to him, tedros doesn’t know, they’re getting married and he doesn’t know . but one thought stuck out more prominently than the rest: 

tedros is my soulmate.

agatha shuddered under her sheets, her fear and anxiety shrouded in the early morning darkness. as she wiped cold sweat from her forehead, she looked at her phone to figure out the time. her dark dilated eyes were met with a bright picture of her cat and the time that read 4:45 as she rolled out from under the covers, feet touching the cold wooden floors of her bedroom. walking through the doorway into her living room, she felt warm fur brush against her bare ankles.

“good morning luna,” agatha yawned, looking down at her small black kitten whose tail was wrapped around her calf. she meowed in response while running over to her empty food bowl, glittery purple collar jingling as her tiny paws hit the floor. agatha quietly moved to the first cabinet in her kitchen and opened it, pulling out a small scoop of kitten food and pouring it into the metal dish. luna chirped happily and shook her head a bit, quietly ringing the little bell on her collar as to say thank you.

after caring for her little cat, agatha decided to cuddle with a pillow on her couch and turn on cartoons to try and coerce her brain to let her sleep. she lazily scrolled through the tv channels, looking for anything made for people much younger than her before finally settling on a show. after about an episode and a half, the sun began to rise outside her window and her eyes grew heavy as she slowly drifted off to sleep, head no longer muddled with thoughts of soulmates or tedros or sophie…

that was until her phone rang.

the sound was abrupt, blaring through the small apartment, scaring luna and causing her to dive underneath the bed. agatha hesitated picking up; she was most certain that her groggy voice would be off putting to whoever happened to be trying to get in touch and she really wanted a day all to herself. but alas, she picked up the phone anyways, pressing accept and bringing it to her ear without fully finding out who was on the other end. 

“hello?” agatha said, forcing her eyes open to try to make it sound like she hadn’t just woken up (it didn’t really work). but nothing could have ever prepared her for the voice that answered. 

“hello. is this agatha? i want to make sure i have the right number” a familiar british accent responds, a small laugh ending his sentence.

tedros.

she struggled to not drop the phone before quickly spurting “yep that's me!” somehow she sounded more enthusiastic before but it felt fake and very rushed, her nerves from early that morning coming back in full swing like she’d never known them to.

another laugh.

“wonderful. i’m glad i have the right number,” tedros said. agatha could just feel him smirking through the phone.

“did you need anything else or…?” she asked, a little confused as to why he’d call her simply to see if the phone number was correct.

“ah yes, of course,” he muttered, seemingly forgetting what he was about to say. “sophie wanted to see if you would like to go out to lunch with us. i’ll be paying so there’s no need to worry about that,” then he laughed again. what was with this man and laughing? agatha thought to herself, focusing back in.

“...i mean sure i guess. when and where would you like me to meet up with you guys?” she was hesitant at first, but decided she might as well accept because who would pass up free food? agatha sure wouldn’t.

“does 12:30 at café belle vie work for you,” tedros asked, patiently awaiting a response.

“sounds great. see you in a bit,” agatha said hastily, hanging up the phone before he could say anything else. great , she thought. now you’re gonna third wheel you best friend and your soulmate instead of spending the day at home? good going agatha. they’re probably one of those couples who are all over each other in public and it’ll just make you feel bad and- she shook her head before she finished the thought. glancing back at her phone screen, she realized that she had basically no time to get ready.

rushing to her closet, agatha nearly tripped over luna who was sprawled haphazardly in the middle of the walkway. she stepped over the small cat quickly before grabbing a random sweater off of a hanger and a pair of jeans off the floor, stumbling back out of her room and onto the couch to shove on her socks and shoes. before leaving the apartment, she looked at herself in the bathroom mirror, running a brush through her messy hair and brushing her teeth as fast as she possibly could. she then grabbed her half-charged phone and shoved it in her backpack that she took everywhere. saying a small goodbye to her kitten, she ran out of the room into the hallway, slamming the door behind her.

the café was nearby her complex so agatha didn’t have to walk very far. it was actually a quite pleasant day, clouds spread across the baby blue sky in tufts of white as the sun stretched high above her head. the sky seemed to remind her of the blue of his- no. she cut off the image before it could fully manifest in her head. she already had to spend lunch with him so there was no use in making herself flustered before they even met up. 

as agatha approached the café, a wave of nerves washed over her body, her heart rate picking up speed and anxiety making her brain buzz. she seemed on the verge of a panic attack, cold hands making their way into her hair to press against her scalp to try to soothe her pounding head. she was about to run off in the other direction before she felt warm arms around her waist. she spun to see sophie, fabulous as always in her hot pink coat that she wore over a revealing white blouse and a pair of clean white jeans that hugged her curvy legs. her barbie blonde hair was pulled back in a sleek ponytail, accessorized with some very expensive looking white sunglasses and exposed ears, two pink diamond studs lining each of her earlobes. but what agatha really noticed was her hug; though she had hugged her yesterday, today it seemed a little more warm and genuine as if she sensed agatha’s rising fear and wanted to help her calm down.

“hello aggie! it’s so nice of you to join us for lunch,” sophie smiled, leaning up on her toes to quickly kiss agatha on her cheeks. “tedros is waiting for us on the patio,” she added, vaguely waving her arm in the direction of the fenced off area that appeared to be the outdoor seating of the restaurant. but as soon as she heard his name, agatha’s heart began to pick up speed again for reasons she couldn’t begin to fathom. she had a girlfriend and she definitely wasn’t in love with a guy she met yesterday, especially not her best friend’s fiancé. the marks had to be wrong, didn’t they?

somehow while she was stuck in her thoughts, sophie had led her over to the table, agatha now face to face with tedros. he stood tall even if he was still shorter than her, his posture slightly straighter than she had remembered. he wore an expensive looking tailored royal blue suit, a half unbuttoned black dress shirt, and a sleek pair of black boots. his hair was more of a golden blond in the sun, acting like a halo to add to his already angelic appearance. it curled softly and agatha resisted the urge to reach up and touch it. his eyes seemed to shimmer, his smile brightened his entire face, dimples forming on his blushed cheeks, and his freckles looked just a little darker than before. she also noticed that tedros had a large scar over his heart that she figured was too touchy of a subject to bring up during lunch the day after she met him. as she observed him, he pulled her into the warmest hug agatha had ever received; it was soft and comforting, almost like holding tight to a pillow during a thunderstorm. it only lasted a few moments before he pulled away, patting her lightly on the back of the shoulder and placing his hands onto the table next to him. 

“it’s so lovely to see you again, agatha,” tedros said, his light accent particularly apparent in the word ‘lovely’. he then sat down and motioned for the girls to follow suit, sophie taking the seat next to tedros and agatha sitting in front of him. they sat in silence for a moment, looking over the menu as sophie reached over to interlock her fingers with tedros’. a short time later, a waitress appeared by the table, smiling brightly at the group. she was pale with freckles dotting every inch of her skin and was situated in a wheelchair. her red hair was bright in the winter sun, fluffy bangs drooping over her forehead and resting on her pink glasses. she seemed like a very cheerful person, someone you’d spend time with and instantly feel happy and at peace. 

“hello my name is gen and i’ll be your server this afternoon. can i start you off with any drinks?” she rattled out, her kindness made incredibly apparent as she smiled brightly tedros cocked a smirk and took her hand lightly in his, placing a small kiss on top of her knuckle. 

“aren’t you pretty, love. and what a lovely name, gen. i’ll take a glass of water,” he mused, practically flirting with her. a pang of jealousy spread through sophie and agatha, the blonde’s envious green eyes flicking between her fiancé and the waitress.

“sparkling water please” sophie seethed.

“lemonade if you have it,” agatha grumbled. 

tedros just looked at them confused and then smiled, looking down at his menu as gen wheeled over to her station, blushing lightly and gushing about something to another waitress who looked over at their table before continuing their conversation. 

a little while went by, the group receiving their drinks and food they had ordered a little bit earlier, talking about anything and everything that they thought of. throughout the meal, agatha watched as sophie slowly snuggled up to tedros as she pecked at her salad, her arms wrapping around his bicep as they talked. agatha felt that everything felt so natural in the conversation, as of she’d known tedros for her whole life. she learned more about him as the time went on, but she felt he had walls up since sophie was around. he never held back from play-flirting with pretty much anyone and everyone that talked to him but he seemed to always agree with everything sophie had to say, hesitating sometimes as if he had opinions of his own that he didn’t feel like he could share.

at around 1:30, sophie’s phone buzzed on the table and she began to rush about, grabbing her things and slinging her expensive purse over her shoulder. 

“forgot i had class today at 2. bye babe! bye agatha! it was nice seeing you,” she pipped, kissing tedros lightly on the cheek before shuffling off as fast as she could in her tall heels.

and then there were two. 

“now that it’s just us, tell me a bit about yourself, agatha,” tedros said suddenly, breaking the silence between them. she looked at him a little funny before he quickly added “because she’s known you your whole lives and we just met yesterday.” he laughed softly, rubbing the back of his neck with his right hand, his sleeve coming up so agatha could see his heart mark and sword tattoo. she shuddered for a second but smiled just a little bit. 

“well, i don’t really know if my life is interesting enough for a retelling of it but i’ll try my best,” she laughed, a little uneasy and awkward until tedros gave her a soft smile which seemed to calm her down a tad. “i grew up just only a couple miles from here and was next door neighbors with sophie for my whole childhood basically. i know i was in foster care for the first couple of years i was alive before i was adopted on my fourth birthday. my mom is a doctor at a little boutique office and my father is an artist, though he has never seen any of his works, but we got to spend a good amount of time together when i was young, so it hurts to be away from them now that i’m in college…” as agatha talked, tedros leaned on his elbows, his body moving towards her as she continued on. now, less than a foot away from her, he began to pick up little details about her; she had deep black hair that was cut short to her chin, tracing her jawline as it fell. a lock of it fell in front of her face while she laughed about a funny instance that happened between her and sophie (something along the lines of rollerskates and her old cat reaper) and tedros resisted any urge he had in him to reach forwards and brush it behind her ear.  her large eyes were a beautiful shade of greyish brown and he noted that one was a shade darker than the other and that they were shaded by thick eyelashes. from what he could see, her skin was pale, almost white in the sunlight, and was dotted with pitch black beauty marks. her nose was small with a bump running down the bridge and her lips were thin and cracked, coated in cherry-scented chapstick that she seemed to apply vigorously every ten or so minutes. she was dressed in a pair of incredibly ripped black jeans, an oversized sweatshirt with the logo of a band he didn’t recognize, and a pair of clunky black shoes that she had worn the day before and added probably three or so inches to her already tall and lanky frame. 

tedros snapped back to focus on agatha when he realized that she had leaned forwards a bit too and listened in on what she was saying. “...i also really enjoy playing the piano in my free time. it’s not often as i don’t have one in my apartment and the music building is a little far so i can only play when i have a class nearby-”

“i love piano as well! in fact, i have one at my house if you’d like to come by and practice sometime,” he cut in, his eyes wide with enthusiasm as a slight blush crept over her cheeks.

“wow, really? that would be amazing, thank you tedros,” she laughed. “so tell me about yourself pretty boy-” she quickly cut herself off. “shit,” she whispered to herself as she looked back over at the boy in front of her who seemed more than happy to get to talk about himself.

“sure, love,” he says while drumming his fingers on the glass table beneath his hand. “i was born in london and moved to america when i was 7 because my dad’s music business became a huge success. because of it, he wasn’t around a whole lot but i always had my mom. but one night, one of the few times he was ever home, i woke up from a nightmare and went to go see them and they were arguing. bad. not long after that they split, my mom moved back to london with her new husband while i stayed with my dad here. he fell into a deep depression and was more distant than ever. plus he started drinking a lot. that didn’t last long and he, uh-, he-”

tedros’ breath hitched and he looked down into his lap, eyes squeezing shut to avoid tears from falling. as if on instinct, agatha reached across the table and placed her hand on top of his, causing him to look up at her. his eyes were wet and a sad shade of blue but he smiled; it was a genuine smile she had never seen before, not cocky, not a smirk, just a warm smile. he slowly took a breath in and wiped away his tears with his free hand, leaving the other locked underneath agatha’s. 

“well, after that, i ended up in foster care and quickly found a family with my moms. they taught me a whole lot about music, one’s a singer and the other’s an actress on broadway, and they made me feel loved in a way that i hadn’t felt in a long time. i’m sure they’d love to meet you sometime. but in any sense, my upbringing has taught me the importance of love and soulmates. now i know that sophie is my soulmate and i won’t make the same mistake as my father.”

agatha shivered. she knew sophie and him were not meant to be. “tedros i-” she stopped for a moment, thinking and leaning on the table in his direction. “thank you for telling me this,” she whispered, smiling and making eye contact with the boy in front of her. they were close. then tedros looked at her, really looked at her, and felt a warm shock run through his torso. in an instant, agatha pulled back in shock, laughing awkwardly and blushing like mad. she quickly moved her hand off of his and it shot back to rub at the nape of her neck.  

“what’s wrong?” tedros pondered, tilting his head to the side like a puppy. “does my breath smell bad?”

no, she longed to say. it doesn’t. you smell like roses and honeysuckle and it’s beautiful. “uh yeah,” she laughed once more, now unable to make eye contact. she peeked back for a moment to see his lips curled into a tiny pout. well now she just felt bad- 

“would you two like to order dessert?” the waitress from earlier cut in, her chair situated at the head of the table as if she had never left the first time she came over. she was chipper as ever and the light mood soothed tedros and agatha.

“i wanted to get a crèpe but do you want something or…” agatha trailed off, looking over to the boy in front of her who was twiddling his fingers while looking at the sky.

“oh uh yeah! but i know the crèpes at this place are usually too big for one person, so would you like to share one? we can get whatever fillings you’d like,” he pipped, addressing the menu situated in front of them both. agatha looked down for a few seconds and then looked over at the waitress. 

“we’ll have a crèpe with strawberries, bananas, whipped cream, and nutella please,” she said, reading through the ingredients as she listed them. gen gave a quick nod, resting the menu on her lap and quickly rolling back inside. 

“didn't take you for a sweets person,” tedros commented, taking a sip of water and looking over at agatha with big doe eyes. she stuck out her tongue at him.

“there’s a lot you don’t know about me, sweetheart,” agatha quipped, trying to hold a smirk but she bursted out laughing within seconds. tedros soon joined in, the pair cracking up at the table while other people on the patio looked over at them, confused. the waitress soon returned to the table as their laughing died down, placing the crèpe and the bill on the table, flashing a quick smile before promptly leaving. 

“i’m glad we got to spend this time together, agatha,” he said, sliding his credit card on top of the receipt without taking his eyes off the girl in front of him. “i hope we can do this again. i think we could make great friends.”

“yeah,” agatha smiled, shoving some of her dessert into her mouth with a small giggle. “friends sounds great.”