Chapter Text
Thaddeus Solomon Venture
Rusty grew up with the unwavering belief that soulmate markings were for the weak-willed and he'd never have one appear. After all Jonas Venture lived his entire life without one and proclaimed that Ventures didn't need Soulmates because they had Science. And in the case of Jonas Venture a never ending parade of beautiful intelligent bedfellows. He instilled in Rusty that importance for a Venture to have no weaknesses, to stay strong in the midst of any isolation or adversity.
It therefore came as a wholly unwelcome shock when Rusty rolled out of bed the morning of his thirteenth birthday with a small but terrible rash under his left buttock. Even though he hadn't visited any exotic locales in over a year (amazing how boy adventurers and manly discoverers were lauded, but gawky teen would-be-explorers were left at home) Rusty assumed it was a nasty bug bite or a mild tropical fever symptom. No biggie, he was Rusty Venture.
Only it itched more fiercely as the day went on even after his shower. Finally during late afternoon he caved and got out a hand mirror to inspect the rash. A raised blur of a signature greeted him and Rusty promptly lost the contents of his lunch.
Later H.E.L.P.E.R. brought him soup in bed and he napped fitfully. Finding out he very much did have a soulmate was not how he wanted to spend his birthday. The only upside to having everyone forget your birthday and not be at home was that no one was there to see you get blotchy faced from crying and sicking up.
A week later when Jonas returned home from a daring expedition a certain robot (who was never totally forgiven) tattled that Master Rusty had manifested his soulmate marking.
To his credit his father didn't ask to see it or belittle him. He only quirked a strange smile over breakfast and said, “It's nothing to worry about, Rusty. If you don't like them or don't meet them you're no less than you ever were. You're stronger than you think.”
No less, indeed he wouldn't be lesser than before that hateful smudge! The problem was shoving away the nagging hope that he would be more. That maybe just maybe he'd be one of the lucky ones whose mate inspired them to be better, whose life got became richer and sweeter, he could even bear the pain of losing them if he could only know that it'd be wonderful instead of just awful. Because knowing his luck it'd be misery start to finish.
The one upside to having such a bizarre placement of his marking was that he didn't need to buy privacy jewelry. The downside was that he was Rusty Venture he didn't trust even the most discreet doctor to examine him without a bandage or industrial strength concealer. Team Venture was the absolute worst at humiliating him and the thought of one of them finding out turned his stomach.
(Except for Kato. Not only was Kato practically voluntarily a mute he was the only one who never forced Rusty into awful situations and defended him even from his teammates' pranks.)
It took another three years before the smudge cleared up enough for Rusty to make out the letters B and S which figured. Four years after that on his twentieth birthday with the aid of two mirrors he finally saw the name and got sick all over again.
Of course it was a man's name. Of course his body knew about the dreams he's had all through puberty. Not that he didn't find women attractive it was just comparing a puddle and a tidal wave for the effect they had on his traitorous body.
When the dry heaves and sobs subsided Rusty decided that he would never ever ever search for his stupid soulmate. Team Venture would never let him live it down. His father would be disappointed. And the rest of the world would have a good laugh over the fate of their once beloved child star.
College brought mercy in the form of uppers. Anything that kept him from thinking, from dreaming, from wishing. His freshman year roommate Pete liked to flaunt his jeweled privacy cuff and in a moment of extreme weakness Rusty confessed he had a soulmate marking. In a moment of jittery pill-fueled rage Rusty threatened awful super science consequences if Pete let the secret out.
Then if finally happened.
Senior year he was assigned Brock Samson for a roommate. He hoped against hope that the name was a coincidence. The first brush of their arms when Brock brought in his duffel bag confirmed it. An electric tingle leapt up Rusty's spine. Samson seemed utterly devastatingly unaffected.
Right.
Rusty would be in that lovely demograph of people whose soulmates didn't have the matching name. Either they had no marking at all or they sported a different name on their mark.
Because why should he expect anything else in life.
If he started adding more to his current pill cocktail it was between him and his shitty body and his even shittier life.
The defining moment of his awfulness was solidified when his father died on the same day Samson was expelled because his first thought was:
At least Dad will never have to know.
Coda:
Every year Rusty expected the other shoe to drop, for Brock to finally leave them. When he finally does it hurt more than Rusty anticipated. Twenty years of living with his unrequited soulmate and raising a family was still better than he deserved.
But he's still glad that Hank and Dean have yet to show a mark.