Chapter Text
Marinette sighed and turned to her side, her hand holding up her head as she looked out her window. She hadn’t bothered closing the curtains and the moon was full and bright, bathing the teenager’s room in a silvery haze. She was trying her very best not to take a peek at her clock, but she knew she didn’t have much more time before 3:56 AM rolled on.
And after 3:56 AM everything would be different.
Well, not necessarily, she pondered, switching onto her back once again and fiddling with her duvet. It was just as likely that her soulmate was younger than her, and absolutely nothing would change until they turned 16 themselves.
And even if they were the one waiting on her, it wasn’t exactly probable that they would have written anything on their skin on some random night at four am. It wasn’t likely they would notice it if she actually got the guts to write anything herself right away, either. God, what an unfortunate time to have been born, Marinette!
…of course, there was also the possibility that her soulmate was in a different time-zone altogether.
Marinette turned and shoved her face into a pillow, muffling a scream. These were all possibilities she’d already considered, but as time ticked forward she couldn’t help but go back to them again, and each time she’d get even more panicked. Who the hell thought it was a good idea to have such an inane system for finding your soulmate, really?
That was the million-dollar question though, wasn’t it? There were several theories about its origins, but no one knew for sure how the soulmate bond came to be. Or why it randomly started manifesting at 16 with the ability to transfer writing onto your soulmate’s arm by writing on your own dominant one. Scientists were always coming up with theories to explain it away, but there wasn’t really a general consensus on the matter. And anyway, these days they were much more preoccupied with profiting off the whole thing, for there was a market for any and all products that could hinder or enhance the soulmate bond to your liking.
It started with the writing, so that you could communicate with your soulmate and choose when and how to meet (if ever), and what they would like and expect from their soulmate and the bond moving forward. Not everyone was in the best place to meet their soulmate at 16 (when she read the classic soulmate fairytales, Marinette had always thought that, all in all, the universe was quite considerate about the whole thing, but she was quickly rethinking her opinions on the matter).
Well, it started with that means of communication, but the bond itself would only properly activate once you and your soulmate touched your dominant hands together. And then it could be evolved and shaped in very different ways as time went on – influenced by each person and how the pair interacted with each other. Some couples could supposedly even develop some forms of telepathy if the bond was strong enough, but it was quite rare and reportedly difficult to endure for long periods of time.
Her own parents weren’t able to communicate directly with words inside their heads, but their bond was pretty strong. Sabine has explained it to her as having an acute sense of awareness of her husband, to the point where she could feel him at the back of her mind, and have some idea as to what his emotions were, as well as how close to her he currently stood. They could also push abstract thoughts and feelings at each other if they concentrated enough, and could almost always feel when the other was in pain. Even if they had never developed straight-up telepathy, it sure felt like that sometimes, when they moved and acted in perfect harmony. Watching them work together in the kitchen was a whole experience.
Marinette wanted that for herself. She did. That didn’t mean she wasn’t scared, though. Was she even ready for something like that so soon in her life? Seriously, 16 was way too early. If they ever did find whoever came up with the system, she sure would have some choice words for them. But then again, she couldn’t really picture herself ever being ready for something as monumental as meeting the person the universe thought was your perfect match, no matter how old she was.
Slowly, she lifted her head from her pillow and took a deep breath before grabbing her phone. She paused deliberately before clicking the button on the side, causing the screen to light up; Marinette blinked against the sudden brightness then squinted at the numbers above the silly selfie of her and Alya she kept as a background: 3:54 AM.
She let out an undignified squeak and almost fell out of her loft bed. She hadn’t quite expected it to be that late already – she must’ve dozed off somehow in the hours she’d been lying there agonizing about every possibility.
Oh god, what if she already knew this person? What if it was that one weird dude in Ms. Mendeliev’s class that always gave her the stink eye in the cafeteria because of that one time she accidentally spilled soup on him? Soulmate bond or not, there was no way soup boy would ever give her the time of day, and frankly, she was not a big fan of his either at this point, so really-
Her alarm went off and Marinette dropped her phone on her face.
“Ow!” she mumbled, rubbing at her cheekbone and trying not to panic as she frantically turned off the alarm. The silence that followed was almost overbearing. She didn’t really feel any different, but then again, she didn’t think it’d be an instantaneous thing. Or what different would even feel like.
Absolutely refusing to look at her right arm, even though she had purposefully chosen a long-sleeved pajama top to sleep in (in June), she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, fortifying herself. “Come on, Marinette, you can do this. There’s like a 1% chance there’s even anything there”, she whispered into her silent, moonlit bedroom.
She’d reflected on it earlier and promised herself that if her arm was bare, she’d give it the night, try to get some sleep, and then write something in the morning and wait for a response. All she had to do was make sure there was nothing written on her arm at the moment. She could totally do that. She wasn’t a coward.
Marinette hitched her right sleeve up to her elbow and then slowly opened her eyes.
Hi! I’m Adrien and I’ve been waiting for you for 275 days :)