Sanders Sides One Shots - Sanders Sides

Inky Love - Prinxiety

Roman felt a familiar tingle on his arm and he rolled up his sleeves and watched the ink flow and swirl into abstract designs. A smile crept onto his face as he watched the drawing unfold.

When you turned thirteen years old, you were eligible for a soulmate. How did you find your true love? If they ever wrote anything down on your skin, it would show up on your soulmate's skin too.

Roman didn't know who his soulmate was, but he knew they liked to draw. Every day, about five minutes into second period, his soulmate would begin to draw. It was different every day and it was Roman's favorite part of the day. He loved watching an inky masterpiece blossom from nothing like magic.

But Roman never had enough courage to write something back. What if he ruined it? Roman was usually the brave prince, able to do the impossible. But when it came to his true love, Roman's courage ran faster than Cinderella running from her ball.

"Roman! Class is over!" Patton, Roman's best friend, shook him out of his daydreams. Roman quickly tugged down his sleeve, hiding his soulmate's drawing, and flashed a smile at Patton as he began to pack up. They entered the bustling hallways and Roman wondered for the millionth time which of these students was his true love.

* * *

"Roman?" Patton asked. Roman hummed in response. "Do you ever wonder who your soulmate is?" The question caught Roman off guard.

"P-pardon?"

"Do you ever wonder who your soulmate is? I mean, I know that we all have one, but sometimes I worry..." Patton trailed off in thought, and Roman placed a comforting hand on his shoulder as he began to think. Who was his soulmate? Roman knew he had one of course. He had the ink on his arm to prove it. But what if they were a total jerk? Or what if they were a girl?

The bell rang, snapping Roman out of his thoughts. He grabbed his bag, waved goodbye to Patton, and headed to fencing.

Roman loved to fence. It reminded him of the medieval sword fights the noble princes would endure to save their princess or prince. Plus, the jackets covered his arms and hid the drawings that he only wanted for himself.

Roman walked into the fencing studio and grinned. The shiny strips glinted under the fluorescent lighting and the familiar sound of swords clashing greeted his ears.

Roman eagerly got dressed. He fenced Epee, so he wore a chest protector, jacket, mask, glove, and body cord. In Epee fencing, the entire body was a target from head to toe. The other swords, Foil and Saber, required Lemees: metal jackets that show what can or can't be hit. Roman made his way to his fencing coach, mask under his arm.

"Roman!" His coach, Joan, exclaimed.

"Hey coach!" Roman said, giving them a high five.

"Roman, I want you to meet Virgil. He'll be joining the fencing team. I was hoping you would be able to introduce him to the rest of the team and also teach him the basics of Epee," Joan explained. Roman was easily the most popular and social person on the team, so it only made sense he vas chosen to help someone new.

"Sure, sounds fabulous!" Roman turned to Virgil. "Have you ever fenced before?"

"Uh... no..." Virgil said quietly.

"Well let's hookup and then we can start!"

"Wh-what?! What are we doing?" Virgil exclaimed, eyes wide, cheeks reddening. Roman quickly thought over what he had said and realized his mistake. He laughed.

"'Hookup' in fencing means to hookup to the mats," Roman explained, gesturing to the wires.

"Oh, right," Virgil said, rubbing the back of his neck, embarrassed. Roman taught Virgil the basic footwork: Advances, Retreats, Lunges. Then, after Virgil got the hang of those, he taught him more advanced things such as Check-Forwards, Check-Backwards, and Cross-Backs.

"Alright guys, time's up. Practice is over!" Joan shouted to the team.

"You're a really quick learner!" Roman exclaimed as he and Virgil made their way back to their bags.

"Ha, thanks. Probably because I had a really good teacher," Virgil said with a wink. Roman blushed a little. They started to take off their gear. Virgil removed his jacket and underneath the sleeve of his shirt had ridden up a little bit. That's when Roman saw it.

It was so small, Roman probably wouldn't have noticed it if he didn't have the exact same thing imprinted on his skin. Peeking out from under Virgil's sleeve was an array of swirls and dots, matching the drawing Roman had.

Virgil was Roman's soulmate.

Roman was so bewildered and surprised that he didn't realize Virgil was talking to him.

"Roman? Hello?" Virgil waved his hand in front of Roman's face.

"A-apologies!" Roman shook his head a little. "What did you say?"

"I was wondering if you wanted to hang out sometime?" Virgil chuckled nervously.

"That sounds super! Can I get your number?" Roman asked, smiling warmly. The two exchanged numbers and parted ways. Roman immediately called Patton.

"Patton!" Roman shouted over the phone.

"Hey Kiddo! What's up?"

"You'll never believe who I met! My soulmate!" Roman said with a squeal of excitement.

"Wow really? Roman that's amazing! Who is he?"

"Patton he's incredible! His name is Virgil and he's so cool. He's funny and smart and handsome and he likes fencing too!" Roman gushed.

"Wow he really sounds like a catch! Did you tell him you guys are soulmates?"

"No not yet. I wanna make it a big surprise!"

"Okay Kiddo! Good luck!" Patton ended the call. Roman smiled wide. He had found his soulmate, and he had already fallen for him.

* * *

Roman ducked into a bathroom stall and rolled up his sleeve. A bathroom was not Roman's ideal setting for this, but no one could see what he was gonna do: Roman was finally going to draw back to Virgil.

He had spent the last week drawing and redrawing a design he had come with. It was a heart surrounded by swirls, dots, and lines. Inside the heart was the words "Roman+Virgil". Roman picked up a pen, took a deep breath, and began to draw. He drew the heart first, then the designs, leaving the words for last. He finally wrote their names in a swirling, dotting the "i's" in Virgil's name with tiny hearts.

Roman stepped out of the bathroom, satisfied with his art. But he quickly became worried. What if Virgil hadn't seen the drawing? Or what if he just didn't care? But Roman's worries were quickly answered when Virgil came barreling around the corner. His sleeve was shoved up to his elbow revealing Roman's drawing. Virgil stared at the matching drawing on Roman's arm.

"It's really you? You're my soulmate?" Virgil asked tentatively.

"Surprise?" Roman said awkwardly. The two stood in silence. "Um... are you gonna say something?" Roman asked with a chuckle.

"Sorry! I-I... I just don't really know what to say," Virgil breathed. Roman threw caution and looped an arm around Virgil's waist, smiling when he heard Virgil's breath hitch.

"Maybe you don't have to say anything?" Roman muttered, glancing at Virgil's lips.

"Maybe you're right," Virgil said, his breath ghosting over Roman's lips. The two connected in a sweet kiss filled with the promise of love. The two broke apart and Roman reached down and grabbed Virgil's hand. They walked away, hand-in-hand, with matching ink hearts.