A/N: I was randomly inspired for this. I don't have a direction for it. I'm gonna see where my ramblings take me. Feel free to join me!
Btw, I've always wanted to do a soulmate AU. Maybe one day I'll do a long and proper one. Soulmate AUs are my jam.
MC is left open to interpretation.
One of his favorite things about his soulmate is that they always seemed to know when he was stressed out. Saeyoung supposed that he should probably already know this considering every little thing he did to his body showed up on his soulmate's body, but he never really took the time to think about these things until his soulmate would respond.
Saeyoung tended to scratch at his skin idly when he was working. Usually he would start scratching at himself and only the pain would alert him to it. He didn't do it on purpose really and it definitely wasn't a self-harm thing, it was just a bad habit of his. That was why he would immediately switch to biting his nails instead. It was better than hurting himself even if his fingernails didn't forgive him for it. Having nubby fingernails meant he couldn't scratch himself.
But whatever markings he made his to his skin would show up on his soulmate. That was how these things worked. Anything dealing with the skin that wasn't natural to the body would appear like a mirror image superimposed straight onto your soulmate's body. Freckles, acne, and pigmentation? Not going to show up. Tattoos, scratches, injuries, and drawings though? They will absolutely show up.
Saeyoung sometimes felt it would be a warning. He would scratch at himself, and then soon afterwards would start biting his nails when his arm began to ache. He only did it when he was stressed. So then the drawings would start to show up.
His soulmate would draw pictures on their skin when he scratched. When he got any sort of injury. He hated that they felt the same pain as he did. He hated himself for inflicting pain on a person who didn't deserve it. But it still happened nonetheless. He couldn't control it. His work in life was dangerous.
But he appreciated the drawings. They were silly things usually. Outlines of monsters and animals. Words the twisted up and down his arm as if they were writing as far as they could stretch. Markers and pens and all kinds of utensils. Sometimes they gently scratched words into Saeyoung's back -not hard enough to hurt, but with enough pressure to make his skin redden for a short period of time before fading. It sent shivers up and down his body. It distracted him. The stress would become a shadow of itself in the wake of watching what new things his soulmate did to his body.
He didn't think it was fair that he would hurt his soulmate and in return he was giving all these cute drawings and pleasurable words scratched into his back and neck and thighs. He wanted to return the favor, but he couldn't leave any lasting marks on himself. The last time that he had communicated with his soulmate was to ask that they quickly washed the drawings off their arms within an hour of drawing them. Any longer risked damage to both of them.
You don't like them? They had written.
I love them. Saeyoung replied on his stomach where he could easily hide the words with his shirt. But I'm dangerous.
Are you safe?
They cared about him. They didn't even know who he was. Who took the words "I'm dangerous" and then asked if he was safe? How would they know that he was the one in danger?
Don't worry about me.
In return they had drawn all around his words lovely little images. The childish drawings for two years ago when they had first started drawing on him had only become better in time. Now Saeyoung could say they were proper doodles with promise behind them. His fingers would trace the lines even as he felt more being inked onto his skin.
They never asked what his name was. Saeyoung wouldn't be able to tell them if they did.
He wonders who they are all of the time. They were soulmates, but what could they become? Some soulmates were platonic. Others were more familial. The common misconception was that soulmates almost always became romantically involved. Saeyoung wouldn't be able to be romantically involved with his soulmate even if he wanted to. There was too great of a risk of them being used against him. Even now his shithole of a job could use threats to his body against his soulmate, but hurting him wouldn't be able to kill his soulmate. They would feel the pain, but if he bled out they would be fine. The scratches didn't physically break their skin like it broke his.
He didn't want them to feel pain.
He knew them through the little pictures and the words they liked to write on his body. He knew they did it purely for him to enjoy as well. No person would write and draw on their skin that much unless it was to share. They always did it in places that wouldn't be seen easily whenever they felt particularly passionate about what they were writing or drawing. More often than not Saeyoung'd had to go to the bathroom to pull of his pants and glance at the cheeky picture drawn awkwardly in the crease of his thigh and groin. It made him laugh. Who had time to do these things? But for normal days they would just draw on their body in obvious places and be sure to wash the stuff off within an hour.
Saeyoung was a blank canvas for them to fill up. He hoped that they wouldn't accidentally poison themselves.
You don't scratch like you used to. His hand said one day. He hadn't even noticed. He still gets stressed out, but usually he had drawings to look at to calm him down. He had come to recognize the handwriting of his soulmate. He was positive he would be able to recognize it anywhere. He wished that he could see it written out in person. He could only imagine the person it was attached to.
I don't want to ruin your drawings.
Thanks! Being complimented by my soulmate makes me happy!
He had made them happy. It had made Saeyoung's day. Saeyoung didn't scratch anymore. The nail-biting, though, was still a work in progress. If only he had something else to occupy his mouth when he worked.