Spider-Man/Peter Parker One-Shots

{AU} Soulmates? Those Aren't Real

Not my best work but I worked really hard on the one I'm going to publish next, so accept this filler for now. 

Soulmate AU: you have a symbol on your wrist that represents your soulmate in some way.

You didn't believe in soulmates. They couldn't exist, logically, despite what everyone said. 'Well you get a tattoo of something about your soulmate on your wrist between the ages of 16-18, so obviously you have a soulmate!' Or you just get a random tattoo that you can use to interpret however you want to be about whoever you want. Say you get a tattoo of a book. That can mean you're intellectual, or you like books, or maybe you're old school and don't like technology, or maybe you're a professor of literature. See? Way too many possibilities, so clearly it can be whatever you want it to be to fit whoever you want to be with. It's a cop out for finding actual genuine love.

As you were explaining this to your best friend, Peter, you nearly bumped into an open locker. He smiled at your distractedness and shook his head. "Why are you so against them? They're not hurting anyone."

"They lead people to believe their love is one person, and they can't possibly be anybody else. I've seen people break up with their 'boyfriends' and 'girlfriends' just because they get their tattoo and they don't think it means the person they were with." You dodged the next locker, then made the wise choice to bump Peter's shoulder to scooch him away from the side of the hallway so you could avoid them.

"It's a lot easier than searching your whole life for a love that might never work out," Peter argued.

"That implies most relationships can't be solved with some work." You stopped outside of the classroom. "I just think people rely on it too much to actually feel genuine feelings for someone."

"You're really cynical."

"You forget who my parents are." They both were avid believers in who you choose to be with is your soulmate, not some tattoo on your wrist. You agreed. I mean, you were raised by them, you could clearly tell how much they loved each other.

"Doesn't mean you can't find your soulmate with the tattoo too." He led the way into the classroom as you stared after him, smiling to yourself. You loved your little in between class talks. Today it was soulmates because recently a lot of your classmates had been getting their tattoos, so you wondered if you were going to get yours too. Not that it really mattered, but you were curious what (hopefully) cool tattoo you'd be stuck with the rest of your life.

You sat next to Peter and pulled out your school supplies, absentmindedly flipping to a new page. You had been in love with Peter for so long now, you forgot when the crush first formed. It was part of the reason you were so against soulmates: there was no way you were his.

"What if two people fall in love, then they get their tattoos and they show they're soulmates? Wouldn't that prove it?" His question threw you off, both because you weren't expecting it and because you thought it sounded similar to your situation.

You tapped your chin. "That's one situation I would argue it's genuine." Before the conversation could continue, the teacher started class. Much too disinterested to listen, you idly drew circles on your arm with your pencil. You could ask Peter what the assignment was about after the teacher was done talking, and you could watch the way his eyes lit up as he talked. It was one of your favorite things in the world, second only to seeing him laugh. You weren't even aware you were smiling.

Suddenly you saw a black ink line forming on your arm. You dropped the pencil in your hand in shock as the tattoo slowly formed. Each line seemed agonizingly slow as it made the symbol of your supposed soulmate. When the symbol outline was finally done, the inside filled with color as if the liquid was dropped onto your arm. It was a black spider inside of a red and blue circle. As far as tattoos go, it wasn't bad, but it also meant Peter wasn't your soulmate. You looked up at the boy, seeing him paying full attention to the teacher. Why were you so disappointed? It's not like you believed in soulmates anyway. But he did.