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Soulmates weren’t rare. Nearly everyone had one, it was just a matter of finding them, which could prove rather difficult. The only way to know for sure was skin to skin contact. When soulmates first touch, they are imbued with a sense of warmth and safety like they’ve never known before, along with a feeling that cannot be described other than knowing, in their soul, that they have found their other half.
You hadn’t found yours yet. You tried your best to be okay with it, but growing up extremely insecure made it difficult to believe that you even had one, let alone that they wouldn’t just reject you outright. Twenty-odd years is a long time to go without feeling truly loved. You’d worked on yourself in that time, getting to a place where you weren’t quite confident in your own skin, but closer to comfortable than not. It was hard, and took a long time, but you no longer wanted to die every time you caught a glimpse of your reflection.
In your heart, you knew that having a soulmate wouldn’t have fixed any of that, anyway. It was just something you had to deal with yourself. But… It would have been nice to have some support during the journey. Ah, well. Maybe in the future.
Today, you were spending your day off doing something exciting for a change, rather than lazing about your apartment all day. Your friend Charlie had told you about a high ropes course located on the roof of a skyscraper that one of her coworkers was raving about, knowing how much you loved ropes courses and challenging your fear of falling. You’d thanked her profusely and immediately scheduled an appointment for your next day off.
The building stood at a respectable thirty stories, not the highest in the city but high enough to provide a thrill. The top level of the ropes course even extended over the edge, affording a dizzying view to the ground three hundred feet below. You were ecstatic.
Thankfully, there wasn’t much business at 10am on a weekday, so you had the ropes course all to yourself. The worker clipped you into the harness after giving you a safety rundown (don’t run, don’t crash into others, don’t look down unless you want to) and let you loose. You held the tether in your left hand, ascending the first set of steps. The high ropes course had four levels, with the fourth and highest level extending beyond the edge of the building. Thankfully, there wasn’t a time limit, so you would be able to experience each and every obstacle. You felt a childlike grin pulling at your cheeks. This is the shit I live for.
More than half an hour later, a small group of kids had come and gone, too scared to go beyond the first level, while you were methodically working your way up. You shimmied across balance beams, swung on hanging ropes, and carefully trekked across wobbly bridges. It was everything you’d hoped for. Finally, you’d made it to the top level. Trying to contain your excitement, you took the most direct path to the overhang. The obstacles on this level were the most sparse, and it took you longer than previously to cross the distance. Eventually, you’d made it.
Stepping onto the platform, you took a moment to gaze out at the view. The sun shone brightly down, the cloudless sky a pleasant blue. You watched the traffic move through the streets, antlike and miniature. You felt the wind whip through your hair, your ponytail waving frantically behind you. You closed your eyes and soaked it all in, indescribably grateful to be alive and experiencing this moment.
Then, there was a distant boom. You paid it no mind at first, until the entire structure you were attached to began to violently shake. An earthquake?
It wasn’t an earthquake.
It became clear that there was a villain attacking the base of the building, knocking out supports and making the entire thing groan and sway. Panicked, you began hauling ass to try to get out of the metal cage you’d become trapped in. You only made it through three obstacles before the shaking became so strong you could no longer move.
You clung to the tether, casting your eyes about for the worker. You caught a glimpse of him disappearing into the door leading to the stairs. Shit. There goes my only hope. The muffled sound of screams reached you from the ground below. You looked at the sky, trying to make the last thing you’d see a pleasant one as you felt the top of the building wobble and start to fall.
You clung to the beam of the platform you were on, trying not to be thrown to the side. The distant booms grew louder and more frequent. They sounded like they were traveling up the building… Which meant that either the villain had triggered explosives on each floor, or… Or…
Desperately, you kept your eyes locked on the edge of the roof the explosions seemed closest to. The building continued to fall, gradually shifting and dropping a few floors at a time but thankfully not toppling over. Giant cracks appeared in the surface of the roof, and you waited. The booms grew louder still, until movement caught your eye.
Dynamight flew over the edge of the roof, turning midair with a well-aimed blast to head straight for the ropes course structure. At a distance, you couldn’t be certain he’d even seen you. You screamed his name. His head snapped up to look directly at you, and then he was gracefully bobbing and weaving through the mess of obstacles, coming to a stop just feet away from you. He grabbed hold of the tether with one gloved hand, shooting a small blast with the other, severing the cord that kept you tied to the metal. He stepped closer, balancing on the edge of the platform and a structural beam.
“Hands around my neck, and hold on tight!” He yelled, gruff voice easily heard over the sound of the collapsing building. You forcibly removed your arms from the beam you were hugging and brought them up and around his neck. Your hands clasped together and suddenly the world was spinning, colors and sounds all running together. There was a heat in your chest that would be searing if it wasn’t pleasant. Through it all, the only thing that stood still was Dynamight. His brows were furrowed, steely determination in his gaze. He wrapped one arm around your waist and set off a blast with the other, propelling you out of the ropes course and into the open air. Distantly, you were aware that you were free falling, descent slowed by the occasional explosions he let out. Usually, you’d be terrified. Falling was one of your biggest fears, but somehow you knew that you wouldn’t get hurt.
At some point during the fall, your instincts must have kicked in, because when he landed on the ground your legs were wrapped around his hips like some sort of monkey. You shakily removed yourself from his person, grateful for the strong hands that bracketed your hips to steady you. Once you were on your own two feet, medical personnel started rushing towards you. Dynamight’s eyes snapped between them and you, red irises captivating, before he leaned closer.
“What’s your name?” He asked.
Tripping over your words, you gave it to him.
“Don’t let them take you until I’m back.”
And with that, he was off, blasting his way back to the still-collapsing building. You stared after him, probably in shock, before the paramedics arrived at your side and began asking you questions. You walked with them to the temporary medical tent, but refused an ambulance to the hospital. Once they were satisfied that you hardly had a scratch (thanks to Dynamight), they wrapped you in a shock blanket despite the strange warmth lingering in your chest. You waited near the ambulances, thinking about his words. Is that standard practice for rescues? That doesn’t seem like standard practice for rescues.
He returned a few times, each time dropping off an injured civilian, sometimes two, before heading immediately back to the collapsed building. It was now fully fallen, jagged hunks of concrete flung about in a wide radius around it. You could see Earphone Jack inspecting the rubble in the distance, waving over teams whenever she located a survivor. You pulled the shock blanket tighter around your shoulders and leaned against the side of an ambulance, knowing the wait would be long.
Eventually, about two hours had passed, and you heard the medical staff heaving sighs of relief that the building had been declared clear. They began packing up their stations. Heroes trickled out of the rubble, slowly picking their way back to the surface. You kept an eye out for spiky blonde hair as each figure emerged. One by one, heroes that were known to be Dynamight’s friends appeared.
First was Earphone Jack, walking out of a doorway that was somehow still intact. She plugged one of her jacks into the building while she dusted herself off, presumably to listen for everyone’s safe departure. Next was Red Riot, shoving a slab of concrete out of his way and looking just as fresh as when he entered the fight. He tugged at his boot, dislodging some debris from it before wandering over to Earphone Jack. Pinky gracefully flipped up to the top of a pile of rubble, picking her way down like some sort of bubblegum pink mountain goat to stand beside the other two. She had soot in her hair, but looked as gorgeous as ever. Cellophane came out of the same doorway Earphone Jack had opened, and then they were all looking at each other, talking and playfully shoving each other around.
Finally, there was a muted BOOM as a medium-sized explosion took out some of the rubble, dust settling to reveal Dynamight. He must have gotten tired of picking his way through the debris and instead opted to blast his way out. He climbed out of the hole he was in and stalked right past his friends, who were all shouting for his attention. He paid them no mind, striding towards his goal with singular purpose.
Suddenly, you realized his goal was you. He was walking directly toward you, eyes locked on your form. He had some scrapes that were slowly leaking blood, becoming more clear the closer he got. There was ash streaked in his hair and soot across his face. He looked like hell. He looked incredible.
A strange pull in your chest made you get up from your position of being slumped against an ambulance. You shuffled towards him, wary of getting too close to the building but wanting to see why he’d asked you to stay. It wasn’t every day you got to meet your favorite hero, and you wanted to make the most of it. Hell, you just wanted a chance to say thank you.
When he was within ten feet of you he shucked off his grenadier bracers, peeling off his padded gloves. He stepped forward, pulling you close with one hand across your shoulders and the other on the back of your head, pulling it to rest against his chest. He set his chin on the top of your head and let out a shuddering sigh, the tension from the rescue seeming to drain out of his body.
What the fuck. What the fuck, what the fuck, what the fuck.
You were not prepared for him to hug you, let alone so gently. This was Dynamight, the hero known for being half-feral in the heat of battle, the hero who cussed out reporters and beat the absolute shit out of villains. The hero who took no shit from anyone and was never, ever described as soft or gentle. Yet, here he was. Holding you like something precious.
You’d nearly forgotten the other heroes in your shock, but their presence was made known when Red Riot let out a probably louder-than-intended “OHHHH.” The rest of them were standing in a loose semicircle, gawking at you and Dynamight. Red Riot started herding them away, whispering furiously as he did so. There were some double-takes, and then Pinky was giggling and waving, and they all slowly took their leave.
Dynamight still hadn’t moved. You gently pulled away just enough to look up at him. His eyes were closed, mask sitting slightly crooked across his face. For some reason, you found yourself wanting to straighten it and wipe away the soot.
“Um, this is really nice, but… Why…” You trailed off, momentarily distracted by his opening eyes. They were such a beautiful shade of red in the sun. You found your voice again. “Why are you hugging me?”
He stared at you like you had hit your head.
“Why the fuck wouldn’t I hug my soulmate after they nearly died?”
Your heart stuttered, stopped, then began racing. Your eyes were wider than you thought possible. That warmth, the lack of fear in the fall… Could it really be…?
“THAT’S WHAT THAT WAS!? I thought it was adrenaline, holy shit,” your eyes darted around, taking in your soulmate’s stunned face. “Holy shit!”
You laughed, disbelieving. You’d waited so long and now that your soulmate was right in front of you, you hadn’t realized it. He was blinking at you, a pinch between his eyebrows.
“Fuckin’ dumbass…” he said, without an ounce of exasperation. He almost sounded fond.
He pulled you close again, burying his face in the crook of your shoulder. You breathed in the scents of burnt sugar, ash, and dust. The moment only lasted a few seconds.
“...You’re kinda sweaty, y’know.” You said, feeling the clamminess of his sweat settling onto your skin.
“And? You’re covered in dust.”
“You have a point.”
Taking a shower could wait. Basking in the warmth of your soulmate’s embrace couldn’t.