Certain

On Sirius' palm, in magnificent Gryffindor red ink, was Sirius' soul mark. It had appeared a few months after he'd been born – his parents hadn't made a note of the date.

It was still indistinct, but the blurred letters had more definition than they'd ever before. It was Sirius' 17th birthday tomorrow, and a name would soon reveal itself in the exact place his soulmate had first touched him.

He grinned into his pillow, and traced the mark with the pads of his fingers – he didn't have to see it to know that it was there. A shiver went down his spine. He couldn't wait.

Morning had taken a long time to arrive. Sirius had tossed and turned throughout the night, but sleep had eventually claimed him in the wee hours early hours.

He woke up blurry eyed, but immediately tumbled out of bed, wrenching open the curtains. He stared down at the backs of his hands, then purposefully clenched them both into fists.

James, Remus, and Peter were already awake, and it looked like they'd been waiting for him.

"Well?" James asked, hopping from one foot to another. Sirius opened his mouth to reply, but the words were trapped there

"Put a shirt on, at least," Remus said when Sirius shivered, the cold draughts of the castle catching him by surprise.

Sirius grinned. "Yes, mother!" He turned his back on them to grab a shirt.

A gasp echoed around the room.

"Siri… I thought your soul mark was on your palm," Remus said quietly. Sirius whipped back around.

"It is," he said.

James was gaping at him, jaw dropped. Remus looked away, pinching the bridge of his nose.

Peter stepped forward, ringing his hands together.

"If that's the case," he said in a whisper, "there's another mark on your back."

"What?" Sirius said, his voice breaking. Without thinking, he opened his fist, staring at his right palm.

The words had solidified into a name; one he recognised intimately.

"James," he gasped.

James was still gaping at him. Suddenly, Sirius was desperate to see what was written on his back. He grabbed his wand, transfiguring a patch of wall into a mirror, and twisted to get a look. Printed across his shoulder blade in a green that was unmistakably the colour of Lily Evans' eyes was her name.

He understood James' reaction now.

"We'll just, er," Remus cleared his throat, "give you a moment."

He grabbed Peter by the shoulder and together the two of them scrambled to leave the room.

"James," Sirius said weakly. "I didn't know."

"I was so sure," James mumbled. He was looking at his arm, and the blurred soul mark in that exact same shade of green.

"You are!" Sirius exclaimed. "You must be!" He stumbled forward and practically shoved his palm, with 'James Potter' written on it, into James' face.

"Me?" James said. He blinked, shook his head. "What? I don't?"

"You have two soulmates," Sirius said, clinging to that thought. "You do, don't you?"

In the palm of James' right hand, he too had a soul mark, although his was a deep, royal purple. Soul marks on hands were a common enough occurrence that it hadn't been worth commenting upon.

Until now.

"You're my soulmate," James said, staring at his palm. "Evans is my soulmate. Oh fuck!"

He staggered, and Sirius lunged forward to catch him. "Such a prat," he said, wrapping an arm around James' waist.

It suddenly occurred to him that he was holding his soulmate in his arms – or one of them, at least.

"Oh Merlin," he said, voice wavering. "Evans isn't going to believe this."

James chuckled wetly and they clutched at each other. James was warm and solid beneath his hands – and just a little bit taller, to Sirius' chagrin.

"Lanky bastard," Sirius said.

"Yeah," James replied, eyes blown wide. He licked his lips, and Sirius couldn't help himself. He leaned forward, giving James ample time to back away, and then they were kissing. Sirius burned from the inside out. He'd never realised how soft James' skin would be, or how comforting he'd find the strength in his arms.

"Padfoot," James gasped.

Sirius pulled back and grinned. James look wrecked – he looked perfect.

"Let's go find Evans, shall we?" Sirius said, so James didn't have to voice it. Something like relief flickered in James' eyes before he straightened and nodded.

"You probably oughta put a shirt on, you exhibitionist dog," James said with a cheeky grin. He obviously pulled himself back together.

"You love it," Sirius said, and winked. He shrugged on some casual wear, and they raced down the stairs to the Common Room.

Evans, predictably, was studying surrounded by a posse of girls who looked over at Sirius and James with unabashed interest.

For once in his life Sirius didn't give them a single thought. Instead his gaze was fixed upon the firebrand that was staring up at him, brow arched.

"Your shirt's on backwards," she remarked.

Sirius beamed. "Evans, you're a delight, as always."

James shoved him to the side with a quicksilver grin. "Lils – you got a moment? I need to speak with you, privately."

Evans heaved a put-upon sigh, but she followed James up the stairs to their dormitory.

"Privately?" she asked flatly, and pointed at Sirius. "What's he doing here then?"

Sirius ducked his head, feeling a bit bashful. He truly didn't know how she was going to react.

"It's my birthday," Sirius said. He stripped off his shirt and turned his back, letting his soul mark do the talking.

There was a long pause, and then delicate fingers traced a line along his shoulder blade.

"Oh," Evans said.

Sirius supposed he ought to start thinking of her as Lily.

He turned back and couldn't decipher the tears in her eyes. She offered her palms to him – red and purple soul marks overlapped on her right hand.

"The purple – that's me," Sirius said, and took her hand in his, drawing the pad of his thumb of the mark.

"How do you know?" she asked.

Sirius turned his hand, exposing James' name on his palm in the brilliant red that matched Lily's.

"Well," Lily said, and then seemed to run out of steam, staring between them both.

James stepped forward, interlinking his hands with theirs, showing off that he was their third match.

They would have to wait, of course, until they'd all turned seventeen to be absolutely certain.

But in Sirius' heart, he knew that he already was.

Assignment #10 Muggle Music Task 3.1 Soulmate!AU

Summary: Sirius/James/Lily Soulmate!AU

Insane House Challenge 194. Gryffindor Common Room

Character Appreciation 10. (setting) Hogwarts

Disney Challenge (songs) 3. Write about a moment where things change forever

Shannon's Showcase 5. (word) magnificent, (theme) Love

Showtime 19. First love

Buttons (songs) 1. I Wouldn't Mind - He Is Me

Emy's Emporium 22. Write about a triad

365 Prompts 113. Love

Moresome May 6. Soulmate!AU

Word Count: 1095