Work Text:
Not everyone was lucky enough to meet their soulmate in their lifetime. This fact was unfortunate but irrefutable. Miya Atsumu was one of the lucky ones—one out of thirty percent of the population who not only got to meet and fall in love with his soulmate, but had been privileged to know him even before the reveal. When Atsumu turned eighteen, the name of his soulmate became clear on his forearm, like black ink written in familiar penmanship: Hinata Shouyou.
Much had changed for Atsumu after his soulmate’s name appeared on his skin, and not telling Shouyou right away had been difficult. Atsumu had been thrilled enough that he’d taken the ginger into his arms and held him tightly for the longest time when he’d seen him again. Shouyou had been taken aback by the sudden affection, and his pale cheeks had colored in a way that Atsumu found so perfectly attractive, but he refused to ruin Shouyou’s reveal that would come on his own eighteenth birthday. So, he kept the news to himself, and instead focused on making Shouyou fall for him before he ever even found out.
It was the first time in his life that Atsumu had ever bothered trying to win someone’s affections. He was happy to know that Shouyou was his soulmate—someone he’d already admired and found adorable. Atsumu began to feel more protective of Shouyou than ever after learning they were soulmates, and he wanted to be by Shouyou’s side every chance that he got. Volleyball certainly helped his case there, because Shouyou loved to play as much as he did, and Atsumu loved setting for his little flying spiker. Training privately was a great excuse for them to spend more time together, and during those days, Atsumu got a little closer, a little sweeter, and he watched day after day as Shouyou smiled at him more and more.
Long before Shouyou ever learned that they were soulmates, he’d come to crave the closeness with Atsumu. Atsumu witnessed the gradual yet constant shift in their relationship. They went from practicing and playing together to going out for food together, taking walks in their favorite park, going to the movies, and watching all the volleyball games they could.
Shouyou never asked about Atsumu’s soulmark, but sometimes Atsumu found him gazing at the wrap he wore over his forearm, always effectively shielding it from prying eyes. Whenever he did, Atsumu would smoothly draw his attention to something else, distracting the ginger easily enough, at least for a time.
They shared their first kiss just a couple of weeks before Shouyou’s eighteenth birthday. They’d been at the park running and playing ball for a couple of hours when they’d taken a break to merely lie in the grass next to each other. Atsumu always felt so light in the company of his soulmate. His heart felt warm and full and he laughed so easily, wanting to hold onto him and be close—and he did. Shouyou did, too, and was surprisingly the one to initiate their first kiss despite Atsumu having been the one to work on courting him for months.
It was a kiss that began with hesitance, a fear of rejection on Shouyou’s part even though Atsumu had been doing his utmost to have his desires be known. However, when Atsumu closed the distance between them and their lips finally met, all hesitance and uncertainty melted away. They kissed slowly, each touch sensual and yet filled with passion. They basked in the soft warmth of one another’s lips, and afterwards, Shouyou confessed.
“Atsumu-kun… I think I’m in love with you.”
It was a heartfelt declaration that was laden with concern. Atsumu understood. Even with the population of soulmates meeting being so low, it was worrisome to fall for someone without them being your soulmate. The pull one felt to their soulmate was indescribable and impossible to ignore, and if you happened upon them, you would undoubtedly be drawn to them and away from anyone else no matter what you felt for them. For this reason, many despised the concept of soulmates, but Atsumu wished he could wash all of Shouyou’s worries away.
They were lucky enough to be tied together, and there was no reason to worry.
“I’m glad,” Atsumu told him with a lazy but sincere smile, taking Shouyou’s hand in his to give it a reassuring squeeze. “‘Cause I know I’m in love with you.”
Seeing the way Shouyou’s lips had quivered at his confession tugged at Atsumu’s heartstrings strongly. It made him claim those lips with his own again, determined to kiss him until he could do nothing but smile. And that’s just what happened.
On Shouyou’s eighteenth birthday, Atsumu stayed with him. The marks always appeared at the first stroke of midnight, and Atsumu was more than happy to be sleeping over with Shouyou. The summer night was still warm but thankfully not too humid. Shouyou was much more anxious than excited and that was upsetting for Atsumu, so he’d done his best to cheer him up.
“Hey,” he cooed, taking both of Shouyou’s hands in his and pulling him over to rest between Atsumu’s spread legs. With Shouyou’s back pressed to Atsumu’s front, he wound his arms around him and let his chin rest on his shoulder. “Don’t go lookin’ so down, Shouyou-kun.”
“But, what if—”
“What if nothin’,” Atsumu interrupted with a quiet chuckle, threading their fingers together. “Just ‘cause you’ll have a soulmate don’t mean you’ll love me any less, ya know? ‘Sides, what’re they gonna do, steal ya? As if I’d let ‘em.”
His words finally had a smile tugging at Shoyou’s lips and he relaxed, limps loosening up and stiffness fading. Atsumu kissed his cheek and rubbed over his own arm, feeling as if his own mark was irritated. Fate was so close to sealing their bond, and Atsumu had never been more excited about anything.
“You always hide yours,” Shouyou whispered, making Atsumu clear his throat, mentally chiding himself for drawing attention to it. “Don’t you want to know about your soulmate?”
“Already know ‘bout ‘em,” Atsumu admitted, nuzzling his nose against Shouyou’s cheek when the ginger squeezed his hand.
“Really?” Shouyou asked, voice quieter and carrying a bitter edge to it that Atsumu recognized as jealousy. He couldn’t help but chuckle. “Then why aren’t you with them?”
The big moment was nearly upon them, and Atsumu was admittingly enjoying this slight jealousy his boyfriend was showing. “I’m with ‘em all the time!” He laughed and kissed his neck.
“What?!” Shouyou’s voice rose an octave then, and he scoffed, forgetting what he was anticipating entirely to turn on Atsumu, honey-brown eyes filled with accusation. “What do you mean you’re with them all the time? You tell me now?!”
“Yer damn cute when ya pout ‘n get all angry like this, Shouyou-kun.”
“Cute?!” Shouyou swatted his hand away and tackled Atsumu onto his back, lying over him with a determined crease between his brows just as Atsumu felt the tingle in his arm fade away, and he knew Shouyou’s mark had appeared. “There’s nothing cute about this. You’re mine and I’m not sharing.”
“Oh?” Atsumu raised both brows, both impressed and surprised at the outburst. He couldn’t stop smirking. “That right?”
“Of course it is!” Shouyou huffed, cheeks puffed out and reddened from his frustration. Atsumu shouldn’t have been enjoying it so much but he just couldn’t help himself. “It doesn’t matter what’s on your arm… or what’s on mine, we belong together.”
Atsumu hummed at that, nodding along. “Couldn’t say it better m’self.” He cradled Shouyou’s face in his hands and pulled him down into a heated kiss, rolling them over and pinning his lover’s arm to the ground. Even knowing for so long, seeing his name branded there still made his heart skip a beat and his breath hitch in a most euphoric way. “Though… seein’ it don’t hurt much either.”
Breathless from their sudden and intense make-out session, Shouyou looked to his own arm when Atsumu lifted it for his viewing, chest heaving and eyes wide. “Oh…”
“Oh?” Atsumu laughed, pressing a kiss to his name on Shouyou’s forearm.
“Oh…” Shouyou repeated, face beet red. “I’m sorry…”
“I’m not.”
If anything, he was happier than ever before, and when he found those honey-brown eyes he adored brimming with tears, he kissed them all away, promising with his words and his actions that the two of them would always be together.
Just a couple of soulmates destined for one another, living one day at a time by each other’s side.