Marks that Bind - Mystery Skulls fic

Marks that Bind

Arthur must have lost his wristband when they fell through the trapdoor. He didn't even realize it was missing until Lewis' magenta-haired skeleton was looming over him. The other man's glowing eyes were filled with hatred and malice, emotions that Arthur had never seen on his friend's normally cheery face.

The mechanic knew he deserved to die, but he couldn't help throwing up his hands to ward off the specter. With his eyes screwed shut, and his heartbeat pounding loudly in his ears, Arthur didn't see the ghost stop short, his pink gaze focused intently on the purple letters written elegantly across the blonde's uncovered wrist.

Lewis

The boy's eyes popped open as a familiar body pulled him into a tight embrace. Lewis' skin was as cold as death, but Arthur could only cling back as tears soaked into the other man's purple vest.

"I'm sorry, Arthur. I am so sorry. You must have been hurting so much. Is that why you killed me?"

Arthur pulled back from his friend's hug, turning his face up to stare at Lewis in shock. "What?! How can you even think that?"

The ghost had decency to look repentant at his choice of words. "Well, I was with Vivi, and we did have each others' soulmarks..."

"Exactly!" the mechanic yelled. "You were my friends. I would never try to ruin your relationship!"

"Arthur..."

"We were both late in getting our soulmarks. I knew you'd eventually get one. There's no way a guy as great as you wouldn't." Arthur felt his face heating up, and tried to quickly get his words out. "My soulmark came so late that I thought I'd never get one. I started to wonder if I was mean to be alone forever, but it appeared one day, and it was your name. I was just- just so happy that I rushed right over to your house to show you. But Vivi was already there..."

Lewis nodded, watching his blonde friend curl in on himself at the memory. He remembered that day well. It was the day he woke with Vivi's name on his wrist, and she dropped by only 20 minutes later with a matching soulmark. They were so excited that they rushed to tell Arthur the moment he walked in the door. Their younger friend had seemed happy for them, but was sorry to say he couldn't stay long due to an appointment.

"You were so happy together that I knew I could never, WOULD NEVER, come between you." Arthur pulled back even more, staring at the purple tattoo on his wrist. "So I hid it, and just pretended it didn't exist. Pretended that I was just one of those people born without a soulmate."

Lewis wanted to take the other boy into his arms again, but Arthur had already turned away from him. There was one thing still prickling at his mind though...

"Arthur, what happened in the cave?"

"Something possessed my other arm, and pushed you off the ledge. It kept whispering all these horrible things in my head." The shorter man began to tremble at the memory. "Mystery had to bite off my arm to keep it from spreading. Hence the prosthetic," Arthur commented, stretching it out for Lewis to examine.

The specter reached out a gloved hand, bypassing the metal arm to take hold of Arthur's natural one. Turning the blonde's hand over, he traced the double scars above the soulmark. "And..." Lewis lowered his voice to a soft whisper, "what about these?"

Arthur cringed, his gaze lowering to avoid having to look his friend in the eye. "I... when I woke up in the hospital, they told me you were dead, Lewis, and my arm was gone, and Vivi was in shock and couldn't remember what happened after she saw you fall from the ledge. I just... couldn't do it anymore. I was always messing things up. If you knew about my soulmark, it would have messed up our friendship. If I hadn't been so weak, that spirit - or demon or whatever it was, wouldn't have been able to possess me, and you'd still be alive." Tears began to trickle down the blonde's cheeks, but he continued, "I even managed to mess up my own suicide. I'm so pathetic."