Green Eggs and Soulmarks - (Guy x Sam)

Chapter 1

Sam brushed up the fur covering his wrist to reveal the mark. A tender smile crossed his lips as he traced the little green egg, no bigger than his nose, inked onto his skin. Most people had a hidden soulmark, although a rare few were born without them.

Some people spent their entire lifetime searching for their one true love. At least, that was how people usually described soulmates. That one other person, in the entire world, that was perfect for you in every way. Sam's own soulmate was handsome and smart and inventive, even if he was a bit of a grump.

Thinking of Guy made his heart clench in his chest, and he swept the fur back over his mark. There was no way he could ever tell his best friend that they were meant for each other. Not when Guy clearly liked Michellee. And definitely not when Sam had been lying to him about his entire life. But that didn't mean he couldn't be there to support his soulmate in finding happiness with someone else.

Sam began to crawl forward through the air duct with Mr. Jeepers right behind him. He needed to rescue his Guy... no, not HIS Guy, his friend who happened to be named Guy. He would rescue him from The Bad Guys, and they would find a way to send Mr. Jeepers home, and then... and then he'd help his soulmate woo the woman he was clearly enamored with. Once that was over, and he'd made sure his soulmate was as happy as he could be, then he'd leave – like he always did. Because despite his smiles and his cheery personality, Sam wouldn't be able to stay and watch the love of his life with someone else.

"It's not like I'll never see him again. Maybe we'll exchange postcards for a while. I'll make up some wild adventures to keep EB entertained, and congratulate Guy on finally settling down. Maybe they'll... maybe they'll even have another kid," Sam whispered to himself, his voice catching in his throat as he brushed tears from his eyes. "A kid who will be just as inventive as his dad. Heck, maybe the kiddo will even call me, 'Uncle Sam.'"

Sam took in a deep breath, and let it out slowly. The chickaraff let out a curious squawk behind him. "It's fine, Mr. Jeepers," the little man sighed. He reached back to pat his animal friend on the head. "It's better this way. Guy deserves better. He... he deserves to fall in love with someone who will be honest with him. If he found out the truth about me, he'd..." Sam paused, letting out a shaky breath. "He'd hate me forever. So we can't let him know that I'm his soulmate. Okay, Mr. Jenkins? This is our little secret."

***

"We know the truth about your little pal, Sam. His aliases, his schemes, even his soulmark. It's all there in the files. He stole the chickaraff to sell to a collector. My partner is the next room with the Goat. One of you is gonna tell us the name of that collector, and the other is gonna be in BIG trouble in a little cell. Which one do you want to be?" The larger man stood up, glaring down at Guy. "Think it over."

Guy jumped as the door slammed shut behind the officer. How could this have happened? He let Sam into his life, and the cheerful little man had lied to him from the start. He'd even introduced him to his parents! And what did he have to show for it? He was chained to a desk, being threatened with jail time – oh, wait... he already went to jail for Sam!

The former inventor let out a groan, and flopped down on the desk. Sam-I-Am, or whoever he really was, was likely selling poor Mr. Jenkins to that collector, and making off with his ill-gotten wealth. How could he have been so blind? So stupid? So...

Guy sat up quickly, searching through the reports in front of him for any sign that the officers had been wrong. That Sam wasn't the con artist they claimed he was. And that was when he saw it. Next to the word 'Soulmark' on each report was a picture of a tiny green egg. A very, very familiar green egg.