Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

CHAPTER ONE 
 
Living in a world where soulmates were real could be difficult sometimes. Yes, it had some benefits, like knowing who your soulmate was before you likely knew each other’s names, although that might not be a benefit, depending on who you ask. There were a lot of downsides though. Some people could never find theirs, some simply didn’t have one, and some people didn’t bother looking, leaving their soulmate looking for years without knowing it’s a lost cause, and some others never got the opportunity to meet theirs. Ruv was pretty sure he was in one of those situations.
Most, if not all, of Ruv’s classmates had already found theirs. Even Sarv, who he had once believed to be his soulmate, had an arm covered in blue. 
Needless to say, Sarv didn’t end up being Ruv's soulmate.
Which meant Ruv still hadn’t found his. Sometimes he wondered if they were even real. Surely, they must be, his fingertips were covered in the telltale black splotches.  
He couldn’t imagine himself with anyone other than Sarv, though, so he didn’t spend much time looking. Looking took time and energy, something that as a college student, he didn’t have anymore.
Looking at his fingertips, he sighed. Sometimes he wondered if he would ever find his soulmate. Even if he didn’t spend time looking, he still idly wondered what they’d be like. What he’d do once, or, if he found his soulmate.
II's not like it’d matter too much, in the end. He'd survived this many years alone, surely, he could survive a few more.

--=--
 
It was a regular day, and he had some free time between classes, so he visited a new café nearby the college campus.  It wasn’t new, or, at least, he didn’t think it was new, but he had a coffee machine at home, and thus never found the need to go to a café. Just a waste of money, time, and energy, in his opinion. Unfortunately, Ruv’s coffee machine had broken down several days prior, and seemed to be beyond repair. So, until Ruv could get it repaired, ot could get a new one, he had to deal with cafes and coffee shops in order to get his caffeine fix.
 
By the time he got to the coffee place, he was already dreading the inevitable encounter with the barista. Would it be too late to just go home? I can survive with instant coffee, right?

No, I can't survive with instant coffee. Damn.

 He pushed open the door and walked into the shop, hearing the quiet jingle of a bell as the door closed behind him.
The shop itself wasn’t that bad. The tables were made of a dark wood, ebony perhaps, and the floors were made of similar wood, although slightly redder. The walls were painted a pleasant cream colour, with some nature paintings hung up at certain points. In one corner, several armchairs were set up close to an electric fireplace [a real fireplace would likely be too much of a fire hazard], with a small glass coffee table between them with several magazines scattered about, as well as a few books. Two people sat at the chairs, but they seemed to be the only people in the shop, other than himself. 
Walking farther into the store, he could see the area behind the counter, which was made of a brick wall, with a chalkboard detailing the menu propped up on a shelf. Equipment, ingredients, and sweets were strewn about the counter below the menu, Ruv would’ve tried one, if he liked sweets.

The barista came out from a room behind the counter, and damn, he was attractive. He shouldn’t get his hopes up, though. Considering the other guy was about the same age as him, it wouldn’t be surprising if he’d already found his soulmate.  It was rare that anybody past the age of 20 had managed to go so long without finding a soulmate, and Ruv already being 25 himself-- 

“Um, sir?” 

The other person suddenly spoke up, and Ruv snapped out of his stupor, realizing he hadn’t been paying attention. 
 
“Ah, sorry. I’ll just have a regular coffee, please.” 
“Cream and sugar?” 
“No, thanks. It makes it too… sweet.” 
“I can understand that. I like sweet things, but the way some people sweeten their drinks is just... ugh. But anyways, can I get a name for that?” 
“Ruv.” 
“Alright, your coffee should be ready in a minute or two.” 
Amazed that he hadn’t botched the conversation, Ruv wandered away from the counter to take a better look at the rest of the store. Another person came in and ordered something, but eventually, Ruv’s drink was ready. 
The barista passed him the drink and accidentally brushed his hand, and while he would've normally recoiled at the contact,  Ruv managed not to react. 
 
On his way back to the campus, he nearly tripped on the sidewalk and spilt some his coffee over his glove. 
“сын любителя печенья!” 
He peeled the wet glove off of his hand, but then he saw it. 
The tips of his fingers, which had been covered in black, had turned a vibrant orange colour. 

Chapter Text

Whitty stared at his now ungloved hand.

His skin had always been too dark to see the marks where his soulmate would first touch him [‘soul marks’, as some would call them], but after taking off his gloves at the end of his shift, he could see that now his fingertips were now coated with a light lavender colour. Maybe he accidentally brushed his fingers with someone while handing them their drink? The first half of the day had been kind of hectic, being a Monday morning. Everyone wants coffee on their way to work, or school, or wherever they were off to.

He had met his soulmate, and he didn’t even know who they were. What if they never saw each other again? And if they did, how would they even know? It would be nigh on impossible to tell based on sight alone, hell, he couldn’t even remember half the people who had come in that morning.
He's panicking. He needs to get himself together.
He finished cleaning and making sure everything was in its proper place, and locked up the shop, mind still reeling.
Can he even find his soulmate again?

--=--

Whitty opened the door to his and Hex’s house. Walking up the stairs and farther into the house, he turned a corner into the kitchen and saw Hex baking something, probably banana bread, judging by the scent coming from the oven.
Hex turned around, before noticing him and smiling. “Hi, Whitty! How was work?”
Whitty shifted on his feet, grasping one hand with his other and playing with his fingers nervously. “I actually need to talk to you about something.”
“What is it?” Hex said, looking concerned.
“I… it’s hard to explain, but during work today… it’s kinda just…”

Hex noticed Whitty’s hand and gasped [well, did his best impression of a gasp, which honestly, wasn’t all that good, but it got the point across].

“YOU MET YOUR SOULMATE?” Hex shouted, ecstatic.
Hex seemed far more excited about Whitty finding a soulmate than Whitty himself was, which seemed to happen a lot, like when they decided to become roommates, when Whitty started making plans for his coffee shop, and, of course, right now. However, Hex somehow managed to quell Whitty’s fears every time they showed up, and managed to help him come up with a rational and productive plan.
“Well, yeah,” Whitty replied hesitantly. “But also not really, like, it’s a bit hard to explain. I don’t know who it is.”
“Oh. That could be a bit of a… problem. Do you at least know where you met them?” Hex asked.
“Probably at the shop, but I can’t be sure.”
“Are they a regular?”
“No, I don’t think I've ever seen them before.”
Hex seemed to think for a moment, before speaking up again.
“Alright, so, what can we do about this?”
“Absolutely nothing.” And he meant it. They weren’t a regular, so there’d be no guarantee that they’d come back, and the chances of them running into each other outside of work were astronomically slim.
“Don’t say that!” Hex placed a hand on his shoulder before continuing. “I’m sure there’s something we can do about it! Here, would you like some tea?”

Hex was surprisingly fond of tea, and of sweet things in general, despite not being able to eat any of it. However, Whitty was grateful. Hex’s tea was always perfect for calming him down. Hex prepared some tea, and they sat down on their couch.
“So, you said you probably met them at work?”
“Yeah, but this morning was really chaotic. Everyone was coming in and ordering complicated stuff...”
“Well, how about you think about it this way; your soulmate also met their soulmate.”
Whitty looked up from his drink. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Think about it; your soulmate would probably also be looking for you, too. So, if you met them at work, and they know they met you at work, you could just go back to work tomorrow, and they’d come to you!”
Whitty looked back at his drink. “But what if they don’t come back?”
Hex deflated. “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. If we come to it, which I’m sure we won’t. For now though, we just hope that they have the same plan we do.”
“I guess you’re right.”

Chapter Text

Ruv did not have a plan.

He had somehow made his way home without any further incident, and was now sitting on the counter trying to think of what to do next.

He had met his soulmate.

He had met his soulmate. The person who he would spend the rest of his life with, who would love him unconditionally. Who would stay with him through the thick and the thin, who would appreciate him for who he was. The perfect match for him.

And he had no idea who it was.
And there was almost no way to find out.

He needed a plan. Making a mental list of everyone he had had physical contact with recently, and ruling out Sarv, that left him with one person.
If memory served to be correct, he was pretty sure he had brushed fingers with that super-hot barista when they handed him his coffee. It’s a bit of a long shot, but there’s no other person it could have been, as Sarv already had a soulmate.
A plan formed in his head. Likely a stupid plan, but better than nothing. He would go back to the shop and see if the barista would recognize him and talk to him. He should run this plan by Sarv though, because she actually knows how to do things without making an utter fool of herself. He just hoped to God they weren’t as awkward as he was, because if they were, he would be absolutely fucked.

Chapter Text

Whitty woke with a start. Rubbing his eyes, he shut off his alarm and walked into the kitchen to make himself some breakfast. Grabbing a few slices of Hex’s freshly made banana bread, he got dressed in his work uniform, slipped two of the banana bread slices in a plastic bag, and left for work.  
  
Once he was at work, he swiftly wiped down the counters, washed some mugs he didn’t have time to do yesterday, and cleaned off all the tables.  
The first few customers came in, some new, but mostly regulars, and as the day went on, more customers came and left. So far, it felt like an average day. Or, it would have, if it weren’t for the inescapable weight bearing down on his shoulders.  
 
It was now well past noon, and nothing out of the ordinary happened. People came in, ordered drinks, or maybe sweets, and then they left. He was losing hope when the small bells above the door jingled quietly. The person from the day before walked in, glancing around nervously before making eye contact with Whitty.  
  
It felt as if time had stopped.  
  
--=--
  
Ruv woke up to an unusual silence. Normally, he would be woken up by his alarm, or if not, Sarv would wake him up [and chastise him for sleeping through his alarm, then give him a laundry list of chores to do].  
  
He rolled out of bed and grabbed his phone from the bedside table and checked the time.  
  
10:37

Well, fuck.  
  
Ruv hurriedly got dressed, put some bread in the toaster, and slid his laptop into a backpack, so that he had an excuse to stay in the coffee shop for a while and not look like a weirdo. 

His toast popped out of the toaster, and he quickly ate it before running out the door. 

Once he arrived at the café, he hesitated. Is this really a good idea? What if he isn’t there? He took a deep breath and steadied himself.

He opened the door and stepped inside, the bell attached to the door ringing behind him. 
The man behind the counter looked over and froze. Ruv waved a small greeting and walked over to sit at one of the tables, waiting for the shop to become emptier before talking to the barista. He saw the barista give a small wave back before returning to his work.
He pulled out his laptop and started working on a writing assignment that was overdue. Every few minutes, Ruv could see the barista glance at him.

About half an hour later, the coffee shop was relatively empty, so Ruv took that as his cue to strike up a conversation with the barista. Maybe he could learn his name.

Ruv walked over to the counter and spoke.

“So... are you my soulmate?”

Ruv mentally slapped himself. What the fuck, that is not how you open a conversation. What if he isn’t? Then he’d just think you’re some wierdo who--
“I think so? Sorry, it’s just... I’ve just never met my soulmate... before.” Oh. So maybe that wasn’t the worst opener ever.
That’s a lie. It’s still the worst.
The barista was blushing, surprisingly enough, and Ruv smiled a bit at the sight, immediately flinching with how it hurt his face.
But that’s about as far as the conversation went, before they fell into an awkward silence.
“So… would you like the same thing as last time?” the barista said awkwardly.”
“Um, yes. Please.” Ruv replied, just as awkwardly.
God this is not going well.
Ruv walked over to where his laptop and bag were and tried to make it look like he was working, and not just panicking.
By the time his drink was done, he was somewhat calmed down. He went to retrieve his drink, and was planning to make another attempt at conversation, but the barista was with another customer, so he decided to just go back to his seat.
Underneath the mug, there was a napkin with something written on it. “Call me :) – Whitty”, followed by a phone number.
Ruv smiled again, and flinched, again.
Maybe he didn’t totally ruin his shot after all.

Chapter Text

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okay im back after like. a year. man im like so good at staying consistent. going back to add new stuff right now and pretty soon chapter four is gonna be like 3 times the length hopefully. so. prepare. also new chapter incoming perhaps. will take time though. in the meantime ive been playing this really cool coffee shop game sort of. its called Coffee Talk. its pretty fun. takes place in a fantasy world where you run a coffee shop and people come in and you talk to them and learn about the characters and the world. its pretty fun. ive already said that. but yeah the musics great and the art is great. heck im listening to the music right now. really fun. go play it while i work on the new stuff.