soulmates lovers and other useless human relations

v

The word mad would be put to shame at just how... how should you put this... enraged you were. The man whom you had been on the search for—for what you could only guess for your whole life—the man whom had come into your life just a day after you had finally found someone to love and love you back, the man whom had been nothing but rude and degrading towards you. God, you wanted to slap him.

"No." You muttered, pushing his arms away from you as you pulled the sleeve of the cardigan down, hiding the proof as if it were the body of someone you had just murdered. Honestly, you may as well treat it that way with just how much of a panic you were in. "No, no. No!"

Norton stood before you with an unreadable expression on his face. He had to admit, he had spent weeks in denial of the possibility of you being his soulmate, however, upon the countless matches he had returned from only to find you patched up in the exact same spots as himself, there was no doubt left in his mind. You, y/n l/n, were his soulmate. Nothing more, nothing less.

At the news of this, people would be over the moon joyful. Finding ones' soulmate is often an event that calls for celebrations and festivities, many congratulating those who were lucky enough to find the one that destiny chose was for them. Despite this, both Norton and yourself couldn't help but dread the fact you both had found each other. Not because Norton held anything against you. No, he had long ago gotten over his little annoyance towards you, what the real problem was laid deeper within the four restricting walls of the manor.

Aesop Carl.

It'd take a damn fool to miss the longing gazes both Aesop and y/n shared, the way their hands interlocked with one another as if they were nothing less of soulmates themselves. If only the unmatched cut that lay on her cheek wouldn't have given away the fact you both weren't meant to be. This fact, in your books, changed nothing between your relationship with Aesop. You would still love the male senseless as if you were meant to be and Aesop would return your love tenfold, pure admiration and care held in his orbs as his fingers would tenderly run over the ever showing purple marks on your skin.

The fact that Norton had found his soulmate to be unavailable for him made his stomach turn, it made a flip for the worse.

Yet, he found himself hiding the marks that lingered on his body from incidents in matches, deciding that your loving smile was something he'd rather watch from afar than ruin even if it meant he'd make you his.

So the male bit his tongue. He went on about his life stealing discreet glances at the one who should be his, the teacher laughing merrily with her friends as her hands remained forever intertwined with the gloved ones of the embalmer. Despite the harsh feelings the prospector held towards the latter, he made no rash actions towards him, instead focusing his torturing teasing towards the one he had grown to blossom burning feelings for. Burning feelings that over the weeks had left his head crisp and smoked, the aching organ beating loudly in his chest every time the male caught even the smallest glimpse of you when wandering the haunting manor.

Throughout matches Norton found himself searching for you, concluding that the few minutes he got with you on his team would be the only time he would be able to excuse for relishing in your presence. Even if half that time was spent messing up his calibrations.

His fingers would freeze up in a matter of seconds once spotting you running over from your previous cipher, the loud siren sounding out behind you as he calculated that you must have already managed to finish up at least two of your own rattling machines before rushing over to assist him in finishing his own. Before he knew it a calibration would appear and the machine would sent a sparking strike of electricity his way, with a colourful thread of curse words under his breath he'd only send you a glance before working with you to finish the barely worked on cipher.

This was no new scenario to Norton, however, it never failed to make his chest tighten up in the restricting green button up dress shirt he wore, his dark eyes flickering to your own concentrated face before flickering back to continue his task.

The few moments he'd get with you he always relished, laying awake at night with his eyes stuck on the ceiling. A constant thread of 'what if's running through his mind as he pictured just what would've happened if he had decided to grab your hand or searched for you to heal him when he was hurt instead of stumbling into the gardener first.

These romantic scenarios were soon blown away as the male stared down at your panicking figure, his eyes trailing on each familiar mark that matched his own.

"God, no! How could you be so selfish Campbell!" You cried, gripping the roots of your hair which you honestly considered ripping out from pure frustration. "First you treat me like shit and now this? Why do you want to play with my feelings so badly?"

The scolded man made no effort to reply—he knew he was not the victim, he wasn't trying to play the part—he only watched you pace around the room. Quite frankly, he had questioned himself way too many times as to just why he had always felt the need to be so hostile towards you, the only possible conclusion was narrowed down yet again to his previous problem.

Aesop Carl.

Call it childish but just once figuring out the matching scars could only lead to the inevitable fact of being your soulmate, Norton made it his mission to make that fact known. He would ask for an excessive amount of matches, brushing off anyone who questioned the alarming change of his attitude as him just being a workaholic and adrenaline junkie. He was not. The only reason Norton thrived off of the feeling of hunters consistently slashing their weapons at him was the fact he knew he would return to the manor to see a very dejected Aesop tending to your wounds. He had made it his mission to let Aesop know that you didn't belong to him, maybe that's why he had yet to cease his shitty attitude towards him. Because you were currently his yet not available to him.

The teacher before his blinked away the hot tears that stung the corners of her eyes, her lips trembling as she let out a long, tired sigh. Y/n had long ago given up on bettering her relationship with the male so why, just why had he decided to pull a 180 and make her succumb to a mess that she currently did not need in her life?

Just when things were looking good for her, just when she found peace within herself, he decided to waltz in. Not only fucking up her mood but now her relationships too.

"I can't, Norton." She sighed, surprising him by the sudden use of his first name. "I'm in love with Aesop, I apologise but you're just too late."

And there it was. The rejection he had been dreading to hear.

He knew this fact all too well, their love for each other was no secret, even a blind man could see this, however his thumping heart and running brain screamed at him to do more. To chase after his soulmate. Aesop had his, so why can't Norton love his own?

"I know." He responded. "I know you love him, and he loves you, which is why I won't do anything harsh. It why I only decided to tell you in private." He explained, deciding to be the bigger person in this dire situation despite the nagging thought at the back of his head that just screamed at him to ignore his own morals. To take what's rightfully his and shower in your presence. He wanted to kiss the teacher right then and there, hold her hands and lean their foreheads together while whispering promises to be each others' and only one another's'. Despite his desires, he held back, biting his tongue.

"I'll wait for you, teach. I'll show you." He stepped forward, leaning down to be at eye level with the teammate he had grown infatuated with over the past weeks. "I'll show you my love."