Author's Note: I've been toying with doing a Kotor soulmate AU for some time.

Disclaimer: I don't own Knights of the Old Republic.

Revan/Canderous

When Canderous was young, he often pondered who his soulmate was ever since his mark appeared not long after he turned eight. Unfortunately, the only words on his left triceps simply said "who are you?" Not a particularly eloquent or explanatory statement. The only feeling he had was that whoever she wasn't a Mandalorian. Canderous only hoped that she was a strong warrior, because he wasn't too keen on being a babysitter, even for his own soulmate.

"That's too bad that there isn't much information on your soul mark," Selene commented, the day she found out that the arrogant red skinned Twi'lek named Clymene was Selene's soul mate.

"All I hope for is that she's a warrior so we can share many battles with me," Canderous admitted.

"Let's just hope that she doesn't end up fighting against us,"

As Canderous passed his right of passage and became a full warrior, he took to covering his soul mark with powder when he wasn't going into battle. He was tired of the looks of pity, because everyone knew that his soul mate was an outsider. As the Mandalorians finally invaded the Republic, Canderous attempted to forget about his soul mate.

…

For as long as she could remember, Maia would gently touch her soul mark, which sat on her left biceps. Her words were "I'm someone you don't want to mess with. I don't have time to chat. Davik has me on a special assignment."

When she was older, Maia looked up the name Davik, and found out that the human male was an Exchange crime boss. So, whoever her soul mate was probably was a criminal of some sort, which wouldn't mesh at all with her lifestyle as a potential. On her good days, she fantasized of being the one who convinced her soul mate to give his life of crime. On her bad days, she envied Alek for not possessing a mark. It meant that he was free to pursue relationships without any fear of hurting someone, because of a stupid mark.

After she and Malak entered the Mandalorian Wars and retook Taris from the Mandalorians, Revan hacked into the Exchange records. Sadly, none of the soul marks registered matched hers.

…

Normally Selene didn't bring up the fact that Canderous had yet to find his soul mate. It wasn't until she was drunk on booze after the trio narrowly escaped death on Bespin, that she brought it up. "So, who do you think your soul mate is?" she inquired.

Canderous groaned, because the subject of his absent soul mate only became worse as the years went on and she failed to turn up. "I only hope that she is a warrior who can defend herself in battle."

For some reason, Clymene found his comment to be humorous and began laughing with her head-tails shaking from side to side like a pair of flags. "Canderous, we've all known that whoever your soul mate is must be tough if they must put up with one as difficult as you."

Canderous lunged at Clymene, but the female Twi'lek nimbly dodged him. He decided to let the insult pass, and drank some more of the whiskey from Selene's stock. That was one thing that made Selene popular amongst the rest of Clan Ordo; she was perfectly willing to share her booze with the rest of Clan Ordo as long as whoever wanted the liquor asked.

"Let's just hope whoever your soul mate is isn't a Jedi, because that would suck if you had to fight against them," Selene replied.

"I'm not sure any of the Jedi would be quite tough enough to be my soul mate," Canderous scoffed. He still hoped that his soul mate might be a mercenary; someone who would be eager to join him in Clan Ordo.

"You might be surprised," Selene pointed out. "I'll bet five hundred that your soul mate is a Jedi."

"And you'll owe us a thousand credits if it's the Revanchist," Clymene added.

"I'm pretty sure that Revan is a man," Canderous pointed out, but he ended up accepting the couple's bet since he was sure he had very little chance of actually having to collect on it. Normally he spent the night with Mirabel, a young woman ten years his junior who didn't possess a soul mark of her own and was free to choose love wherever she wanted. Tonight however, he wasn't feeling up to it, and headed back to his tent alone.

…

"Have you ever wondered who your soul mate was?" Alek inquired as they lay on her bed. Although he used his alias Malak with everyone else, Revan still referred to him by his birth name in private. Occasionally, he referred to her as Maia when they were in private.

"What are you jealous that you don't have one Alek?" Revan teased.

Her best friend shook his head. "Nope, I'm glad that I'm free to love whoever I want. Although I'll be very disappointed if I lose a certain lover once your soul mate turns up."

She shook her head. "Honestly, I've given up on my soul mate ever turning up," Revan admitted. "Besides, no one can compare to you darling."

Alek blushed, since he wasn't used to being praised. Revan originally became involved with Alek in order to comfort him after Jarael rejected him. However, she'd quickly discovered that her best friend was a talented lover. Plus, she knew he wasn't attempting to seduce her in order to get a better post.

"Do you want me to stay with you?" Alek inquired, since he was one of the few who knew that she suffered from frequent nightmares.

"Yeah, if it's not too inconvenient," she decided, because she did enjoy snuggling close to Alek.

Alek smiled. "Not at all."

…

Canderous was pissed and he didn't give a damn about what his two friends thought about him in this moment. Mirabel was killed at Malachor V, and the clans were reduced to being mercenaries. "I'm leaving and I'm not coming back," he said.

"Don't do this Canderous," Selene said.

"If you do this, we probably won't see you again," Clymene added.

They probably didn't realize that it was envy of the closeness that they shared that partially caused his leaving. Canderous couldn't bear to see them happy, while his soul mate was nowhere to be found. Therefore, he left and was very happy to accept a job offer from Davik and forget about his soul mate.

…

"I'm sorry," Revan said and she almost believed it.

Malak, who gurgled from the wound she'd not entirely on purpose caused, glared at her with pure hatred. He probably hadn't expected this injury when he'd challenged why she had to be the master and he the apprentice. Malak didn't realize that the threat beyond the Outer Rim was one they had to prepare the Republic for.

Revan left her best friend to the med droids, knowing that she'd destroyed their romantic relationship and not caring, because she knew she would never find her soul mate.

…...

Canderous had just gotten back from one of the not so savory jobs he performed for Davik when he felt a pain in his body. He fell onto his ratty coach and screamed loud enough to wake his long dead ancestors from their slumbers. It was as if a bunch of missiles imbedded themselves into his body. He cursed and writhed for half an hour, before he cried, because he instinctively knew that the pain meant his soul mate was dead and he would never meet her.

…

Revan wanted to let go in spite of the fact she knew that her job of preparing the Republic for the threat from the Unknown Regions. Malak betrayed her as she suspected he would, but she hadn't expected him to attempt his betrayal in the middle of a battle. Suddenly, she felt a cord pulling her back from the abyss. A part of her mind recognized it as Bastila Shan, and froze in shock. Shan was saving her life in spite of the fact that Revan would have never returned the favor. Then the woman was Darth Revan faded into black and knew nothing more.

…

Canderous was shocked to finally hear his soul mate words, and from someone who appeared to be a fighter. There were faint scars on her light brown skin, and her black hair was in a pixey cut to make it more difficult for someone to pull it. Unfortunately, his soulmate would have to wait until after he completed his special mission for Davik.

"I'm someone you don't want to mess with," he said. "I don't have time to chat. Davik has me on a special assignment."

…

May was surprised to discover her soul mate on their mission to rescue Bastila. She'd pondered who her soul mate was for a long time, although she hadn't actively searched for them. It wasn't until the group managed to leave Taris that May decided to look for her soul mate. Canderous was seated in the garage, carefully examining the swoop bike. He stood when he noticed her approaching.

"So, we're soul mates?" he asked, almost as he was reluctant to admit to the fact.

"Yeah," she replied. "So where are my words on you?"

"On my left triceps," Canderous replied, rolling up the sleeve of his combat armor.

May gently traced her words. "I didn't give much to go on," she commented.

"That fact did drive me to frustration on more than one occasion," Canderous admitted.

"Would you like to see your words?" May inquired, aware that not every person was eager to see their words.

"As long as it's not anywhere that's difficult to see," Canderous replied, but there was a playful edge to his tone as though he'd hoped there might be.

May suppressed the urge to roll her eyes. "It's on my left biceps," she admitted, before struggling to roll up the sleeve of her armor.

Canderous didn't trace her words, but had a thoughtful expression. "It probably made you nervous to know I was probably associated with a well-known criminal."

May shrugged. "I did wonder if you were a criminal. It would make things awkward since I'm part of the Republic armed forces."

Suddenly, Canderous laughed and May joined in, since their situation was an odd one. At least May knew she didn't have to face it alone.

…

After waking up from another graphic nightmare, Canderous decided to walk around the Ebon Hawk. They were currently on their way to Kashyyyk, or Edean as Czerka insisted on referring to it as. He was surprised to find May also walking along.

"Bad dreams?" he asked.

May nodded. "I know it's driving Bastila crazy, because of the Force bond."

Canderous grimaced, because Force bonds wasn't something that he didn't understand, and he now owed his two friends five hundred credits. "You could always bunk with me, since I bought that cot on Tatooine. If you don't feel that would be moving too fast."

Fortunately, May smiled at his offer. "That's a great idea, since it might help with the dreams. I would prefer to be fighting the Sith on a decent amount of sleep."

They settled on the cot, which barely fit both them and meant they had to snuggle close. "Canderous, what do you miss about being around other Mandalorians?" May inquired.

"The comradery," Canderous admitted. "Clan Ordo was pretty much like a family. You could count on them to watch your back and assist you in battle."

"That almost sounds like the Jedi Order, minus the glory in battle," May noted.

Canderous frowned at his soulmate's analogy. "Not really, we don't blather on about peace and pacifism."

"The Revanchists probably weren't like that," she pointed out.

"Yeah and they became Sith," he said, before attempting to fall back asleep.

…

May swiveled on her toes nervously. Both Carth and Bastila thought that answering Jagi's challenge was a waste of time. In fact, May was beginning to suspect that the pair might be soulmates. However, May knew that in spite of his leaving, that being part of the Mandalorian clans meant everything to Canderous. Mission agreed to accompany them, and May was glad for the young Twi'lek's presence when she observed that Jagi brought a couple of friends.

May knew that she had to persuade Jagi to step down. "Jagi, Canderous made a difficult choice to attack."

"But so many died," Jagi said.

Canderous sighed. "I…I can regret their losses. But it was necessary."

"He left us to die," Jagi said. "But I can see his point. Why did you leave us there without help?"

"I saw a chance and I took it," Canderous explained. "Mandalore taught us to exploit weaknesses in our enemies. You may disagree with me, but will you go against his beliefs."

"No," Jagi replied. "I was wrong about you Canderous, and my life is forfeit."

"No!" May yelled, although she knew she wasn't close enough to prevent the warrior's suicide.

"And so, it shall be," Canderous declared, although he wasn't as enthusiastic about fighting off Jagi's companions as he normally would be.

After the battle, May threw her arms around Canderous, who didn't push her away. "Thank you for seeing this through for me," he said. "It is difficult for me to admit when I need help."

That night was the first time, she let herself give into her feelings for Canderous, who happy to reciprocate.

…

When May declared that she was Revan, Canderous wasn't sure whether to laugh or grumble that he now owed Selene and Clymene a thousand credits. It was noting that Carth seemed to blame her both for Telos and Bastila's capture, that made him decide he wasn't abandoning his soulmate.

"What about you Canderous?" May inquired.

"You defeated the Mandalorian clans during the war Revan. You were the only one who could match our strength," Canderous said. "We had never met one like you before or since. How can you even ask if I will follow you? Whatever you're fighting it will be worth my skills. I'm your man until the end Revan, no matter how this plays out."

When Revan sat in their cot, she seemed a bit despondent. "It doesn't bother you that I destroyed your people?" she asked.

"It shows that you were a worthy opponent," Canderous replied. "You might not be the same Revan you were before, but you're still a talented warrior."

…

Canderous was surprised that Revan wasn't mingling among the other Jedi and Republic soldiers who celebrated their great victory over the Sith. He found her sitting by the water's edge and skipping stones across the water.

"I think Malak and I were involved at one point," she admitted. "At least, he hinted that we were. Does that bother you?"

Canderous shrugged. "It was before we even met, and I wasn't celibate before I met you."

They spent the evening sitting by the water, Canderous regaling her with war stories, while Revan talked about the odd bits and pieces she'd finally recovered from her lost memories. Surprisingly, Canderous found this to be preferable to his usual getting drunk on Corellian whiskey.

…

Revan, who also sometimes went by her birth name of Maia, longed to stay with her husband Canderous and their infant son, Boran. However, she knew that she needed to go to the Unknown Regions and start preparing for the threat out there. She'd already said her good-byes to the rest of the crew, and charged Carth and Bastila with keeping the Republic strong.

When she found, and presented the mask of Mandalore to him, Canderous bristled. "I know you have a job to do, but I don't like you going off on your own."

"I'll have T3 with me," she pointed out. "Besides, someone has to look after Boran. I have faith that you can unite the clans, because we'll need them to face this new threat."

They kissed deeply, fire flashing between them, before Revan finally departed for the Unknown Regions.

…

Canderous prepared and managed to recruit Clan Ordo to his cause and worked on having the base on Dxun rebuilt, since it was remote enough to stay secret and the defenses had suffered only minimal damage in the years since the end of the Mandalorian Wars. He was relieved to note that both Selene and Clymene were among them.

"I owe you both an apology and a thousand credits," Canderous admitted.

Clymene blushed. "I wasn't expecting to be right."

"So, what's she like?" Selene asked, eager for new intel. "Revan, I mean?"

They listened intently as Canderous gave the pair a short recounting of his adventures, and while both seemed disappointed that they didn't get to actually meet Revan, the couple eagerly agreed to watch over Boran, whom they became very fond of. Canderous only hoped that his work on Dxun would be enough to stop whatever threat that lurked in the Unknown Regions.