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When Remus finally got the first thing his soulmate would say to him on his wrist, his excitement made way for confusion. He had been waiting for this moment his entire life! Stupid Roman got his when he was 10. Remus was 13, he'd waited long enough.
He read and reread the loopy indigo text on his wrist, trying to decipher what it meant.
Not sour enough. What the hell did that mean? Were they talking about candy? Poison, soursop? Who starts a conversation with that, anyway? Remus decided that his soulmate was probably pretty weird and went back to drawing disturbing things in his notebook.
Logan was very logical. A soulmate was a concept from the olden days when people didn't marry for love, so he didn't care when he got the words. They were just a reminder of the archaic traditions he was forced to conform to.
When he felt the tell-tale tingling on the inside of his left wrist, he definitely didn't grin. He also didn't rush off to his room to see what it said. That would be illogical.
He was sitting on the edge of his bed when the blocky green letters finally materialized and he made a face of disgust.
Hey loser, do you like sour belts? Why would his soulmate be asking him about candy when they first met? How unserious of a person must they be? And what a despicable choice of sour candy. They weren't nearly sour enough.
4 years later, Remus was 17 and he didn't understand soulmates. Once Roman found his soulmate, the two of them were like a hallmark movie all the time. He hadn't ever been one for big confessions of love, or…relationships in general. He very much preferred the on and off nature of his friendship with Janus and Virgil. For them, fighting was expected, and regardless of what was said, they were always talking again a week or two later. A real relationship required being nice, and he wasn't sure that was his strong suit.
There was a guy that caught his eye, though. A flash of black hair and gray eyes announced his presence, and Remus almost vibrated with excitement when he heard his low rumble of a voice. This guy was so interesting. He was so weird and contradictory; Remus wanted to chew on him like a chew toy.
The guy he'd been fixated on was none other than Logan Harding, the resident hard-ass in his twin brother's friend group. They'd never actually talked before, but Remus was utterly captivated. How could someone so insistent on not having emotion and using only logic also be an edgelord who wrote emotional poetry?
A pencil audibly scratched against paper as Remus sat at his paint-splattered desk. The scratching continued for a moment before he scribbled all over the text and crumpled the piece of paper he was writing on, tossing it behind him. The floor around him was littered in papers, but he kept writing. In a few of the attempts, he tried to write a poem of his own. None of them were up to his standards.
He kept writing even when he felt a wad of paper hit the back of his head. And another. Once 3 had bounced off of the back of his skull, he slowly turned around.
A blank stare was all he saw, and he instinctively rolled his eyes before responding.
"What is it now, Mr. Panic! At The Disco Was Only Emo For One Album?" Leaning back in his chair with a loud creak, he crossed his arms over his chest. Virgil hissed at him as if he were a cat before rushing forward and grabbing Remus's chair.
"Buy me dinner first, hot stuff." The words were drawn out as Virgil put his hands onto the chair's armrests, their faces mere inches apart.
"Shut up. If you don't stop wasting paper trying to figure out how to make this Lawrence guy like you, I'll tell Roman to invite him over. Just talk to him. You're being more edgy than me right now by waxing poetic." He backed up and crossed his arms before a smirk overtook his lips.
"What are you even writing? Dearest man I'll never talk to, your beautiful eyes make me want to stop ripping things to shreds with my teeth! I wake up in the middle of the night from my enjoyable nightmares because your face haunts me!" Virgil's tone was mocking and he was pretending to swoon.
"Come on, it's not like that! And his name is Logan, thank you very much. I just want to make a good first impression."
"You've never made a good first impression. I remember you talking about how lame first impressions were like last year, what changed? Have you been altered by the eternal sands of love?" Virgil was so sarcastic that Remus thought it may actually kill him to be genuine.
"I just…I don't know, you menace! He's interesting! And I don't even like him like that. At least, I don't think I do? I don't get butterflies around him and my heart doesn't beat any faster. I just think he's like really cool." He explained, head in his hands for a moment before he looked back up at Virgil. Virgil had been looking down at him with amusement as he spoke, but towards the end of the sentence, his expression softened a little.
"You know, that doesn't mean anything. Everyone's experience with romantic attraction is different, and who knows, maybe you're aromantic. For all you know, this guy could be your soulmate. Tell you what, I'll convince Roman to host some kind of hangout here and you can introduce yourself." Virgil suggested casually.
"At least the first words your soulmate said to you are clear-cut. I have literally no idea what not sour enough would even refer to." He rolled his eyes. Virgil glanced down to his currently-covered wrist with an exasperated look.
"Yes, so clear cut. In what circumstances do you ask someone if they slept more than 5 minutes last night?"
He understood Virgil's frustration about his soulmark wholeheartedly, but his comment about romantic attraction stuck with Remus. Later that night, he delved into research about aromanticism and how it related to soulmates.
Logan found himself sitting in a living room that was an absolute eyesore, the hard wood contrasting with the neon decorations lining the walls and tables. His friend, Roman Koruna, had invited all of them over for some kind of celebration. He had no idea what it was for or why they were all given such short notice, but it was generally a good time when he was surrounded by friends, so he didn't truly mind. What he did mind, though, was the absurd amount of candy around. He had never been one to enjoy candy, only truly being partial to sour candy, but all of the confections here were absurdly sweet.
For a few moments, he'd considered that perhaps he'd meet his soulmate here. It wasn't exactly likely, but there were sour belts on the table. It was entirely possible. When he got his words, he'd rolled his eyes because of their impracticality, but he'd since realized that he was grayromantic. Despite some research on aromantics and their soulmates having been conducted, there still wasn't a set conclusion on the existence of platonic soulmates.
So far, though, there wasn't anyone here that he hadn't spoken to. Patton and Roman were two of his closest confidants, so of course, that didn't apply. He'd even spoken a few words to the other parties present (a scarred man in yellow that he knew from a lecture and a hooded figure he knew Patton happened to be partial to). As his eyes scanned across the room, though, he realized something. He saw a brunette man with a familiar face talking to the hooded figure and came to the conclusion it must have been Roman's twin, Remus. Remus had visible piebaldism with a fairly normal presentation (white forelock and de-pigmented patch on the forehead), and he appeared to be wearing eyeliner.
He'd met Remus a few times in his life, but they'd never spoken. Logan also noticed a particular black, white, gray, and green flag adorning his lapel, feeling a faint sense of camaraderie. The two maintained eye contact for a few moments before Remus looked away, and Logan tried to pay attention to the conversation that Patton and Roman were having in front of him. At one point, Patton stood and made his way over to the individual in the black hoodie. He was unaware of the words spoken, but they both smiled and Patton was excitedly bouncing up and down on his heels, so he assumed the conversation was a good one.
He saw Patton circle his fingers around the man in the hood's wrist and they came towards the couch, settling into a few lawn chairs in front of the coffee table. He noted that Remus had a pack of sour belts in hand and his heart-rate increased a little bit as he tuned back into the conversation.
"-and this loser next to me was literally standing in a corner!" Roman remarked with a grin, jabbing Logan with an elbow.
"How dare you. I spent years of my life by your side, and this is how I am repaid for my dedication? For shame." He spoke somewhat melodramatically, pushing his glasses up his nose.
"Hey loser, do you like sour belts?" As the words were spoken, his eyes widened slightly. Before he even realized what was happening, the response tumbled out of his lips.
"Not sour enough. Almost all sour candy has no right to label itself as such. I have beef with sour patch kids and warheads in particular." He continued speaking, trying in vain not to notice his wrist tingling. His disregard went unnoticed as Remus began to grin.
"Wait a minute. Roll up your sleeve." Remus's words were fast and excited as he stood, moving quickly towards him. Logan (albeit reluctantly) complied, navy blue cardigan sleeve neatly folded into a cuff just below his elbow.
On both of their wrists, the text had changed color. Remus's indigo text now had a green ombre and Logan's blocky green text now blended into a dark blue. Regardless of his feelings on the subject, he'd found his soulmate.
The guy in the hoodie passed money to the scarred man with a smirk before opening his mouth to speak.
"I would like a thank you. I convinced Roman to do this party and I also got you to take your head out of your ass." He addressed Remus at first before turning to Logan, making casual eye contact.
"I stopped that menace next to you from writing a letter he never would've had the confidence to give you." The man looked smug and it annoyed him immensely.
Later on during the party, Remus pulled him aside. The sun was beginning to set and the golden light filled the room with an ethereal glow.
"So, um, I know I'm probably not at all your type. You're really serious and passionate, and you have all these big aspirations for the future. I'd probably just slow you down, you know?" Remus paused, a little sheepish as he tried to word what he wanted to say.
"I'm aromantic. I don't know if you're alloromantic or allosexual, but if you are, I won't let you mess up your chance of finding love because we've got words on our wrists that match." Remus clearly looked apologetic and there was a fire in his eyes that Logan had to admit he appreciated.
Remus was shocked, to say the least. When he'd asked Logan the fateful question, he didn't even register that it was his first time speaking to Logan. Now, he knew they were soulmates, and he felt…he wasn't sure how he felt. Conflicted wasn't quite right and neither was torn. He more felt a mix of excitement, shame, and surprise.
He was excited because he'd finally found his soulmate. He'd been thinking about this moment for his entire life, and it'd just happened! Plus, he already really liked his soulmate before he knew they were linked to each other. However, the other emotions he was feeling were more all-encompassing.
He felt shame because he didn't want someone as interesting or important as Logan to feel obligated to stay with him. The shame had a heavy taste, and no matter how hard he tried to swallow it down, it stayed.
The surprise was the strongest of the 3 emotions, coloring the other two with its pervasiveness. He had no idea that the person he'd been wanting to befriend for so long was his soulmate. He hadn't even entertained the notion.
So, when he pulled Logan aside and said what he wanted to say, he was even more surprised at the reply.
Logan cleared his throat and placed a tentative hand on Remus's shoulder, meeting his eyes with an intense look.
"I assure you, I am not one who falls to feelings of obligation. If I did feel forced to stay with you, you would be aware." He spoke in a no-nonsense sort of way, and Remus felt compelled to listen.
"I am also on the aromantic spectrum, but even if I wasn't, I wouldn't consider you to be a burden. I may not know you well, but I do know what Roman's told me. You are a very intriguing individual and I am interested in getting to know you. When I was younger, I saw soulmates as an obligation and as something rendered obsolete by modern technology. This has changed, of course, and I do not see you in that way. You need not worry about such trivial things." Logan's voice was steady and Remus wanted to look away from the intensity of his gaze. He managed to maintain it, though, and offered a small nod.
Remus knew the future was uncertain for the two of them; they had to spend a long time getting to know each other. As he and Logan walked back to the rest of the party with their hands gently clasped together, he felt a lot more certain that this hadn't been a mistake. Logan's kind words had eased his worries, and maybe they had more in common than he thought. Their light chatter grew louder as they rejoined the others, and the sun set over the house. The future was cloudy, but they were peering into it nonetheless, and they were doing it together.
Written by a human in Ellipsus.