Colors On My Skin

chapter one - lefty

Taako had never cared much about his "soulmate." He'd never made an attempt to write to them, at least, not on purpose. He had been a bit embarrassed when he'd woken up one morning to find a snide remark about a messy shopping list scrawled on his skin in warm red ink. He'd hastily written a short apology and gone on with his day. All of this was true. He didn't really care. At least, not at first.

He leaned against the warm oven as he mixed batter for a second batch of experimental poison antidote cupcakes. He felt a warm stroking on his left forearm. It surprised him so much he dropped his whisk. "Shit.." he swore under his breath as he reached for the whisk and wiped up the batter from the floor. He had almost forgotten what had surprised him in the first place by the time he was finished cleaning. He couldn't quite place what had brushed up against him, until he recognized a feeling he had felt on occasions so few and far between, he'd almost forgotten it completely. Sure enough, he looked down at his left forearm to see a single word neatly printed in a deep red.

〄

Magnus had been skeptical of soulmates ever since he'd lost Julia. He'd finished grieving years ago, but he just couldn't find it in him to reach out again. He wasn't even convinced he had a new soulmate until he found a shopping list for something more complex than he could ever cook on his arm. Naturally, he knew something was up. He hadn't expected to hear anything back when he wrote a snarky response. Nevertheless, he felt something deep inside him stir when he noticed the emerald green "hey sorry" on his right arm a few minutes later.

He couldn't quite grasp what this feeling was. But he knew it was familiar. Somehow. He spent the next several weeks thinking about it. He couldn't let it get away. He wanted to chase it, to hold it in his arms, to know it. To understand it. So, he picked up a pen. Just before the pen touched his skin, however, he hesitated. Only slightly, but it made him realize just how much he wanted this to work, to at least reach whoever was on the other side. Somehow, without even knowing it, he had so much riding on this.

Nevertheless, he moved his pen in neat strokes, marking his and hopefully someone else's skin in unison.

〄

"Lefty?" Taako muttered under his breath as he placed the mixing bowl on the counter. The word written simply on his skin was nothing if not confusing. He walked from the kitchen to the couch, still staring at his arm the whole way in confused astonishment. He reached over the back of the couch to retrieve the phone lying on the cushions. He finally shifted his gaze to the phone, opening his messages to send a text to his counterpart.

Taako:     hey something kinda weird just happened

Lup:          wym

Taako:     i just got a message

Lup:          from who

Taako:     my soulmate i think

Lup:          oooooh keep talking you have my interest

Taako:      it just says lefty

Lup:          what

Taako:     like, a question? like "lefty?"

Lup:         wtf does that mean

Taako:     why do you think im asking you dingus

Lup:         write em back

Taako:    what do i even say

Lup:         just ask what they mean. conversational skills, bro

Taako:    you do know who you're talking to, right

Lup:        aw cmon just be normal. i gtg but keep me posted

Taako:    not likely

Lup:        love you too ～(^з^)-♡

He'd never say it to her face, but Taako knew Lup was usually right. He threw his phone back on the couch and paced over to a cup of pens and pencils on the kitchen counter. His mind buzzed as he searched for a pen that wasn't out of ink. How should he phrase it? What if he came off as uninterested? There were so many ways this could go wrong, he--

Bzzt! Bzzt!

Lup:       you're not getting out of this. you have to talk to them at some point.

Taako smiled. She knew him too well. Alright. Simplicity it is.

what?

To Taako's surprise, he got a response almost immediately.

you're a lefty right?

how the fuck could you know that

when you write it appears on my right arm so you must be writing with your left hand

you're pretty smart huh, red

red?

when you write it appears in red for me

you're pretty sociable when you actually talk, lefty

you're not so bad of a conversationalist yourself. sorry it took so long for me to figure that out

sorry it took me a while too

Taako looked up from his arm for a moment. He sniffed slightly. Oh no.

shit sorry i gotta go my cupcakes are burning

He frantically scribbled an apology as he jumped up and sped to the oven. The cupcakes were beyond saving. He threw the charred remains in the sink, turning on the faucet to cool them down. Usually, he'd be fuming right about now, hours of work down the drain. But for some reason, in this particular instance, he didn't really care.