Archive of Our Own

Rui is five years old when his soulmate first writes on his skin and his parents explain to him what soulmates are.

“Whatever you draw on yourself will be written on your soulmate’s skin too. I think you and your soulmate will get along well, don’t you? They seem quite enthusiastic.” His mother smiles upon seeing the unintelligible scribble on his arm.

The idea of soulmates is strange to him. He knows his parents are soulmates, and sees it in the identical words written on their bodies, but how did they find out? Rui knows his aunt and uncle aren’t soulmates but they have three kids and get that sappy look adults get when they look at their spouse.

Does someone have to fall in love with their soulmate? What if his aunt were to find her soulmate? Would she leave his uncle and marry her soulmate?

And a question that appeared in his head after his parents told him about soulmates, what if I don’t love my soulmate?

Rui wonders too, will he know the moment he sees his soulmate that he’ll end up falling in love with them? Will he track their form with his eyes, knowing subconsciously they will eventually hold his heart in their hands?

He doesn’t know.

That night before he goes to bed, Rui hesitantly draws a hello on his forearm. Within moments, his soulmate answers.

HELLO!!!!! They write. Their handwriting is terrible, a hurried chicken scratch.

He pauses, unsure of what to say, before adding, Are you about to go to bed too?

Yeah! They respond, I’m sleeping with my sister today in the living room. We made a fort.

The next day when Rui wakes up, the smudged evidence of their conversation is still displayed on his forearm. He can barely contain his excitement when he runs to his parent's room, proudly showing off the words his soulmate and he wrote.

“That’s wonderful.” His dad laughs, pressing a kiss to Rui’s forehead. Rui feels the press of emotions at his chest whenever he spots the ink on his skin, glittering warmth and a tiny smile. It fades after a few days, but his soulmate never stops adding more words to his arm.

Over the years, he learns more about his soulmate. They have a younger sister, they hate bugs, their birthday is on May 17th, and they want to become an actor when they grow up.

His soulmate gives away his dreams and enthusiasm every day. Ever since their first conversation, Rui is greeted with a Good morning! Without fail, his soulmate has made sure the rushed words will be there when he wakes up.

He’s in class when he glances down at his wrist and spots handwriting.

Hello! How has your day been?

He spares a glance at the teacher before grabbing one of his pens and jotting down, It’s been alright. Yours?

It’s been splendid! Rui can’t help the small smile appearing on his face when the writing appears on his wrist. He can imagine the way his soulmate would say it, confident words rolling off of his tongue cheerfully.

He wonders what his soulmate looks like practically every day. Do they fidget with their hair when they talk? Is their hair long or short? Do they play any instruments? What’s the color of their eyes?

So many questions he won’t get answers to anywhere near now.

He ponders on what to say before settling on telling them, School is boring.

After a few seconds, they respond, How dreadful! At least you have your saving grace, me.

In the middle of the teacher’s lecture, Rui barks out a laugh. The entire class shifts in their seats, turning their judgmental eyes his way. Hastily, Rui shoves his arm behind himself in an attempt to hide the conversation.

“Is there anything you’d like to add, Kamishiro-san?” The teacher asks, eyes stony and voice cold.

He swallows, “No.”

Rui’s teacher makes a frustrated sound in the back of her throat, “Then don’t interrupt.”

He nods obediently and moves his attention back to his arm.

My knight in shining armor. He writes with a smile.

Of course!

After that, Rui starts writing to his soulmate during class too. They don’t seem to mind it and their words brighten the confining cage Rui’s classmates enclose him in.

One day on the rooftop, Mizuki spots something his soulmate wrote on his skin.

“Oh? Is this the dear soulmate you can’t stop talking about?” It’s true, he never stops talking about his soulmate. Mizuki complains that he makes them jealous because their soulmate is a bundle of fiery energy who gets mad at them whenever they ask about their height.

“Yes, it is.” He nods.

Snickering, Mizuki grabs a pen from their bag and jots down, Hello, my friend’s soulmate.

His soulmate answers almost immediately. Mizuki laughs, “Your soulmate’s nothing like mine, huh? You’re lucky.”

Hello! May I ask who you are?

Rui watches Mizuki ponder for a moment before writing down on his arm, Your soulmate’s best friend.

“Best friend, hm?” Rui laughs, shaking his head.

Mizuki grins at him, snorting, “I’m your only friend. Therefore, I’m your best friend.”

Rui doesn’t bother to hide his fond smile before adding, “That’s solid logic.”

“Oh! Your soulmate just answered~!” Mizuki gasps.

They read out what his soulmate’s answer was, “Splendid! I assume you know them well?”

Rui rolls his eyes when Mizuki smirks and says as they reply to his soulmate, “You could say that.”

It’s good to meet you, my soulmate’s best friend! I’m sure they’re happy to have you. Midway through reading his soulmate’s response, he realizes that their handwriting is neater than it usually is.

Are they trying to impress Mizuki? He laughs at the idea of his soulmate meticulously writing on his arm, carefully making sure his handwriting is fancy enough for Mizuki to approve of.

It must prove successful, since Mizuki elbows him, “I like your soulmate.”

Rui murmurs, “I do too,” And stifles his laughter when Mizuki shoves him, complaining about his sappiness.

—---—---—

One day, Rui wakes up and glances at his arm to see it blank.

Frowning, he grabs the pen he always leaves on his nightstand to write, Good morning.

Good morning! Rui waits for his soulmate to say more, possibly explaining why they didn’t greet him in the morning like they always do, but they don’t add anything else.

Ah, right. Today is their birthday, isn’t it? He wrote a letter to them weeks ago for it and still needs to figure out a way to show it to them. Rui figures the best way is to just ask them to look away from their arm so he can write it down. Hopefully, it’ll work.

Happy birthday. He pens on the back of his hand.

His soulmate answers with, Thank you! On the back of his wrist.

He wants to add how he’s been thinking about them for the past weeks, crumpling up and restarting every rough draft of his letter, but how could he explain that? So he settles on leaving it with that and telling them about the letter later.

By the time the sun has gone down Rui’s gathered his courage and cautiously writes on his arm. I wrote a letter for you.

—---—---—

Tsukasa’s alone on his birthday for the first time.

He visited Saki earlier. She’s still in the hospital, confined there until she gets better. She wished him a happy birthday and hugged him. Her hug, tight and full of love and regret, made him feel better.

It isn’t her fault. He knows that. But he hates how easily her cough can turn into a fever and that turns into rushed trips to the hospital. He knows she hates it even more.

“We’re so sorry, love, but we want to be there in case anything happens.” His parents told him before he left the hospital. She’s been doing worse.

He remembers when they were younger and he would stand on boxes with a cape on, performing plays for her to make her smile. He remembers overhearing conversations while Saki slept, hearing his parents whisper at each other harshly.

“She’s getting worse.”

“I know.”

Ever since seeing his parents grow more and more tired and the sparkle in his sister’s eyes fade, he made it his goal to ensure the grin on Saki’s face never left. With a tiny smile, he recalls how her eyes widened the first time he performed a play for her. She clapped and asked for more, clutching the star plushie he used to own that he gave to her.

“Yellow is the color of the stars! I’m gonna be a star when I grow up and I’m gonna put on awesome plays for you!”

She was crying the first time he put on a play for her, eyes rimmed with red and overflowing with tears. She was hunched on the ground while their parents got ready to go to the hospital with her.

Tsukasa remembers grabbing a cape and pen, creating a story from scratch and desperately hoping she’ll like it.

The next time he performed for her, he was ready for it. During the car ride over, he curled up in his seat and read from the story he made for her. He even brought a little crown he made and the cape he used last time.

Saki watched him from her bed, a hesitant smile pulling at the edges of her lips by the time he was done. She still had the star plushie.

A few weeks later, she became well enough that the doctors let her go home.

He took the opportunity in stride, playing piano with her constantly and running around the house with her. For those couple weeks, his home felt lively, and energetic instead of subdued. Saki and he would make forts in their rooms and giggle together in them while creating stories until they got too tired to keep going.

But after two weeks, Saki got a cold. Their parents held out hope it would go away but like always, it got worse.

Tsukasa sighs as he slumps in his bed. His soulmate hasn’t said anything to him besides good morning and happy birthday. He wonders if they never got anything for him.

It’s okay. They don’t have to get you something. They haven’t even met you in person yet. Stop expecting that they’ll do something more than say happy birthday. Despite how he repeats the words it doesn’t matter in his head, foolishly, he continues to hope they did something for him.

He’s already about to go to bed after singing Happy Birthday to himself when he glances at his arms and spots whatever his soulmate wrote on his arm. I wrote a letter for you.

A letter?

Frantically, Tsukasa scrambles to grab a pen and jots down, Really?

Of course. Please look away from your left arm for a moment while I write it down. I’ll tell you on your right arm when I’m done.

Tsukasa sits in anticipation while he spots black ink start to appear on his left forearm. Tell me you’ve finished, please. He whispers to himself in his head.

Finally, after what feels like hours, his soulmate writes, Finished, in messy handwriting on his left wrist.

Happy birthday. I’m not very good at cards but I’ll try my best for you. I have to say, I don’t know exactly where I would be if you weren’t there to greet me every morning and make me laugh. It makes me question if I’ve done enough for you. Have I? I don’t know. I don’t think you’re someone who’d tell me if I haven’t. Sometimes I wish you would, just so it’d be a bit easier to understand you. Happy birthday. I hope this day was a good one.

He stares at the words until his soulmate asks, Did you like it?

Yeah. Thank you.

He copies the words onto a blank sheet of paper and adds, from my soulmate, at the bottom to remember it.

—---—---—

“But Tsukasa, think about it. It would be quite rewarding for the audience, don’t you agree?”

“What about me?! What do I get out of this?!” Tsukasa screeches, running away from Rui. Rui should’ve thought about waiting and pitching his idea better but there’s no time like the present.

Emu frowns, “Tsukasa-kun, why are you running away?”

Out of the corner of his eye, Rui spots Nene scoffing and crossing her arms, “Just agree to it. Stop being so dramatic.”

“Never!”

“Sleep on it. I’ll ask you about it again tomorrow.” Rui laughs as he finally relents and allows Tsukasa to catch his breath on the stage. Overall, he’s satisfied with their rehearsal today. He was able to work out some kinks in Nene’s character and figure out how to set a few scenes better.

“Fine. That doesn’t mean I’ll agree, though!” Tsukasa huffs angrily.

“Of course. Just think about it for a little bit.” Rui steps up in front of where Tsukasa is still hunched over with his hands on his knees on the stage.

There’s a moment when Tsukasa lifts his head and their faces are inches away where Rui can swear his troupe mate was blushing. That is, until he coughs loudly, accidentally trips, and falls backward.

Emu gasps and asks if he’s okay while Nene glares at him as if she knows what he's thinking. She probably does, considering she’s one of only two people who know he’s in love with Tsukasa.

“What about that soulmate of yours?” Mizuki asked with a smirk when they found out. He shrugged sheepishly, clearly flustered, and they laughed and decided to take pity on him.

“You should just confess,” Nene mutters when she’s within his earshot. Emu is too busy waving her arms and fussing over Tsukasa loudly while he brushes off her concerns.

Rui shakes his head, “And if he’s not my soulmate? I still don’t know who they are.” Nene’s lucky. Emu’s body language is so lively that it’s impossible for her to hide any pen marks her soulmate or she wrote on her arm. After a few weeks of the four of them becoming a troupe and working together, Nene staggered into his room while blushing furiously.

“Emu and I are soulmates.” She whispered, eyes wide with shock and wonder.

“True.” Nene shrugs.

Rui knows he isn’t confessing anytime soon, but upon watching Tsukasa strike his ridiculously endearing poses, he has the sudden urge to pour his heart out to him.

—---—---—

“I’ve done many things for you over the months, Lil’ Bro. I’ve helped you find your soulmate, I’ve taught you how to shop properly. Honestly, you should give me a medal.” Mizuki starts.

Akito had the sense to look wary before they even started. “What are you getting at?”

They don’t mean to, but the words pour out of their mouth before they can take them back. “I need you to help me set up Rui and Tenma-senpai.”

The way Akito’s jaw drops would be funnier if they were kidding. “Like get them to date?”

Mizuki nods, glad he’s not being willfully ignorant. “Yuh-huh~”

“No.”

“Come on! Think of the brother and sibling-in-law bonding!” Mizuki exclaims. They really are desperate and who knows, Akito might be able to help. There are most likely better people they can ask, like An, but not asking Akito seems like a missed opportunity.

“Brother and sibling-in-law bonding…? You’re not even an adult yet.” Akito scoffs.

Mizuki grins, shoulders lifting mischievously, “I’m your sister’s soulmate. I’ll marry her someday.”

“First of all,” Akito glares furiously, “don’t remind me and second of all, why would I help you?”

Mizuki pauses, momentarily disheartened. “Because we’ll be family when I marry your sister!”

“You-!”

After much bribing and the promise that they’ll do Akito’s homework for the rest of this month and the next, Mizuki finally gets Akito to agree.

“Now onto the plotting!” Mizuki cheers, throwing an arm around his shoulder.

“Why do I feel like this is going to be more trouble than it’s worth?”

Mizuki giggles, “I have no clue what you’re talking about.”

—---—---—

Akito was right. Mizuki doesn’t tend to listen to him about those things but they must admit, the two are more oblivious than they originally thought.

Mizuki and Akito are on the roof, Mizuki pacing while Akito leans against the fence and watches them.

It shouldn’t be this hard, really. In and out, that was what they promised Akito. But Rui is deep in denial and Mizuki can’t figure out a way to show him that his love is requited. Even Akito sees it and he despises both of them.

“They have to be soulmates. I can feel it. But if I could just find a way to prove it…” Mizuki mutters to themselves. They’ve been shooting out ideas to no avail. Either they veto it themselves or Akito points out its stupidity.

Akito sighs, “Why don’t we just get a picture of Tenma-senpai’s arm? You can show it to Kamishiro-senpai and there, proof.”

Mizuki stops in their tracks to swivel their head in Akito’s direction. “Lil’ Bro, you’re a genius! I know exactly what to do. Start Operation Matchmaking Rui and Tenma-senpai!”

Akito groans loudly as if regretting his suggestion.

—---—---—

“I fucking hate this,” Akito mutters. They’re at a cafe, a few tables away from where Rui and Tsukasa are talking.

Mizuki lowers their sunglasses, “You agreed to it.”

“I didn’t agree to stalking them. Or wearing these clothes.” He hisses. They’ve been following the pair ever since the morning when Mizuki barged into Akito’s room and announced their plans for the day.

“But you look amazing in them! Really, I’ve outdone myself.” He’s wearing a white shirt Mizuki’s worn before that’s too big for them and light blue pants complete with a dark blue ribbon in his hair, the complete opposite of the black shirt Mizuki’s wearing. Although the shirt isn’t even visible underneath the double layer of jackets, a light yellow hoodie and a black jacket, clothes Akito picked out for Mizuki.

They both also have hats to cover their hair since not many people have bright pink or orange hair.

The sight of Ena’s confused face when she walked into the living room to see Mizuki wearing Akito’s clothes and Akito wearing Mizuki’s with their matching sunglasses and caps is permanently tucked into Mizuki’s mental folder named, cute Ena moments.

“What are we even doing here.” Akito frowns as he leans back in his chair and glances at where Tsukasa is yelling.

Mizuki smiles when they hear words along the lines of, “No way am I agreeing to that!”

They don’t know the context at all but it’s probably not that bad if Rui’s chuckle says anything.

Rui really does care for his friends, even if his ways of showing it are unorthodox. They remember how he’d stifle his smile whenever he glanced at his arm back then and the rare shine in his eyes when he showed whatever his soulmate said to Mizuki. They’re happy for him and damn it, they’re gonna make sure he gets the joy he deserves with Tenma Tsukasa.

“We’re gonna find a good moment to corner Tenma-senpai and get a picture of his arm. Oh! And we need to practice changing our voices.” Mizuki sings, already pitching their voice lower than normal.

Akito makes an unpleasant noise in the back of his throat. “No. I don’t want to sound like some schoolgirl.”

“Of course not~ just a little bit higher so he doesn’t recognize our voices.” Mizuki beams.

Akito pauses for a moment as if considering if it’s worth it until he sighs and says in a slightly higher voice. “Fine. When are we going to get the picture?”

With a glint in their eyes, Mizuki plants their forearms on the table. “Here’s my plan…”

—---—---—

“Can’t believe I’m doing this,” Akito mutters, turning his cap further down.

“Don't worry, Lil’ Bro. It’ll go off without a hitch!” Mizuki cheers. They reach up, take off his cap, and ruffle his hair, earning a grumble from the boy, before leaving him to go find Tsukasa.

As per the plan, Mizuki follows Tsukasa while he walks to the bathroom. They lean against the wall, foot tapping the ground impatiently until he emerges, a content smile on his face.

He doesn’t notice them until they clear their throat, “Hello, sir,” They greet him with a voice lower than usual so he can’t recognize it.

“Ah! Greetings!” He grins blindingly at them and Mizuki can imagine how Akito would break character and scoff at him. Now that they think about it, he’s terrible at acting, isn’t he?

That’s why I’m doing this and he’s distracting Rui. Mizuki muses to themselves.

Tsukasa’s smile starts to waver as the silence stretches while they consider how they’ll initiate the next step in the plan. The plan itself goes something like this:

Step one: While Tsukasa goes to the bathroom, Akito will distract Rui so he can’t go with him.

Step two: Mizuki will follow Tsukasa to the bathroom and figure out a way to get a picture of his arm. Freestyling the method of obtaining it is allowed.

Step three: Hightail it back to the Shinonome’s home.

(“Foolproof!”

“How the hell am I gonna distract Kamishiro-senpai?!”

“Go with the flow, Lil’ Bro!”)

Take a page out of Mafuyu’s book and rip the bandaid off, Mizuki finally decides. The method has its usefulness. However, they wish Mafuyu was with them so she could simply get the photo in that cold, unwavering way she does everything.

Strengthening their resolve, Mizuki steps forward and forces Tsukasa to the wall.

“Hah?!” He chokes out, shoulders drawn up and hands thrown in front of his face. Mizuki takes the opportunity to grab his left wrist and shove his sleeve up.

The reaction from Tsukasa is immediate. He writhes, trying to force his arm away from them.

Words from your soulmate are special, a simple stranger shouldn’t be asking for access to them. Even if Mizuki asked Tenma to show them his conversations with his soulmate without a disguise, he'd probably say no.

They understand. What they say with Ena is something intimate, a conversation meant for only them. It really throws a wrench in the plan, though.

However, in Tenma’s thrashing, he forces Mizuki to step back and trip, taking himself with them.

“Hold still.” They mumble as they grab out their phone (Ena’s, since Tsukasa has seen Mizuki and Akito’s).

He doesn’t hold still, even after Mizuki flips them so they’re on top of him with a knee braced on his chest to keep him down.

Biting their lip, Mizuki grabs his arm again and opens the camera app on Ena’s phone. Their face of concentration falters and turns into a smile when they see that the most recent photo in her phone is a picture of Mizuki grinning into the camera wearing Akito’s clothes— the picture taken just before Akito and Mizuki left to go stalk Rui and Tsukasa— with an arm thrown around his shoulder. Akito’s not even looking at the camera, too busy glaring and trying to shove away from Mizuki unsuccessfully.

If anything, Mizuki’s smile seems to freak Tsukasa out even more because he starts yelling in fear. “Help! Gahhhhh!!”

Shit. Mizuki’s moments away from taking the photos- they can see the words on his arm- when a man barges in.

“Hey, you! What d’you think you’re doing?!” He cries out angrily.

Mizuki freezes, and their eyes shift between Tsukasa, still thrashing, and the furious man at the door.

They have to get going before Rui comes in too.

The door bursts open and Mizuki closes their eyes, ready to see Rui’s confused face and his inevitable disappointment when he realizes it’s them, when they hear Akito’s voice still pitched a little higher than it usually is.

“Hey, Akiy- asshole! Let’s scram!” He yells, shoving the man to the side so Mizuki can have a clear shot through the door.

Without missing a beat, Mizuki stands up and races past the man. Just before they’re about to leave, they yell to Tsukasa and hope he can hear how apologetic they are. “Sorry about everything~!”

“What the hell went wrong?!” Akito hisses as they run through the store, ignoring the angry man calling for them.

“I had it, I was right there. The man interrupted me just before I could get the photo.” Mizuki throws the exit door open and follows Akito out of the store.

“You had it?! God damn it, Akiyama, what the hell are we gonna do now?!”

“Reconvene back at home so I can snuggle with Ena.”

“Shut up! And it’s not even your house!”

—---—---—

They do end up back at the Shinonome home, Mizuki curled up against Ena’s side on the sofa while the other girl in question yells at her soulmate and brother.

“What kinda plan is that?!” She exclaims when Mizuki gives her the summary of their failed attempt.

“Akiyama-san came up with it.” Akito waves his hand half-heartedly.

Mizuki makes a face and kicks Akito from where he’s sitting on the other side of the sofa. “Wow, you’re just gonna throw me under the bus, huh?”

“Tch, as if it matters. We messed up anyway.” He mutters.

“Well, lucky for you because the amazing Akiyama Mizuki has yet another plan!” Mizuki cheers, willfully ignoring the groans that emit from both of the Shinonome siblings at their words.

Ena tries to shove Mizuki away from her, which doesn’t work out by the way because they simply cling to her like an over-enthusiastic octopus. Akito groans again when Mizuki, giggling, pulls Ena down for a kiss.

The moment feels sweet, like cotton candy and kisses.

—---—---—

Mizuki’s next plan is to sneak a picture of Tsukasa’s arm at school. The plan should be working, but-

“Why does he keep wearing jackets to cover his arms?” Akito yells during a break. They’re both on the roof again and this time it’s Akito pacing the ground while Mizuki slumps against the fence.

Mizuki sighs defeatedly, “I traumatized him.”

It really wasn’t their intention. They were supposed to get the picture before it got rough.

Akito whirls on his heel and glares at them. “How close were you to getting that photo?”

Mizuki can tell that Akito is starting to get into this, which is something they would’ve never expected. It’s welcomed, however, because he’s more likely to put his all into this if he actually cares. They’re both in this until the end. Honestly, the brother and sibling-in-law bonding is going great.

They run a hand over their face, “Seconds away.”

“God fucking damn it.”

—---—---—

“We’re getting it this time!” Mizuki whispers to Akito from where the two of them are hiding in the bushes.

The plan (new and improved!) goes something like this:

Step one: Akito and Mizuki will wait in the bushes until Tsukasa comes out to eat lunch.

Step two: Akito will throw a spider they caught earlier onto his lunch when he isn’t looking.

Step three: While Tsukasa is flailing in panic because of his fear of bugs, Mizuki will take a picture of his arm.

Note: Akito confirmed earlier that Tsukasa is finally forgoing a jacket today.

Step four: If the picture Mizuki takes is no good, then Akito will walk out and calm Tsukasa by throwing the spider out so he stops flailing.

Step five: Mizuki will get another picture of his arm just in case.

(“We’ll definitely score this time!”

“Why are you so optimistic about this?”

“Third time marks the charm, baby!”)

“What’s the guarantee Kamishiro-senpai wrote that heart you told him to write on his arm?” Akito mutters to Mizuki.

“I saw him write it down. Don’t worry, Lil’ Bro, I’ve planned this out~” They reply.

They get a silent nod from Akito before both of them fall silent in wait. This is it, their final chance before their luck runs out.

But after a few minutes, the dirt staining Mizuki’s clothes is worth it because Tsukasa walks into their line of sight with his lunch in hand.

“Ah, a fine place to eat my luncheon! What a beautiful courtyard!” Tsukasa cheers.

“Is he crazy?” Akito whispers in Mizuki’s ear.

“No crazier than the rest of us.” They catch a glimpse of Akito looking at them like they’re insane before Tsukasa yells out.

“GAHHHHHHHH!!”

Mizuki giggles, “I think a spider already landed on his lunch.”

Akito doesn’t look as amused as Mizuki. “Take the photo.”

“Don’t worry, Lil’ Bro, already got it!” They show him their phone and the blurry photo of a heart on Tsukasa’s arm.

Akito frowns and zooms in on the heart. “Will this be enough?”

Mizuki puts their phone away and then turns to grin at Akito. “Of course, it will~ You should go and be Tenma-senpai’s knight in shining armor.”

“Shut up.”

—---—---—

Rui’s moping. He can tell. Between Mizuki’s sudden, strange distance to how Tsukasa’s been jittery from getting attacked in a public bathroom, he’s been on edge.

His soulmate hasn’t talked to him in a while. It’s starting to make him wonder if he did something wrong, said something that rubbed them the wrong way, and drove them off. It wouldn’t be the first time he’s scared someone away.

Normally when his head is in a spiral he’ll turn to machines or work through another thing that needs adjusting for their songs. But when Rui picks up a screwdriver with the intent to do something with it, he can’t get any part of him to move from his bed.

So he’s back to square one. Moping.

Until he gets a message from Mizuki.

Amia: got it!!!!!! image attatched

The image is a blurry photo of a person’s forearm. On it is a heart. The same one Mizuki made him write on his own arm a few days ago. Before he can ask what it is, Mizuki sends another message.

Amia: it’s your soulmate’s arm

Showtime Ruiler: what are you talking about?

Amia: i went on an epic quest to prove that tenma-senpai is your soulmate
Amia: heres proof image attatched

This picture is of Mizuki and Shinonome. He must’ve allowed them to style his hair because it’s full of clips and a bow. Their faces are polar opposites, with Shinonome glaring comically and Mizuki grinning like it’s the greatest day of their life.

It brings a smile to his face because Mizuki does actually look genuinely happy. Rui’s glad they’ve found friends and a family in their soulmate, their soulmate’s brother, and those other online friends they’ve talked about before too.

Amia: woops it’s the first pic

Showtime Ruiler: are you sure tsukasa is my soulmate?

Amia: ofc! You dare question me?

He snorts out a laugh before replying to them.

Showtime Ruiler: does this mean i have to confess?

Amia: yes~

—---—---—

Tsukasa flourishes a cape on stage, a confident smirk on his face. The rest of his troupe have… varying reactions. Emu’s clapping enthusiastically and cheering for him, Nene looks as if she’s not even sure why she’s still watching him, and Rui is clapping while smiling softly.

He’s sure that if someone were to turn and look at him, they’d recognize that he’s head over heels for the boy on stage yelling as loud as possible.

When Tsukasa finishes, Rui watches him jump off the stage and wonders how in the hell he’s going to confess to him.

—---—---—

“I’m confessing tomorrow.”

“Yes, you are.”

“Right after rehearsal.”

“Right after rehearsal,” Nene confirms.

“No, I’m not. I can’t do this.” Rui whispers furiously from where he’s been pacing in Nene’s room for the past half hour. Nene observes him in annoyance from her bed, phone held loosely in her hand.

He turns just in time to see her sigh and fold her arms across her chest. “Rui. He’s not going to say no.”

He winces, “I know that-“

“No, you don’t. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be on the edge of a breakdown in my room.” Her words, while cutting, serve their purpose. What is he afraid of?

Rui glances at his arm where his soulmate wrote, how has your day been? It was hours ago and he’s responded by now but he still can’t wrap his mind around the possibility of his soulmate, someone full of cheer, being Tsukasa, a person who burns brighter than the damn sun.

…On second thought, he can see it.

He’s snapped out of his train of thought by Nene grabbing his arm.

Wait, when did she get off of the bed?

“Rui,” She whispers softly, “I know it’s hard. But it’s getting really difficult to watch you two dance around each other like idiots. Do it tomorrow. And if you can’t do it tomorrow, then next week. This is important and I’m definitely gonna be on your ass about it.”

After she finishes her speech, Nene smiles and scoffs at him. Rui’s staring at her, awestruck, stunned by the sincerity in her voice. “Dumbass.” She mutters.

It’s at moments like these that he feels the most grateful for Nene staying with him throughout the years. That she wasn’t terrified and driven off by his weirdness. She’s still here and Emu’s still here and so is Tsukasa, even after all that’s happened. That has to mean something, right?

“H–Huh?” Nene exclaims when he crushes her into a hug. “What was that for?”

When Rui pulls away, he smiles at her, “Thank you for helping. If I can’t do it by next week, then you’re allowed to be on my ass about it.”

“I’ll be on your ass about it regardless,” Nene mutters, looking away from him to hide the blush growing on her face.

“I’d expect nothing less from you.” Rui laughs.

—---—---—

Rui can’t do it. Nope. It’s not going to happen today. He told Nene such before school, earning a blank stare that said, you fucking idiot, before she walked away. But now it’s the middle of the day and Rui’s utilizing the time he should be using to eat his lunch to instead pace the entire length of the roof. He’s so nervous that he barely remembered to answer his soulmate telling him good morning.

Not to mention he accidentally brought a stick of dynamite to school. He really doesn’t know how it made its way into his pocket but with how nervous he is right now, he’s lucky if he doesn’t set it off by mistake.

“Rui? Is this where you’ve been all day?” It has been, but he isn’t going to give whoever’s asking him the satisfaction of being completely right.

With a wince, Rui turns around to see Mizuki frowning at him with their hands on their hips. “Of course not.”

Mizuki half-laughs, half-scoffs, “Yeah, and Ena’s not my girlfriend. What are you doing up here?”

Groaning, Rui drops into a crouch while Mizuki walks up to him, “Drowning in incompetence.”

He spots their shoes, bright pink, when he lifts his head. Mizuki audibly sighs. “I’m going to rip a page out of Lil’ Bro’s book and tell you that you’re being dramatic.”

“Says the most dramatic person I know.”

“Ehhh,” Rui laughs as he looks up and sees them making a meh gesture with their hand. “But really, what’s wrong?”

“I can’t confess to Tsukasa,” Rui whispers.

“The Rui who has confidently blown up half the school can’t confess to his crush~?” Mizuki teases. They offer a hand to him that he takes gratefully.

“I assumed it was simpler than this.” Rui grimaces. And he really did. Books and movies made confessing sound easy. Hell, his parents made it sound easy. But they didn’t mention how merely seeing the person you’re head over heels in love with is enough to get yourself caught up in their gravity.

Or maybe that’s just Rui being incredibly down bad. It probably is.

When Rui stares at Mizuki expectantly, hoping they’ll share how they told their soulmate about their feelings, they shrug. “I’ve got no clue how to do it. Ena was the one who confessed first. I could always throw you two into a closet together if you want. I did it with another couple before and it worked pretty well if you ignore how it took a whole hour.”

“Noted. I’d rather not be stuck in a closet for an hour.”

“If you say so~” Mizuki smirks. “Other than the closet thing, though, my best advice is to just go for the gold!”

—---—---—

He does not go for the gold. In fact, he fails horrifically at going for the gold. If there was a scale from copper to gold, he went for the wood.

It starts when Rui’s walking through the hallway on his way to the bathroom. When he walks in, Tsukasa’s hunched over a sink while muttering to himself, seemingly in a world of his own. A boy gives him a confused glance as he walks to the exit, but Tsukasa doesn’t even register it. Well, he probably wouldn’t register it regardless of whether he was talking to himself or not.

Rui braces himself and walks over to his friend. “Tsukasa? Is something wrong?”

Tsukasa whirls around. “Eh?! Ah- I’m perfectly fine, thank you. Wait, Rui?!” Rui watches as Tsukasa instinctively backs away and into the sink, hitting his spine and making him yelp.

“Are you alright?” He asks, head tilted.

Tsukasa frantically brushes himself off and grins at him, “Of course! I’m a future star, after all!”

I think if you looked around without your own biases, you’d realize that I already think you’re a star.

“But… You haven’t been avoiding me or anything, have you?” Technically, sitting on the roof all day doesn’t count as avoiding Tsukasa since he wasn’t actively running away from him. So it doesn’t count.

Rui shakes his head. “No, I haven’t. Why?”

Tsukasa searches his eyes, making Rui feel like he’s on display before casting his eyes downward. “No reason– wait, is that dynamite?!”

Oh yeah, Rui was holding the dynamite to make him feel better. He was throwing it up and catching it on his way to the bathroom to soothe his nerves.

Rui shrugs mischievously, “Maybe it is. Should we test it out?” It’s 100% dynamite and they both know it. Frantically, Tsukasa jumps forward and grabs his arm, tugging him closer in an attempt to grab it.

Laughing at Tsukasa’s fear, Rui continues to slip out of his friend’s reach. But all good things come to an end and eventually, Tsukasa pins Rui down against a stall.

Suddenly he’s close. Very close. Rui freezes up, trying his best to keep his eyes locked on Tsukasa’s and to not let them drift downward. It’s hard when Tsukasa’s looking at him that way, like Rui is something beautiful.

It scares him for some reason. Rui’s never put much thought into the idea that Tsukasa might also love him and therefore doesn’t have to dwell on how it’d feel to be loved by him. It’s all-consuming, a feeling that steals his breath selfishly.

Rui’s seconds away from going fuck it and kissing Tsukasa when the door swings open and he hears Shinonome’s familiar voice.

“I’m not gonna fucking ask.” The younger boy grimaces, sounding incredibly tired. The door slams shut in an indication that he’s already left. Somehow he completely forgot they were in a bathroom this whole time.

Rui stares past Tsukasa as the other boy races off to find Shinonome and assure him that it was nothing like what it looked like. Rui was so close to doing it, to finally manage to confess to the boy he’s been in love with for months.

Faintly, he hears Tsukasa yelling, “We weren’t doing anything!”

That’s Failure One.

—---—---—

Failure two comes when Tsukasa and Rui are running away from the teachers because Rui did not get lucky and he accidentally blew up the dynamite.

“WHAT THE FUCK.” Tsukasa screams. His hair is dirty from the explosion and running through trees. He looks utterly terrified, the opposite of Rui.

Rui’s laughing, hand grasping Tsukasa’s tightly as they navigate through the school campus and run to the gate. Despite the fact that they’re running away because they blew something up, there’s something freeing about the moment.

If Rui can keep hoarding moments like these where Tsukasa’s hand is warm in his and it’s only them in the world, maybe he doesn’t have to confess. Maybe keeping these moments on repeat in his head will be enough.

They finally stop behind a building, both of them panting furiously. Rui’s too busy catching his breath to notice how Tsukasa watches him. A small smile plays on Rui’s lips and he breathes out a laugh.

“What was that?!” Tsukasa exclaims.

“That, my dear Tsukasa, was an explosion.” Rui turns his head to look at Tsukasa and once again, they’re close. Too close.

Lean forward. Do it. Just a few more inches.

Nope. Nevermind. Rui pushes off of the building and offers a hand to Tsukasa, “We should keep going.”

Failure Two. If Nene was with him, she would’ve smacked him already.

—---—---—

They find themselves at a playground, sitting under a slide. Rui senses the comfortable silence between them and how his hand keeps subconsciously drifting toward Tsukasa’s. If only he could show the other boy his thoughts, how they’re overrun with him and his eyes and his laugh and his yells and practically every little thing he’s noticed about him.

I love you. So much that I don’t know what to do with it. It pools in my hands and I don’t know if I can contain it any longer.

But he’s a coward. A coward who fell in love with a star. Is he even enough for him? If Rui confessed to Tsukasa right now, would Tsukasa reciprocate his feelings? The idea feels foolish. How could someone as divine as him love someone as wretched as him?

It’s not possible. It can’t be. But Rui still finds himself murmuring the words, “I love you.”

(Somewhere in the middle of laughing at Akito’s terrible luck, Mizuki sneezes violently. “Something just happened.”)

Rui can feel Tsukasa tensing beside him. “What?”

“I love you.” He can’t go back now, can he? He manages to force out the words but he can't bring himself to see how badly Tsukasa probably reacted.

Tsukasa still doesn’t respond and Rui’s mind races a mile a minute. He fucked up. God, he fucked up so badly. They aren’t soulmates, Mizuki was wrong, Nene was wrong, he was wrong.

But then Tsukasa grabs his hand. “I love you too.”

Oh.

Oh.

Well. He wasn’t expecting that.

He certainly doesn’t expect Tsukasa to lean over and pause, their faces an inch away from each other, and kiss him. It’s everything. Somehow, it’s completely different from how Rui thought it’d be. A little hesitant, a little slow, but then he presses further and there’s the passion.

Rui breaks away for a moment and is forced to stifle his grin when Tsukasa chases his lips blindly. And then, because he feels an innate need to say so, he smiles, “I love you.”

Rui’s grin returns when Tsukasa surges forward and drowns Rui’s laughter against his lips.

—---—---—

“I did it. Holy shit, I did it.” Rui mutters, more to himself than Nene who’s been watching him from her bed for the past ten minutes. It’s been a few days since he confessed and damn it, Mizuki was completely right, even about the soulmate thing.

They also teased the hell out of him for permanently traumatizing Shinonome.

“Tch, good job. I didn’t think you’d actually be able to do it.” The hint of a smile on Nene’s lips betrays her annoyed tone.

“I think I need five to ten business days to actually realize what happened.”

“Too bad you’re not getting that.”

—---—---—

Rui’s sitting in bed with Tsukasa, running his hands through the other boy’s soft hair. He’s asleep, so Rui takes care to do it gently.

This is his soulmate. This utterly ridiculous boy who he’s been in love with for years. The boy who told him good morning every day, who screamed and ran into a wall when Emu sprinted at him with a centipede.

He has freckles, light ones dotting his cheeks. Since he can now, Rui takes the liberty of softly tracing them with his fingertips. He connects them, turning them into constellations on his skin.

God, he has to thank Mizuki for helping him find out that Tsukasa is his soulmate.

But when he thinks about his love for his soulmate and his love for Tsukasa, they’re both tinted in different shades. For his soulmate, his love is painted blue. It’s the gentle waves of the ocean, crashing against his chest in the ever-present reminder of his feelings. It cradles him and has a certain warmth to it. Like a reassurance of, yes, you are loved.

But his love for Tsukasa is different. It’s yellow-orange, sunset streaks tearing through his mind. It’s vibrant and explodes within him whenever he thinks of it. It makes him want to toss away any doubts he has.

“Rui?” He hears Tsukasa slur, the other boy still half-asleep.

“Hm? What is it?”

Tsukasa doesn’t reply but he does wrap an arm around Rui’s waist and pull him down.

After about five minutes, Rui finally loosens in Tsukasa’s hold. His parents hug him, but outside of that, he doesn’t have much physical touch with people. It feels strange, but good.

“I love you.” Tsukasa mumbles. He sounds as if he’s barely coherent.

Full of bursting fondness for this boy who wormed his way into Rui’s life and heart, he whispers back, “I love you too.”