A/N: Happy MakoHaru Gift Exchange Summer 2018 to my recipient, rosieharu! When I read in your request that you liked soulmate AUs, I knew I had to write one because I love soulmate AUs so much, so I really hope you like this.
I do have to mention the fact that this work is a multichapter: it was originally written as a one-shot, but because of some unforeseen circumstances I realised I wouldn't be able to complete the entire work in time. Knowing that, I decided to split it up into five parts because I didn't just want to sweep this entire fic off the table and give you something shorter and less time-consuming instead. When I made this decision, I realised that despite this fic being written as a one-shot, it would be a little much to read as a one-shot because of the length it will most likely reach, and that paired with the fact that this fic has some significant time skips, I feel like splitting this fic up would be the best decision regardless of time issues.
That being said, the story was originally written as a one-shot and therefore the narration kind of blends the separate scenes together. I'm sorry if it seems like the chapters start and cut off at an odd place, but I did my best to divide them in the most logical way. I'm going to try my best to update this as quickly as possible, hopefully once a week, but with the uncertainty of life I can't promise anything.
Anyway, I don't know if I'm forgetting anything right now, I probably am, but I have rambled enough for now. I really hope you'll all enjoy this, rosieharu especially! ^^
The sun was shining brightly, hot rays beaming down to illuminate the land, but Makoto was sitting safely in the shadow on the back porch, excitedly swinging his little legs beneath him. Summer vacation had just started and he could barely contain his enthusiasm for all the adventures that were still unknown yet that were undoubtedly going to take place over the course of the next few weeks. Butterflies of anticipation were roaming through his belly because he knew that no matter what they were going to do, it was going to be so much fun. Maybe his parents would take him fishing sometime, or maybe they would even go to an amusement park together with his grandparents. The possibilities were endless and Makoto already couldn't wait.
"Here, Mako-chan."
The warm voice of his mother pulled him from his pondering and he looked up at her. She smiled softly at him before she handed him a small bowl filled with slices of tangerine that she just peeled and he eagerly accepted it. "Thanks!" he said with a wide grin and he didn't waste a second before grabbing one of the pieces and biting into it. The sweet taste immediately spread through his mouth and he closed his eyes in delight as he happily munched on his fruity treat.
Although summer wasn't exactly the peak season for tangerines, Makoto's sweet tooth caused for him to have a very particular preference when it came to fruits and vegetables. There weren't many types that he liked yet, but his parents still wanted him to get his vitamins from as many different sources as possible and if buying off-season tangerines that were a tad more expensive than they were in the winter was the way to accomplish this, then they'd gladly do it. Anything for their little sweetheart.
As with most things, Makoto was far too young to be aware of this and simply enjoyed the warm afternoon with the refreshing piece of fruit. To revel in this moment with her son to the fullest, Mrs. Tachibana sat down beside him and she gently stroked her hand through his hair to get it out of his face a bit.
Silence wrapped around them, the gentle summer breeze sweeping along the rays of sunshine to brush against their toes and the familiar scent of the ocean only added to the overall atmosphere of tranquility. Yet Mrs. Tachibana detected that there wasn't solely tranquility in the air; a small buzz of jitteriness disturbed the calmness and she couldn't help but note that it was coming from right beside her. Although it wasn't odd for Makoto to be energetic and enthusiastic, especially considering his first summer vacation since starting kindergarten had just begun, right then he was emitting a certain kind of restlessness that she had never felt coming from him before.
Makoto himself didn't seem to be very bothered by it, if he had even acknowledged it at all, which only made her more curious. He didn't even notice his mother's eyes on him; he simply lifted another slice to his mouth and sank his teeth in it, chewing thoughtlessly. Watching him closely did pay off, since she was able to catch even the smallest shift in his demeanour and that immediately explained the unusual vibe.
When Makoto was about to put the second half of the piece into his mouth, he halted because he felt strange tingles on the inside of his left wrist. This foreign sensation caught Makoto's full attention and the tangerine piece in his hand was completely forgotten as he peered at his skin, mouth still hanging open. Slowly, the outline of what looked like a small fish formed on his wrist, making him gasp softly in surprise while simultaneously making his eyebrows knit together in confusion.
Unlike Makoto, his mother was well-aware of what was going on and it took all of her strength to repress her chuckles at his cute face. Deciding to play along, she innocently asked, "Is something wrong, Mako-chan?"
"Mommy, look!" Makoto exclaimed as he held out his arm to show her. "There's a fish on my arm!"
A gentle smile graced her features as she admired the drawing on her son's arm. Having known that this day would inevitably come, she had always wondered what the first word or image that appeared on her little boy's skin would be. Judging by the look of the small black fish, Makoto's soulmate was assumably around his age, perhaps a tiny bit older. Regardless, it was absolutely adorable and it warmed her heart, already feeling excited on her son's behalf. "That's a drawing your soulmate made."
Green eyes widened in a mix of curiosity, astonishment, and lingering confusion. "My soulmate?"
"Yes," Mrs. Tachibana affirmed with her unwavering smile, "I've told you about soulmates before, remember? We all have a soulmate, someone who will always be there for us; who will love us and support us no matter what."
"Oh yeah!" Makoto said, a small flame of recognition lighting up in his eyes. "Like you and Daddy, and Grandma and Grandpa, right?"
"That's right," she replied, unable to suppress a tiny snort of amusement at his sudden interest. Although she knew that children's minds were like sponges and could rapidly absorb and retain information, it honestly wouldn't have surprised her if Makoto hadn't remembered it since it wasn't like they had ever had a formal talk about it before, just some off-handed mentions whenever the situation called for them. "Anything we draw or write on our skin will automatically appear on their skin as well."
Upon hearing those words, Makoto averted his gaze to look at the drawing again before he looked back up at his mother. "Why is that?"
Inquisitive as always, but Mrs. Tachibana couldn't exactly say that she minded it. On the contrary, she would gladly feed his curiosity, though it wasn't like she had the answers to all of the universe's countless questions. Still, just because she didn't, that didn't mean that she couldn't try to explain things the way she saw them.
"I don't really know," she started truthfully, since the science behind the whole soulmate-aspect of life hadn't exactly been uncovered just yet. But for things that were yet to be discovered by science, folklore was born to explain the inexplicable. "It's said that people are made two at a time and that is why soulmates exist. And with our soulmate, our soul is shared, our hearts are connected, and our skin is linked."
"I see," Makoto mumbled under his breath and she could practically see the gears turning in his head as he tried to comprehend what she had told him. When he had processed her words and interpreted them in the most logical way to him, he asked, "So if I fall and hurt my knee, their knee will hurt too?"
That made Mrs. Tachibana laugh lightly. "No, it doesn't work like that."
"But our skin is linked, isn't it?"
"Well, yes," she muttered, trying to figure out how to appease her son's curiosity as much as she could without sweeping it under the rug. After all, he did raise a valid point. Unfortunately, not everything that existed and happened automatically made sense per definition, and this subject was no exception. Not wanting to get too far into a topic that was already complicated enough as it was, she reasoned it wasn't too bad to keep things light for now. So she simply shrugged and said, "But we wouldn't want our soulmate to be in pain just because we have pain, right?"
"Of course not!" Makoto immediately blurted, not wanting his mother to think that he meant it that way. The fact that there was someone out there, someone who he hadn't even met yet, who would always be there for him and who loved him no matter what made him feel warm and cherished and special, and he wouldn't ever want to take their kindness for granted like that. If anything, it made him want to do something back for them. "But if they hurt their knee and sharing it with me made it hurt less for them, then I'd do it!"
The sincerity was vibrant in his eyes and Mrs. Tachibana swore she could feel her heart melting on the spot. "That's very kind of you, Mako-chan," she said, her smile softening even further in affection, "but I think your soulmate wouldn't want you to be in pain for them either. Look, they even drew a fish on their wrist to catch your attention," she trailed off despite there not really being any correlation between the two, because she saw it as a good opportunity to divert the conversation from the topic of how soulmates worked back to her son's actual soulmate. "Why don't you draw something too so they know you saw it?"
That suggestion made Makoto light up, like he had never even considered the possibility of drawing something back and he beamed an agreement. It was at that moment that he remembered the piece of tangerine in his hand and he quickly popped it into his mouth before he jumped up and ran back inside to look for the nearest pen or pencil. The first thing he found was a blue marker from when he was colouring before that he had apparently missed when he had put the others away. Deeming it good enough, he grabbed it before bolting right back outside to where his mother was waiting.
The remaining tangerine wedges were completely forgotten as Makoto sat back down on the porch and uncapped the marker. Staring at the little black fish outline on his wrist, Makoto wondered what he should draw in return. Usually he would have asked his mother for her input, but there was something inside of him that refrained him from doing so now; a quiet voice in the back of his head that urged him to think of something himself. And although his imagination was very vivid and colourful, he now had a little more trouble coming up with ideas of what he could draw and he didn't know why. It was most likely the unconscious need to give his soulmate a good first impression of him - after all, he wouldn't want them to think his drawing was silly or stupid - but the whole concept of having a soulmate and being able to communicate with them via his skin was far too exciting to make his insecurities bubble up into the foreground of his mind.
After a few seconds of deep contemplation, Makoto decided that he would draw a little fish too. He wouldn't want the fish that his soulmate drew to get lonely, so if he drew a fish alongside of it, they could be friends! Two friends swimming together in the ocean of their linked skin. It sounded like a great idea, because Makoto really wanted his soulmate to be his friend too and he couldn't think of a better way to accomplish it than this.
Mind made up, Makoto put the marker down on his wrist and scribbled on his skin. Now there were two fish on his arm; one black and the other blue, roughly the same size with the exception of the blue fish's lines being a little thicker. Granted, Makoto's fish wasn't as pretty as the one his soulmate drew - his soulmate's fish looked very nice while drawing had never been his strongest point - and in any other situation, that would have made him feel a bit embarrassed and maybe even a bit inferior. But there wasn't any time for those emotions to well up because it only took another second for the tingles to return and another fish-outline appeared on the other side of Makoto's blue fish.
"Mommy, look!" he yelped excitedly, "They drew another fish!"
Before Mrs. Tachibana even had the chance to look, let alone respond, Makoto had already withdrawn his arm in favour of scribbling a fish in return. His eagerness about the whole situation made her smile once more and she reached up her hand to ruffle his brown locks again. She understood the overwhelming surge of emotion very well, since she remembered herself having been just as excited when she first experienced the skin-link between her future husband and herself. Now she only hoped that Makoto's soulmate would be just as wonderful and kind to him as his father always was to her. Though something inside her gut told her that wouldn't be an issue in the slightest.
It didn't take long until his soulmate had drawn another fish in response and soon they were taking turns doodling on their arms, always waiting for the other to finish before they drew another one themselves. In the meanwhile Makoto asked his mother all kinds of questions about his soulmate's identity. They were mostly rhetorical because he understood that his mother didn't know who they were yet either, but he felt the need to express and vocalise his wonders and Mrs. Tachibana merrily chatted along with him. She said that whoever they were, they were certainly right-handed too since they were both drawing on their left arms, they were assumably around his age, and they apparently loved to draw fish.
There weren't many things that Makoto knew about his soulmate, but there was one thing he knew for sure. Although he hadn't met them yet, he already loved them with all his heart.
As the afternoon progressed, more and more parts of his skin were covered in black and blue ink. Throughout the entire process, not once did his elation waver when he felt the tingles that were quickly growing to be familiar on the next part of his arm and another little fish appeared in their school. After a while, Makoto noticed that they were running out of skin and that concerned him. He didn't want his soulmate to think that he was ignoring them, so he pondered on what he should do to solve this issue.
It was his turn to draw again and his eyes wandered back to the very first fish that had appeared on the inside of his wrist. Even in the sea of all the other little fish, Makoto knew that this was the first one and simply looking at it spread a funny feeling through his tummy. Although he loved every single one that his soulmate had drawn, this fish was special and he thought it therefore deserved that bit of extra attention and care.
Suddenly, he knew what to do. Drawing had never been his strongest point, but he was much better at colouring. So he put his marker down in the middle of the outline and coloured it in, trying his very best to stay within the lines that his soulmate had put down for him. When he pulled away to observe his work, he saw that he had accidentally skimmed over the lines a bit, but it wasn't too bad so he was pretty satisfied with it. Now he only hoped that his soulmate would also like it.
He didn't have to wait long until he felt an eye and a mouth appear on the fish and an enormous smile stretched his own mouth at the sight of it. But before he had the chance to respond, his soulmate did what they hadn't done before: they didn't wait for Makoto's turn, but instead drew a black outline around the blue fish right next to it, the first one that Makoto had drawn. This only made Makoto more ecstatic, knowing that they were on the same page, and he coloured the fish in completely before his soulmate added the facial features on this fish too.
And that was how they continued; his soulmate would draw a black outline wherever it was needed, Makoto coloured it in and then his soulmate would give the fish a kind expression. They easily fell into this rhythm, a comfortable pace they established without any further communication. Like two bodies in perfect harmony. Because of this, Makoto didn't have a hard time believing that what his mother had told him earlier was true, about his soulmate and he having been created at the same time, because he had never felt this connected to someone before in his life and he hadn't even met them yet; he hadn't met them yet, but he felt like he knew and understood them like no other.
There was not a single doubt in his mind. His soulmate and he were meant to be.
When his father came home from work later that day, Makoto didn't waste a second before he jumped up to greet him at the door. "Daddy, Daddy! Guess what?" he yelled excitedly, immediately babbling on without giving his father a chance to mutter as much as a greeting, "My soulmate drew a fish on their arm so I drew a fish too and then they drew another one and we spent the entire afternoon drawing fish but then there was no skin left to draw on so-"
"Woah, woah!" Mr. Tachibana interrupted with a hearty chuckle. "Slow down a little, Mako-chan," he said as he put on his slippers and stepped out of the genkan and he lifted his son into his arms. "Let's go inside so we can sit down and then you can tell me all about your soulmate and the fish."
Makoto nodded in agreement and wrapped his arms around his father's neck as he allowed him to carry him inside, grin from ear to ear still plastered on his adorable face. When Mr. Tachibana entered the living room, he quickly greeted his wife with a kiss on her cheek and then he pulled out a chair and sat down, placing Makoto in his lap. Knowing that he couldn't wait any longer, Mr. Tachibana smiled at him again and asked him what had happened.
The enthusiasm from earlier had lingered and Makoto gave his father a rundown of the entire afternoon with the same kind of fervor that had been buzzing through his body all day. Some parts were told out of order and a little incohesively, but Mr. Tachibana just let him go on without asking for an explanation and just added some commentary whenever it was needed as he admired the handiwork of his son and his soulmate. It wasn't too hard to put the pieces of the puzzle together himself, and he would ask his wife later to fill in the gaps of Makoto's story that were too unclear to make his own conclusions on.
"Did you take pictures?" Mr. Tachibana offhandedly asked his wife once she sat down at the table with them.
"Of course I did," she answered without missing a beat. After all, the first interaction between soulmates was special and it would be a shame if such a memory went lost without documentation or commemoration, especially since Makoto was still so young. "But unfortunately I didn't get the chance until they were done so I only have pictures of the end result."
"Oh yeah!" Makoto piped in, "When all the fish were done, they drew a smiley face on their hand, and I thought that was weird since we were only drawing fish with smiles, so I drew a smiley face too, look!" He pointed at the two little faces on the palm of his hand. "And then they didn't draw anything anymore, so I think that they had to stop and told me with the smiley face."
"That's very nice of them; they probably didn't want you to think they were ignoring you," his father remarked, running his fingertips over the faces on Makoto's tiny palm, enticing soft giggles from his lips.
"Daddy, that tickles!"
Always in for a bit of teasing, Mr. Tachibana mumbled, "Oh really? You know what also tickles?" When Makoto looked up at him with large, questioning eyes he said, "This!" and started to tickle him with one hand while holding him with the other to ensure he wouldn't fall off his lap or hurt himself otherwise.
Almost immediately loud laughter erupted from Makoto's belly and he frantically tried to swat his father's hand away from his side. "Daddy, stop!" he pleaded through his squealing giggles, and Mr. Tachibana only continued for a few more seconds until he granted him mercy. He was only in the mood for a bit of teasing after all.
"They probably had to go eat dinner," Makoto's mother cut in, directing the attention back to the subject from before the little tickling intermission, "and we do too, so if you both can go wash your hands then dinner will be served in a second!"
The promise of Mrs. Tachibana's delightful cooking was enough to snap both father and son back to attention and they instantly got up to do as they were told.
But no matter how delicious the food that his mother had prepared was, Makoto found his thoughts continuously drifting off during dinner, completely missing the conversation his parents were trying to engage him in because he was too preoccupied with staring at the ocean on his arm. After a few attempts his parents decided to let him be, though his mother did remind him of the steadily declining temperature of his food if he didn't finish it soon. They didn't think much more of it because they perfectly understood Makoto's fascination and the overwhelming emotion that came along with the first buds of affection for his soulmate sprouting inside his heart. Knowing that these buds would only multiply and blossom throughout the future, they let him process this new experience by himself, the way he needed to.
This was a very special day for Makoto, but it certainly was for them too. Their son, the personification of their love and the fruit of their soulbond, was going to develop a relationship like theirs with a person whose identity was yet to be revealed, yet who was undoubtedly someone who complimented Makoto in every aspect. Even though it was destined to be like that since their creation, it was truly beginning now.
And seeing these early beginnings playing out before them made them reminisce about their own start, from the first interaction to the first meeting when the fully-bloomed flowers inside them first began to grow. Although neither of them had said anything aloud, one look from brown to green confirmed their shared thoughts and matching smiles of adoration for both each other and their little boy naturally stretched their lips.
Their ride on this emotional rollercoaster had reached a place where it was steady, high up in the air with their heads in the clouds as they enjoyed their everyday lives standing side by side, truly together in every sense of the word. But Makoto had just gotten on, he hadn't even fully left the station yet and the ride ahead of him was completely unknown. Regardless, he was excited, filled with childlike oblivion towards the bumps and sharp turns that might be waiting on him and only saw the clouds in the sky where his parents resided.
Of course, it wasn't that simple; the relationship with your soulmate wasn't automatically all sunshine and rainbows just because you were meant to be together. In reality, there were still a lot of hardships that could put strain on even the strongest of bonds and there had to be conscious effort and devotion from all the involved parties in order to coexist lovingly and peacefully, the way that was intended. But once that balance was found and maintained, it was nothing short of absolutely wonderful, a relationship in which both parties brought out the best in each other and in themselves. An inviolable sanctuary built on unconditional love and support, of mutual respect and dedication.
Even though their blindfolds were still on in regards to Makoto's rollercoaster ride and they couldn't do anything but wait until they were taken off, as they watched the elated smile that was painted on his face as he studied the artwork on his arm, something told Mr. and Mrs. Tachibana that Makoto and his soulmate were going to be just fine. And they were so excited to be spectators of their son's journey.
But then the bright, rosy-coloured vision of the future was tainted when they heard a small gasp escape Makoto's lips and the jubilation he emitted vanished within a second and made place for a concerned, almost pained frown.
"Mako-chan, what's wrong?" his father asked, unable to keep his voice clear from worry at the sudden shift in his little boy's demeanour.
"It's gone!" he said as he held out his arm so his parents could see, completely distraught. "It's all going away!"
The outline of the little fish on the inside of Makoto's left wrist that had started it all was gone and the other black lines that adorned his skin were rapidly fading away until nothing but the blue insides remained.
As she saw tears welling up in those lively green eyes, Mrs. Tachibana realised she had forgotten to tell Makoto that unlike on paper, the drawings made on skin weren't permanent. "It's alright, Mako-chan," she tried to console him, "that just means they're taking a bath right now. This is normal."
"But I don't want it to go away," Makoto protested. The precious fish that his soulmate and he had spent so much time on were special to him, it was the proof of their connection and a sign that somewhere out there, his soulmate existed and was thinking of him. Although he had only known about it for a few hours, the thought if it disappearing again was harrowing and made him feel cold and empty inside.
"I understand that," his mother murmured as she got up from her seat and walked over to him to comfort him. She lifted him up and took place in his chair so she could hold him against her chest. "But if it never goes away, then you can never draw something new. Wouldn't it be sad if you couldn't talk to them like this anymore because your skin was all full?"
"Yeah," he agreed as he sniffed deeply, trying his best to keep his tears from spilling over, "but still."
"Just because you can't see the lines anymore, that doesn't mean they're not there," Mrs. Tachibana tried, putting him down in her lap so she could look him in the eyes. "They'll always stay with you, right here," she said as she tapped the tip of her finger against his chest, "in your heart. The fish that you and your soulmate drew will live on forever inside of you."
"But if you still want to see the lines," Mr. Tachibana added, "then you can take a picture of it so you can look at it whenever you want."
"Really?" Makoto questioned, sounding a lot more hopeful yet with some remnants of doubt coating his voice.
"Really," his mother affirmed, smiling gently at him before lightly kissing his temple as she wiped a stray tear from his cheek. "So how about we finish dinner now and then I'll show you the pictures of the fish after dinner. And then I'll make you a bath too just like your soulmate had, and then you can draw something new for them tomorrow, alright?"
Those words seemed to have impact as a small smile appeared on his face again when his soulmate was mentioned, and the smile morphed into a wide grin at the notion of being able to draw something for them again. "Alright!" he echoed, and his mother pressed another kiss against his head before she got up and put him down in the chair again.
Makoto had never finished his dinner as quickly as he did that night.
But when the need for seeing pictures of the ocean on his arm in its original state was satiated and Mrs. Tachibana was giving Makoto a bath, she realised that in her eagerness and excitement on her son's behalf, she had made a mistake.
As she ran a washcloth over his arm, the blue smudges that covered it weren't disappearing, they were only growing a little vaguer. Instead of grabbing a pen or marker that was designed for skin-use like his soulmate had done, Makoto had used one of his regular markers and those wouldn't immediately wash away with just some water and soap. She should have informed him about it, but she had honestly forgotten in the heat of the moment and while Makoto didn't mind it in the slightest, she still felt guilty. Therefore, she sent a mental apology to Makoto's soulmate and their family for her stupidity.
Now she only hoped that her error wouldn't negatively influence anyone's view on her son.
A/N: Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed!
It's been a little while since I've posted anything and that makes me a little anxious so if you liked this fic, any comments and kudos are appreciated! ^^
I have a lot to say about this universe, but since I've already rambled enough in these notes, I'll save it up for the upcoming chapters when they're a little more applicable, haha.
Please make sure to check out all the work that the other amazing creators made who participated in this gift exchange by looking up the tag #mhgiftexchange2018 on Tumblr.
You can find me on Tumblr and Twitter as DatHeetJoella if you want to see updates on my work or if you just want to chat about MakoHaru!
Thank you once again, I hope to see you at the future updates and for now I wish you all a lovely day!
