born from conversations with @shoulmate 💚 (not edited or beta read)
Warm sand tickled the bottom of your feet. Digging your toes deeper into the beach you watched your friends play volleyball from your spot on a towel.
University finals were over. As soon as the last exam finished you packed your bags to join your friends for a much needed vacation.
You sat beside Kozume under a large umbrella enjoying the salt air and the crash of the waves. And of course the view of swim trunk, baseball caps, and sunglasses.
Kuroo, Bokuto, and Akaashi were shirtless and sweaty only a few yards away. Alongside other friends the bunch of you had made at Tokyo University. But those three in particular were the sweetest eye candy.
Your fingers slipped under the thick wristband you wore to cover your soulmark. Rubbing the name if your soulmate unconsciously, until Kozume cleared his throat giving you a look. Adjusting your sunglasses on your face you pretended not to notice his stare.
Your friends knew you were one of the few with a soulmate, but you had never shared with them who is was. Kozume, however, was too observant and you suspected he knew. Gratefully he never said anything or pushed you about it.
It happened right before you started high school. You were with your parents filling out paperwork after moving to a new area. Scrolling endlessly on your phone, bored out of your mind, when the skin on your wrist exploded in pain as if on fire. Gasping you cuddled your arm to your chest, tears pricking your eyes.
Curious faces turned towards you. Some confused, others shocked at the outburst. It wasn’t until your parents pried your arm from your body did the realization finally set in. You had gotten a soulmark.
Having a soulmark wasn’t common. Most people knew someone in their extended family or group of friends who had one. They appeared randomly during your mid to late teens if you got one. And not everyone saw it as a blessing.
The mark was a name. The name of your soulmate. But your soulmate would not have a mark. Just having the mark didn’t mean they were close by or did it mean you’d ever meet them.
This caused a lot of problems in relationships. Either you held out for a soulmate who never came or one would randomly pop into your life after you had already settled down with someone else.
But your teenage heart had high hopes that couldn’t be dashed by your parents’ realistic and logical words. It wasn’t that they weren’t happy for you. They just didn’t want their precious child’s heart crushed by this Kuroo Tetsurō whom they didn’t know.
You met Kuroo right after starting high school. He was a year above you. And he was perfect. Handsome, funny, athletic, intelligent, talented, and kind.
Well, you didn’t actually meet him. You heard the name Kuroo Tetsurō and your wrist throbbed alongside your heart in excitement. You rushed to tell him who you were.
That’s when you realized it was no blessing but a curse upon your wrist.
Kuroo was a member of the volleyball team. A second year pillar of the team. Relied upon by his seniors and juniors. His athletic prowess alone was intimidating. Yet he was also studious, beloved by the teachers. He was surrounded his teammates and by fans. Pretty girls, handsome boys.
You tried to worm your way through the crowd to talk to him but the glares you got stopped you in your tracks.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” A voice snapped.
An elbow dug into your ribs, “we were here first.”
Wincing you took a step back from the throng of people. Clutching your arm, you rubbed your wrist. An action you always seemed to do to quell your anxiety. You looked for another way through the crowd. It wasn’t as though you had to tell him today but you wanted to be with your soulmate as soon as possible, believing in a happily ever after.
You could see his head above the others. If only you could get Kuroo’s attention somehow. Trying again to squeeze through the sea of people it wasn’t until someone grabbed your arm did you stop.
The girl had wrenched your arm back trying to see your wrist. “Oh shit you have a soulmark!” You panicked trying to pull yourself free. “Lemme see who it is! Is it one of the guys on the team?”
Ripping your arm back before she could see the name, you gave her a nasty glare. But the damage had been done. Curious faces heard her exclamation and turned towards you.
Another girl lurched towards you and you took a step back. “A soulmark? How neat!”
“Seriously?” Her friend looked suspicious, “she’s gotta be one of maybe 5 people at this school.”
“Who is it?” Someone curious spoke you couldn’t see, “whose name is her mark?”
Nearby a girl scrunched up her nose in disbelief, “Really. Idoubt it. Probably wrote it with sharpie.” She rolled her eyes and the people around her laughed.
“How pathetic,” another scathing voice, “who would want to be tied down to her?”
You couldn’t even see the people laughing at you anymore. Nails biting into the skin of your wrist, you hugged the name Kuroo Tetsurō to your chest. If your legs didn’t give out, your lungs would. You couldn’t breathe.
“I feel sorry for her soulmate.”
“Make her wash her hands and prove it’s real.”
Their words cut deep. Self deprecating thoughts filled your mind. You knew they were just petty but you couldn’t help the tears from forming. Suddenly you didn’t want to meet your soulmate. A burst of strength let you rush off before they could see you cry. Later you thought of ways to hide your mark.
Somehow you had made it through high school without anyone finding out the name on your wrist. A thick wrist band covered the name and you never took it off unless to shower.
A feat especially hard after befriending Kozume Kenma. You shared class with him all three years. After finding out the two of you enjoyed the same video games, a friendship grew and solidified. Unfortunately, that also meant that Kuroo was part of your friends group. Your soulmark wasn’t done cursing you.
Even without the soulmark you liked Kuroo. You couldn’t meet his sharp feline gaze when he seldom spoke to you. Just being around him made you rub the skin beneath the band on your wrist uncontrollably. Your face felt like a furnace anytime he caught you staring, and you stared a lot. And smiled. You didn’t even realize you would just have this dopey grin on your face. Not until Kozume pointed it out. Another reason why you think he knows.
And because of your cowardice, you had to watch Kuroo date other people. You had no one to blame but yourself. But every time you thought to end your misery by spilling your secret, you imagined him asking why it took you so long. Or that he only saw you as a friend.
The feeling of a hand on your arm snapped you from your inner mind. Kozume had grabbed your wrist to prevent you from injuring yourself. It wouldn’t be the first time you’d rubbed the soulmark raw. He called your name and you met his worried golden eyes.
“Sorry,” you tried to laugh it off, “I was spacing out.” Kozume frowned. He opened his mouth but you stood cutting him off. “I think I’m going to wade in a bit. Try and cool off some.”
Dusting off a bit of sand you made your way to the waves without waiting for a response. The water was cool as it gently lapped at your legs. A shiver went down your spine at the temperature difference between the ocean and the hot sun.
A figure sliding beside you made you jump, slipping on the wet sand. Grabbing the person who startled you to avoid plummeting into the ocean, you weren’t expecting intense yellow eyes to stare down at you.
“I scare you that bad?” Kuroo cackled. “I did call your name you know.”
He helped you stabilize yourself and you regretfully released his bicep. The raven stretched, joints cracking. You did your best to not completely ogle him from behind your shades.
“What are you doing over here? I thought you were playing volleyball?”
“Drink break,” broad shoulders shrugged, “gotta stay hydrated.” Kuroo had the gall to wink at you.
You nodded, staying silent. Gazing at the open ocean, unsuccessfully trying to quell your beating heart. Cold water splashed your sides. You shot Kuroo’s smirking face a glare.
“What’s on your mind?” He splashed you again. “You’re even more quiet than usual.”
“Quit that,” you scowled.
He wiggled a finger in your face, “now that’s not very nice. I’m just trying to be friendly.”
“You have plenty of friends to bother.”
“True,” he acknowledged with an obnoxious grin, “but I’d rather bother you.”
You rolled your eyes, splashing him back. Glancing back at your friends you saw Bokuto animatedly telling a story keeping his audience enraptured. Snorting you shook your head, guess Kuroo really was free right now.
“Hey,” squinting you looked back to Kuroo who was pointing to your wrist, “aren’t you worried about the salt water eating through that?”
Tugging at the wrist band you shrugged, “I guess. But it’s not like I can’t get another one.”
“Why not take it off? We are on vacation after all. And who knows you might even meet them here.” Glad Kuroo wasn’t looking at you, you couldn’t help but squeeze your wrist. He was gazing out at the ocean but continued, “if I had a soulmate I know I’d be trying everything to meet them.”
“You don’t seem to need help in that department. You’ve always got girls around you.”
Kuroo frowned looking down at you. “And if you haven’t noticed, not once has any date worked out.”
Snapping the soggy wrist band against the soulmark you couldn’t help asking, “what if…” You floundered uncomfortable under the raven’s intense gaze. “What if, when you met them, you didn’t think it would work?”
Dark eyebrows skyrocketed over his sunglasses, “you’ve already met them? Did you tell them?”
You flinched from his incredulous tone, avoiding meeting his eyes. Shifting your weight you rubbed harder at the name on your wrist.
“Hey,” Kuroo softly called your name, “talk to me.” Why did he look so sad? Not knowing what to say, how to explain, you didn’t speak. He pushes his shades to the top of his head to look at you better despite the bright sunlight. His voice was gentle, “why do you think it wouldn’t work?”
Salt stung at your wrist as the flesh peeled from the harsh friction. You knew you were standing in the surf but it felt like you were being dragged down to the ocean depths.
Kuroo’s body was completely facing you now. You had his full attention. No calling of his name by Bokuto could distract him from you. His rough fingers caressed your arms, trying to keep you from a panic attack. Tears pricked at your eyes.
“I’m not,” you choked out, stopping to clear your throat, “I don’t think… I’m just, just not. And he, he’s… amazing.”
Fingers slid up your arms to grab your face. Both of Kuroo’s large hands cupped your jaw as he looked at you sternly. “Stop that right now,” he growled, “anyone would be lucky to have you as their soulmate. If you don’t stop with this bullshit I’ll start listing reasons at the top of my lungs.” You gaped at him. “I’ll sing them too if it’ll stop you from crying. Poorly I might add.” Using his thumbs to wipe your tears running from under your dark sunglasses, he kept speaking. His voice softer now, “I mean it.”
You couldn’t help but stare at him. He was leaning so close that your noses almost touched. Yellow eyes deeper and brighter than the sun baring down overhead. A mixture of sweat and ocean spray glistened on his skin. Already messed raven hair held down by his sunglasses and whipped every direction by the cool breeze.
“What if it was you,” not even sure he could hear you, you whispered, “what if my soulmate was you? Would you still want a soulmate then?”
Kuroo took a shaky breathe, licking his lips. Using his thumbs, he slowly pushes your shades to the top of your head. “If it were me,” fingers gently traced your jawline, “I’d want to know why you didn’t tell me. If it were me, I’d kiss you until we were both breathless. If it were me, I’d make sure we were never apart for the rest of our lives. Because if it were me who had such an amazing soulmate, there’s nothing less I could do than give you everything.” Hot breath danced across your lips. His golden gaze searching, with a prayer held inside. Reverently, he whispered your name. “Show me, so I can finally kiss you.”
Biting your lip, you fiddled with the soaked wristband hiding your soulmark. Hands shaking you held your wrist up to him. A moment passed before he realized, you wanted him to remove it. One hand moved along your arm while the other rested against your neck. Silently searching your eyes for permission, he removed the offending cover.
There on your wrist, was his name. Kuroo Tetsurō.
Not a moment later was his mouth on yours. And the soulmark curse trapping your heart was finally broken.
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