You wrapped your fingers tightly around the paper cup of hot coffee. Using one hand, you reached behind you head and yanked your hood over your head. It seemed useless; the rain would somehow soak through your raincoat. That was just your luck here in Queens.
You pushed open the glass doors of the small café and stepped outside. The rain hit you in the face suddenly, a gust of wind tempting you to turn around and go right back inside the heated café.
Instead, you let the door close and turned to the direction of the bus stop.
On your way there, you blew delicately on your coffee. Your latte was too hot to drink but your cold and aching bones yearned for the tiny bit of warmth it would offer. The scent of vanilla and cinnamon didn't help much either; it provided a homey scent that made your heart feel at peace.
You sighed longingly, daydreaming about how warm and nice your bed would feel when you got home. You would strip yourself of the damp clothes that were sticking to your body and throw on a pair of sleep shorts and a sweatshirt.
Someone bumped into you, sending your coffee to the sidewalk without a chance of saving it. You gasped, hearing the sound of the lid pop off against the ground.
"Oops!" a voice of a young woman said.
You looked up. The woman was standing in front of you, her arms around the man that was practically attached to her hip. He had an arm around her shoulders and a hand on her arm. They were still smiling, an unheard joke hovering between them.
They were soulmates and it was clear.
"I'm sorry," the man said, but he looked too happy to be sorry.
"It's fine," you mumbled.
All of a sudden, you weren't sad about the latte that was getting washed away by the rain or the fact that you had just wasted your last four dollars on a cup of stupid coffee. You were sad because now you were staring at a pair of people so in love while you had no one.
The people walked around you, mumbling lovingly to one another and laughing softly. You turned your head and watched them, not out of bitterness, but out of longing.
You were painfully aware of the nothingness your hand held and the fact that no lips had graced yours in years. You had a boyfriend once. He was a kid in your music class in tenth grade and he insisted that you were his soulmate.
You should have known he wasn't. There was no click the first time you looked into his eyes and there was no love in your heart the first time he kissed you with his chapped lips and his braces that hurt your teeth when he knocked his mouth against yours too hard.
You hadn't dated since then, hoping to save every other first you had for your soulmate. He would be the only one that would ever matter.
Facing day after day became increasingly more difficult without your soulmate. You felt empty without him. You had never met the boy your soul was connected to but you already loved him endlessly.
So if you loved him, why wasn't he at your side right now?
You thought of whoever he was daily.
Where was he? Why hadn't you found him yet? Was he even real?
He had to be real. Everyone had a soulmate.
But what if you never found him?
Someone else bumped into you, knocking you off the curb. The man with a long coat muttered a curse word towards you while you stared blankly at him.
You had landed in a puddle. The rain had filled your boots. Your socks were so soggy that you felt like crying.
You stepped back on the curb and started to walk down the sidewalk again. The sidewalks were so packed with people eager to get out of the rain that it was impossible to see in front of you or walk quickly.
By the time you got to the bus stop, you were drenched. There was a cluster of people waiting already. You put your hands in your pockets and prepared to shiver until the bus pulled up.
The sound of the rain hitting your raincoat was loud in your ears. You sighed heavily and shifted on your feet, grimacing at the sound of water squishing out of your socks. There would be no break from being miserable today.
"Watch it, kid!"
At the same time those words were spoken, someone shoved you for the third time in one day. You nearly toppled forward, only to be stopped by a hand that shot out and stabled you.
You turned around, seeing the hand on the back of your raincoat belonging to a young boy. The boy had his head turned towards the man that was barreling through the crowd; the same man that had knocked you off the curb.
Understanding what had happened, you shrugged. "That guy has been in a hurry all day. You're not the first victim," you said.
The boy's head shot up at your voice. He looked at you and his fingers released the back of your raincoat.
Shaking your head, you lifted your eyes up from the man that was pushing his way through the neighborhood to the boy.
When you looked at his eyes, you could have sworn that nothing had ever looked warmer.
They were a brown so rich that they could be compared to medium roast coffee. Wide and gleaming, the whites of his eyes swam in glistening tears that sparked a flame inside of your chest and set your entire body on fire.
At the same time his eyes flickered around your face, yours did to him. You took in every freckle, every dimple, every line on his soft lips and every crinkle at the edge of his eyes. His skin was a creamy white and his hair was a rich brown like his eyes.
He was absolutely gorgeous, and you knew right them and there that he was your soulmate.
You could feel it in the tips of your fingers and the hairs on your arms. You were electrified, awake, aware, and alive. He had brought something to life.
No longer did you hear the sound of the rain smacking against your raincoat or see the grey fog around the grey buildings of the grey city you lived in.
Everything was colorful and all of that color was inside of him.
"It's you," you breathed without thinking.
He nodded slowly. "A-and it's you."
You think you stepped closer, because his eyes were suddenly right in front of your face. You blinked at him, waiting for him to disappear and for the dream to be over.
"I can't believe I found you," you said.
He shook his head. "I can't believe you're so pretty," he said back. "Ned is gonna lose it."
You were still lost in his eyes. "I... have no idea who that is."
Appalled and amused by the direction of the conversation, your cheeks flamed red and so did his. You laughed, all teeth and closed eyes, feeling the rain drip from your eyelashes to your nose.
He chuckled nervously. The sound was prettier than any song you had ever heard.
You tucked a strand of soppy hair behind your ear. "Can you tell me your name?" you asked.
He swallowed thickly. "It's Peter."
"Peter," you said, and the sound of your voice saying it sent his heart into a frenzy. "Peter. I'm... ___."
Peter was staring at you with wide eyes. Soulmates couldn't read each other's thoughts, thank goodness, and he was glad because loudly in his head, he was thinking about that scene in The Little Mermaid where Ariel and Eric were on the boat and the sea creatures were trying to get them to kiss.
He didn't know why but he was dying to try - he wanted to kiss you.
His teeth pulled his bottom lip back into his mouth. Wait. Would you find it totally embarrassing that he liked The Little Mermaid?
No way. You were his soulmate. You were supposed to love everything about him just as he was loving everything about you already.
"___," he said. "Wow. That's kinda pretty. Okay, ___."
His heart stopped as soon as your eyebrows raised. He sucked in a sharp breath and pulled his lip back with his teeth.
That was a quote from the movie. What was with him? Why couldn't he let the Disney movies go for just a minute?
"From The Little Mermaid," you said softly. A giggle burst out of your lips. "Did you notice?"
"Yeah," he said shakily. "Er... sorry?"
You shook your head. The bus sputtered and groaned as it pulled up to the curb. The doors squeaked as they pulled open and people stepped off.
You and Peter waited, always looking at each other, as the people in front of you filed on.
Like a gentleman, Peter let you on first. You took extra care in not slipping so you wouldn't look like an idiot in front of your soulmate.
The bus was already stuffed to capacity. Somehow, you managed to find two dirty spots at the back of the bus. They were in between an overweight businessman and a snobbish looking old woman.
Peter was right behind you as you walked to the seats. He sat down in the one beside the woman and smiled up at you.
Just as you were about to lower yourself down next to him, the man coughed and put his hand on the seat. You froze and looked at him, expecting him to move and let you sit before the bus moved.
When it was clear he wouldn't, Peter spoke up. "Um... excuse me, can she sit here? There aren't any other seats."
The man huffed, an unimpressed look gracing his eyes.
Peter pressed his lips together. "Come on, man, let the lady sit."
"If you want her to sit so bad, why don't you give up your seat?" the man snapped.
Slightly afraid of what the man could do, you waved your hand. "I-It's alright, Peter."
He frowned when you grabbed hold of the pole beside you and gripped tight. He shook his head and stood up.
"No, no. You can sit," he said.
"Peter-"
"Please," he said, moving around you. He gripped the pole and placed a hand on your back while you stepped to the seat.
You sat down and smiled up at him. He was standing directly in front of you, his eyes full of endearment as he observed you.
Only a soulmate could look at you like that when you were sitting on a grimy bus seat with dripping hair and wet, loosely hanging clothes.
The bus went over a bump. Peter jostled to the side. If he didn't have the powers he had, he probably would have fallen over. But you, being clueless to the powers your soulmate possessed, grabbed hold of his hand protectively and held on tight.
He smiled widely and sweetly as you blushed. You looked away, embarassed. To reassure you, he brushed his thumb across your knuckles again and again.
Your heart fluttered.
So this was how it felt to have a soulmate. This was how it was to have a boy love and care for you unconditionally. The missing part of your heart and soul was suddenly found and put in place and it was so, so beautiful.
Your stop was quickly approaching and your heart was in your throat. You didn't want to leave him. You had no idea where or when his stop was and you didn't want to feel your hand without his around it again.
The bus stopped. The doors opened. People stood.
You remained still.
The people walked safely onto the sidewalk. You saw your apartment in the distance. You wondered if your mom was going to worry if you didn't get off right now.
The bus doors shut and the bus driver touched the gas pedal with her foot.
You looked up at Peter and sheepishly said, "I just missed my stop."
He was already looking at you when you'd glanced at him. You wondered how long he had been staring at you.
"Me too," he said. He laughed and blushed. "Like, three stops ago."
You giggled, covering your mouth with your free hand.
The rude man next to you started to stand up before the bus came to a full stop. As the doors opened, he stepped out onto the aisle. You swore he purposefully shoved Peter as he walked off the vehicle.
You scowled at his back but Peter paid no mind to anything except for the free seat next to you again.
He sound down quickly, his hand still holding yours. You turned slightly towards him so that your knee touched the outside of his thigh.
"There are so many things I've wanted to say to you, but now that I've met you... I can't remember any of them," he admitted.
"That's okay." You furrowed your eyebrows. "When do you think we're going to get off this bus?"
"I don't know," he said.
You nibbled on the inside of your cheek. "I have waited so long for you."
"Me too," he said. "I thought I'd never..."
"Meet you," you finished for him.
He inched impossibly closer. His fingers squeezed yours, pulling your hand into his lap. He looked down at it and danced his fingers across your soft palm, making your entire stomach and chest feel fuzzy and alive.
His eyebrows pulled together in sudden deep thought as he stared at your open hand. You didn't know what he was thinking about as he stroked the inside of your wrist and wove his fingers back through yours.
"Peter," you whispered, "what's on your mind?"
His attention was back on your eyes. He looked nervous as he smiled.
"There's a lot I want to tell you," he said. "About me..."
"Oh." You swallowed. "You're not... a murderer, are you?"
He laughed. "No!"
You smiled. "Just making sure."
Peter knew that he would have to tell you about his life as Spider-Man soon. He had always promised himself that he would tell his soulmate right away.
He had never told Liz, Gwen, or MJ because he knew they weren't really his. He might have loved them, but he didn't love them as he would love his soulmate.
And now he had his soulmate and he knew deep down in his bones that he had to keep you safe.
"Peter? Are you that worried about whatever it is you want to tell me?"
"No," he said. "I'm not worried about anything anymore." His other hand brushed down your shoulder. "Well, I guess I'm kind of worried about how much I want to kiss you."
"Kiss me?" you asked, voice faint.
He nodded, eyes darting from your left pupil to your right.
"Kiss me, Peter," you requested, and he almost passed out.
"Kids! We've already gone around the route a whole time. If you're trying to get a free ride to whenever you're going, it ain't gonna work," the scratchy voice of the bus driver said. She jerked a manicured thumbnail towards the doors. "Get off my bus."
Peter stood up. "S-Sorry ma'am," he said, gripping your hand and leading you down the aisle.
He hopped in a childlike manner directly into a mud puddle. You skipped over it and stepped onto the curb with him, looking up at his embarassed face.
"We're right back where we started," he said.
"Where's better place to kiss me than at the beginning?" you asked, shrugging.
His face grew serious. Although he was nervous inside, he was determined to give you the best first kiss a soulmate could offer.
Grabbing you by both your hands, Peter wove through the crowd that was still heavy. He pulled you under and awning and out of the rain.
Drips of water slid down his eyebrows and eyelashes. He blinked away the blurred drops to see you and your gorgeous, breathtaking, blushing face.
He wasn't sure where to place his hands as he dropped your fingers. He settled for a hand on your cheek and another on your forearm. His eyes shifted to your lips the moment they parted.
Just kiss her, Peter.
It was The Little Mermaid in his head again. He was even more nervous when the scene was floating around in his head.
Boy, you'd better do it soon. No time will be better.
He shut his eyes and lowered his head. If that Disney movie taught him anything, it was that moments like these were romantic. And that he somehow had the mood prepared (he didn't) and that he wanted to kiss the girl (he did).
His lips touched yours. Just like when he first saw you and you first saw him, he and you felt awakened and alive. It was the strongest gush of passion ever felt with his lips softly molding against yours, bringing warmth into your cold body.
Your hands made their way to his chest and palmed at the muscle you hadn't noticed there. He pulled you closer, bringing you more out of the rain and in his arms.
He wanted to wrap himself around you, keep you with him where he knew you'd never be in danger or away from him. He wanted - needed - you like air.
And you needed him.
You both broke away, eyes wide and full of love. Love.
Love for the boy that had stolen your heart before you'd met him.
Love for the girl that had caught his eye before he had ever seen her.
Love for one another - for every part of one another - for every glimpse of the future with one another.
"I've loved you for as long as I can remember," you said softly, breathlessly.
He nodded. "M-Me too. I... I loved you before I even met you. And now that I have... wow." His hand went to your face and brushed away a lock of hair. "I love you."
You lowered your lips to his and kissed him with every ounce of passion you'd been saving for him and only him.