SOULMATES [My Hero Academia]

Skin and Ink - Tamaki Amajiki - Part Two

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I couldn't help but fidget, picking at my sleeves and searching for nonexistent lint on my pants so that my hands would have something to do while I waited. Maybe I shouldn't have shown up an hour early for my first date with my soulmate. Yeah, probably not.

Checking my phone for the twentieth time, my hands went clammy when I realized that I only had fifteen minutes left until he was supposed to arrive. Tamaki. I straightened my sweater and stopped myself from touching my hair; Mina, Sero, and Kaminari had spent all morning with me, helping me pick out the perfect outfit and getting my hair to do something normal.

Drumming my fingers on the table, I glanced around the cafe again, wishing I hadn't ordered that extra shot of espresso in my latte. Jittery, I caved and fished around in my backpack for a pen. I rolled my dark sleeve up to my elbow and started to doodle flowers near my wrist, my go-to when I was nervous.

When that failed to sate my anxiety, I took to watching the other patrons at the cafe, hastily sketching their faces on the inside of my forearm. One guy in particular caught my eye between sips of my latte... dark, maybe blue, maybe black hair - long in the front and shorter in the back. His eyes were cast down, watching his wrist, with such deep concentration that I felt his admiration from across the cafe.

I sketched him across the widest part of my arm, careful to get his hair and the shading from the sunlight streaming in through the window just right across his face. He sipped his iced coffee and rested his cheek in his palm, a small smile on his lips. His smile faded and brow furrowed as I scribbled, the picture clearing up the further in I went.

The boy looked up from his arm, eyes wide and mouth pulled thin and tight as he peered around the cafe. I watched as he glanced down at his arm, looked up, checked his arm again, and peeked back up, gazing around the room for something... or someone.

His eyes met mine, and I hastily looked away, doodling flowers once more.

The warmth I now recognized as my soulmate's writing sank into my opposite arm, seeping into my skin like summer sun. I rolled up my sleeve, nervous to check what Tamaki'd written. Maybe he'd bailed, decided that having a soulmate who doodled strangers and painted on his legs wasn't for him.

Fair enough, right?

I tried to rationalize his train of thought before I looked, afraid of his words, but all I found was: Are you here? At the cafe?

I frowned. Here?

Meaning... he's here too? I wrote back, just under the flowers: Yeah, I got here early. I'm in the back corner booth, near the bathrooms. I nearly told him that I picked this prime location in case I needed to nervous puke, but held back that information just in case. Again, I didn't want to scare him.

My pulse fluttered in my ears, terrifyingly loud and frantic. Palms sweaty, I chewed on my pen cap and doodled more flowers in an effort to distract myself. It wasn't working. My soulmate was nearby. I was going to meet Tamaki soon. It was all I could think about.

"Hi."

Tension steeled my every muscle, turning me to stone. Once I looked up, saw the face of my soulmate, met him... it was all over. There was no going back from this. There would only be before and after.

I gasped for air though my stony lungs, and took the plunge.

He stood before me in dark jeans, a soft cream sweater, and black sneakers. The boy I'd been doodling. My heart somehow found its way into my throat, pounding in my vocal cords and making it impossible to speak. How embarrassing.

"I'm Tamaki," he said, his hands gripping and regripping his iced coffee. He vehemently avoided my eye contact, which was fine by me because I was still staring like an idiot. His hair was blue. A nice, rich indigo, now that I saw it up close. And his ears were pointed at the tips, just barely poking out of his hair... cute.

The heat in my cheeks felt like it was receding, maybe, so I took the chance and tried to speak. "I-I think we're soulmates then," I blurted.

Tamaki laughed, soft and through his nose, before chuckling out loud. "Yeah," he nodded, "Yeah, I think we are."

"Sit, please, I'm so sorry," I sputtered, my mouth now moving a million miles an hour, "I am so sorry for drawing you, I didn't realize- I just- oh my god this is so embarrassing." I buried my face in my hands and groaned. Why do I only have two settings: hyper-caffeinated chihuahua and sedated snail?

AND WHY THE CHIHUAHUA RIGHT NOW?

He slid into the booth opposite me and pulled his sleeves down over his fingers, making soft sweater paws. "So..." he said, cheeks pink and eyes averted.

"So..." I echoed, staring while he wasn't looking. How did I end up with a soulmate so attractive?

"What's next?" He muttered, sipping his drink.

I shrugged and took a long drink from my latte. "I guess the rest of our lives."

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A/N: If you liked this Tamaki short, then check out my Tamaki story, MAPS! <3