Heartrate One-Shots

Glowing

Alix really hated school. Even more for the last year since akumas became a thing, and any angst teenager could become a rage monster and start killing people. Like she hated school to the level that she would deliberately get herself sick, cause faking it never worked in a family where her mom had been a doctor.
However, this time, she had failed. She'd tried eating fast food that wasn't known for its quality to give her food poisoning, hanging out with her cousin who got sick every other week, and basically everything else she could think of to give her any illness.
Still. Not even a cough.
Alix was thinking about this when she bumped into Marinette, spilling both their stuff everywhere.
"Oh, I'm so sorry, Alix!" Marinette exclaimed, "I wasn't looking where I was going!"
"Yeah, no shit!" Alix said, "But it's okay, Mari."
"So," Marinette said, "Are you and Kim going to continue the whole 'dares' thing?"
"Why the hell wouldn't we?" Alix asked, handing Marinette her folder, "In fact, he texted me a few days ago. Whoever can go longer without interacting with the other wins, and loser has to do what the winner says for three days after losing."
"Good luck!" Marinette said.
"You already knew, didn't you?" Alix asked, "Kim just had to brag, didn't he?"
"He told me, yeah," Marinette admitted, "But he's been like a big brother to me since we were little. But I don't really care who wins. I'll be happy if you win, Alix."
"Yeah, whatever."
Alix headed to homeroom, and went to go say hi to one of her best friends.
"Hey, Nath," she said, "How was your summer?"
"I can't believe I'm in the same class and Miss Emo-Raven-Vampire-Girl, again."
"What, Juleka?" Alix asked, "I have never understood why you hate her so much."
"Are you kidding? She's the worst!"
"Heh. Quiet-kid rivalry. Weird. Well, I'm going to my seat, so have fun being in the back with your vampire rival and her fairy girl friend."
"Oh, Quiet-kid rivalry as opposed to Jock-kid rivalry?"
"Touché."
When Kim walked in and sat down behind her, Alix didn't talk to him. She kept ignoring him even when he tapped her on the shoulder. Then he threw a note on her desk and she couldn't help but look at it.
"I never asked you how your summer was."
Alix wrote back and tossed the note back to him.
"Why do you care, Cupid? Also doesn't this count as interacting?"
The wrote back and forth several more times before class started and they had to stop or risk getting caught.
"I care cause I'm your friend. And also I think we can make an exception just this once."
"Fine. It was boring. My brother's a wuss. He can't fight, run or play any sport. And you were in America all summer, so..."
"So sorry my vacation was inconvenient for you. I did text you a lot, though."
"Yeah to whine about how random Americans wouldn't take your dares. Boo-hoo. I never get to go on vacation."
At that point, they had to stop writing.
...
Kim and Alix managed to avoid interacting to each other for the rest of week.
Actually, Alix was starting to realize that she missed him. She missed their talks. The dares. She couldn't just lose the one they had going, of course, but she didn't mean she couldn't miss him.
Max came up to her on the eighth day of them not talking.
"I was wondering if you are feeling okay, Alix," Max said, "You have been acting sort of strange lately, and you seem sad."
"I'm fine, Max," Alix responded, "Just an odd-week."
"Is it because of your dare with Kim?" Max asked, "You should know that he has been acting 'off,' too."
Alix wondered what kind of 'off' this was. It could just be he was wondering if this could go for the whole school year. To be honest, Alix was, too. Not talking to Kim for the whole school year would be hard. He was one of her best friends, after all.
Whoa.
Thinking about how competitive they both were... what if they never talked again?
"Max is right," Marinette said, overhearing, "You've been out of it lately, Alix. You both have. Do you miss him?"
"What? No!" Alix exclaimed, "Why would I miss snark and dares?"
And friendship and kindness and maybe... a little more.
"Okay," Marinette said, not seeming to believe her.
...
Two weeks later, Alix was absolutely miserable. She would barely admit it, but she missed Kim like hell.
Alya walked up to her in the hallway," Are you okay, Alix?"
"Nope," she said nonchalantly.
"You miss Kim."
Alix took a deep breath, "Yes. But... a dare is a dare. I'm not losing."
Alya sighed, "I know I can't change your mind, but if it makes you feel any better, he's been acting weird, too. I think he misses you, too, Breaker."
She felt a tear slip down my cheek, but she brushed it away before Alya could see, "Yeah, whatever. As long as this dare's going on, we're not going to talk, WiFi."
...
Kim wouldn't admit it to anyone, but he missed Alix so much that he physically almost couldn't function. The last time he had even interacted with her, it had been the notes on the first day of school. That was a month ago, and he hadn't so much as texted her since then.
The last time he had looked at her, talked to her, was three months ago.
He had been leaving for America, and that was when he told her.
"I'm spending the rest of the summer in America. Mom won the lottery; we're going on a road trip around the country."
"Cool. Tell your relatives I said hi."
"I don't...have any relatives in America."
"Really? Could have sworn you were American by how rude you are. And that weird love of McDonalds."
"Oh, ha ha. But seriously. I'll be without cell service for a while. And I'm not going to see you for at least two months. You might miss me."
"In your dreams, Cupid. See you in two months."
She had hugged him, and that was the last time he had touched, talked to, or actually interacted with Alix.
Mrs. Bustier pulled Kim aside after class on Friday, "Kim, are you okay?"
"Yeah, why?" He asked.
"Your grades are slipping," she pointed out, "You're doing worse than you did last year. Is it, maybe, something to do with a certain pink-haired girl?"
"Why would you think that?" Kim asked.
"She's been acting strange, too. And neither of you have talked to each other since school got back in. Did you have a fight that I could help resolve?"
"No. It's a dare."
Mrs. Bustier frowned, "Well, it's affecting you both very negatively. You're both unfocused, unhappy... you miss her, don't you?"
Kim weighed his options. He knew Mrs. Bustier wouldn't tell anyone what he said, but he hated admitting things like this. Feelings were messy.
"Yes," he admitted, "I miss her. A lot. But I don't want to lose, either."
Mrs. Bustier put a hand on Kim's shoulder gently, "Kim. Maybe it's time to stop thinking about winning, and start thinking about how being separated from her is affecting you, and her."
That Monday, he decided he couldn't take it anymore. Screw it if it meant losing the dare. Kim wanted his best friend back.
After a track practice, Kim confronted Alix in the locker room. (The track team could only afford to rent out one locker room, but sexual harassment and stuff was not tolerated at all. One report and you were off the team no matter how good you were.)
"I can't take this anymore," He said, "Screw the dare. I miss you, Alix."
Alix turned around, and Kim tried to ignore the fact that she wasn't wearing a shirt, and also that she had a six-pack.
"Well, hello to you, too," she said.
"Please don't tease," he pleaded, "I haven't talked to you in three months and I'm distracted all the time because of it, and it's all because I've missed you, Alix."
"Mmhmm," Alix said.
"And I don't care if I have to do what you tell me to for a three days, a week, even a month. Because you're probably my best friend in the world, and over the last three months, I've missed you like crazy."
"Mmhmm," Alix said.
"I— what else do you want me to say?"
Alix smirked, "You didn't have to say anything; it's just funny to watch you spill your little heart out to me." She punched his shoulder, "You get puppy-eyes when you're upset. It's sad, and kind of cute."
Suddenly, beneath her sternum, a warm, pink light appeared, pulsing like a heartbeat.
"What—?" Alix looked confused at the glowing in her chest.
Kim looked down and saw a similar glow beneath the skin of his own chest, but a darker red color.
"What the hell?" Kim wondered. Everyone on the track team stared at the two athletes with glowing chests.
Then Kim remembered. No one quite knew why, as no scientist could explain it, but whenever two soulmates would meet, their chests would glow.
Kim had met Alix before, but there were other things that could influence it. Sometimes the universe changed its mind. Sometimes their original soulmate dies. But whatever the case, apparently he was now tethered to... Alix. His rival.
Alix stared at the glow peeking from her sports bra, seeming to come to the same realization he did.
"You still have to do what I say, right?" Alix asked, "I still won the dare?"
"Um, yeah. Why?"
"Kiss me."
"I'm sorry, what?"
"These idiots aren't going to stop staring. Might as well give them to stare at."
"Okay... but... are you sure?"
"Are you chickening out, Cupid? You do have my permission."
Kim raised an eyebrow and stepped closer to Alix, "Seems kind of quick. I haven't even gone on a date with you, Breaker."
"And what about all the times we went on runs together with coffee afterwards?" Alix asked.
They were toe-to-toe now, and she had to look basically straight up to look him in the eye.
"Eh...I'd say that sort-of counts."
Alix put her hands on his shoulders as Kim's hands came to rest on her hips, "Well, I only have one more thing to tell you."
"Oh really?" Kim asked, "What's that?" He leaned down so that their lips were an inch apart.
"I missed you, too."
As they closed the distance between them, neither noticed how twenty euros was passed between Adrien and Nino in the background.