title: the letters etched into your skin

description: they say that we're meant to be. let's listen. - an 8-part soulmate au.

a/n: this is technically before 1x04 when Kirsten sees Cameron's scar, but it's also around 1x09 in terms of Liam and emotional development? idk, just don't think too hard about the timeline (aka ignore the fact that I only remembered 1x04 when i was halfway done writing this hehehe oops). some characters might be a bit ooc and the ending isn't great, but meh.

for: stitching-in on tumblr as a Stitchers Secret Santa gift.

part i. a girl.

Kirsten has never put much stock into the concept of soulmates. Sure, she's heard the great famous love stories of how two people in love somehow had the exact same tattoo, or how matching scars led true loves together, but the idea society has created that "being happy without a soulmate" or "in love with someone else" is impossible bugs her. She and Liam are happy enough together, and it's not like the burn marks on his left leg are on hers as well, or her chinese characters tattoo is on the small of his back, too. They may not be what the world has defined to be soulmates, but it's not like she's going to stop dating him because of that.

Besides, most people don't even ever find their soulmates—having the same scar isn't going to help you find someone who might live on the other side of the world. The possibility of either Liam or herself encountering theirs it highly unlikely.

part ii. a boy.

Cameron has always been a bit of a romantic. His mom and older sister love cheesy romantic movies like Gone With the Wind and When Harry Met Sally, so through the many times they forced him to watch romcoms with them, he's been entranced by the idea of soulmates. Sure, he doubts and questions their existence scientifically (if soulmates have the same scars why doesn't the one that's not being hurt feel the pain?), but he's fond of the idea that there's someone perfect for him out there.

Of course, he's never thought that he'll actually find them. Knowing him, they probably live on the other side of the world or are married already or are one of those one-sided soulmates he's heard stories about, where one of the pair gets the other's scars and marks, but not the other way around. Sure, he has his soulmate's chinese character tattoo on the small of his back, but maybe they don't have the scar from his heart surgery.

Who knows, really.

part iii. once upon a time.

Kirsten's six years old.

It's the first time someone's explained to her what a 'soulmate' is. Her mother sits her down and smiles gently. "Kirsten, a soulmate is your one true love. They're your one and only, the person who makes you whole. They're the thing you've always been missing, they're your best friend, they're your family."

Kirsten doesn't really get what her mom means, but she hears 'best friend' and thinks I'd really like to have one. "Mommy, how do I find my soulmate? I wanna have a best friend!"

Her mother laughs. "Well, anything you mark on your skin is also on your soulmate's skin, like a scar, or a tattoo. You can know who your soulmate is because they'll have the same marks on their skin."

After her mother gets up to make dinner, Kirsten furrows her brow and starts thinking. She doesn't want to wait until she gets a tattoo to be able to find her best friend… what can she put on her skin that her soulmate will see?

Clapping happily as an idea comes to her, Kirsten skips into her mother's office and grabs a pen off of the desk. Uncapping it quickly, she writes Hi! shakily in uneven letters on her arm. Writing on yourself is marking your skin, right?

She stares at her arm for a few minutes, waiting for some kind of response to appear. Kirsten's just about given up when her other arm starts to tickle a bit, and she looks down to see a Hello. etched onto her skin in green ink. She squints at it for a second to make sure it's real, then squeals happily when it doesn't disappear.

Kirsten holds out the pen again and writes you're my best friend! my mommy said anyone I can talk with on my skin is my soul mate which means best friends.

She has to wait another few minutes for an answer, but when it comes it says okay, let's be best friends! Another message appears a moment later, saying I've never had a best friend before.

Well now you've got me!

When Kirsten shows the conversation on her arm to her mother, she grins widely and hugs Kirsten tightly. "Oh, sweetie, I'm so happy for you." Pulling back and placing her hands on her shoulders, she looks Kirsten straight in the eye. "You know, soulmates that can talk by just writing on each others' arms have an especially powerful connection."

So Kirsten keeps up with her new best friend, talking about everything and nothing, staying up late waiting for a response and waking up early to say good morning, wishing them happy birthday and wishing she could give him a present; it stays the same until she turns 8 and gets into a car crash.

Kirsten stops writing to her soulmate—they've never even asked for each other's names, they never saw the need—when her mom gets into a coma. Questions like are you okay? and did something happen? stop appearing around the time she gets her first scar from him—a long, straight mark going down the middle of her chest, near her heart. While she doesn't ask if he's okay, she wonders about him and hopes he's okay.

She talks to another kid named Cameron at the hospital, and the way he speaks makes Kirsten think of her and her soulmate's conversations. This just makes her miss him even more, and that night she takes a pen in hand for this purpose for the first time in a month. She's about to write up a heartfelt apology letter for not talking to him, but then begins to wonder if he'll even read it. She's ignored him for so long that maybe now he wants nothing to do with ger.

A month later, she's being dropped off at Ed Clark's house while her father gets into a taxi outside. She doesn't remember her mother explaining soulmates to her, or talking with her soulmate, or anything that happened before she turned 8.

part iv. a spark.

Maggie's droning on and on about rules and regulations—specifically, the ones that Kirsten and the others broke while investigating their most recent case—and Kirsten's long since gotten lost in thought, letting everything she's hearing go in one ear and out the other. She's heard this all before—you should have been more careful, the program's existence could have been exposed, I might as well put 'reckless endangerment' down on your permanent record—so listening isn't going to help her.

Kirsten's tapping away at her phone discreetly underneath the conference table, flicking through her photo album and deleting pictures she doesn't like. She doesn't look up until Cameron elbows her in the side, hard. She twists her head to send him a glare but catches Maggie doing the same to her. Rolling her eyes, she shuts off her phone and sets it on the table.

"As I was saying, we have a new case coming in today." Maggie turns to the large computer monitor next to her and pulls up the image of a smiling woman in her early twenties, maybe. "This is Angela Hawkins. She's the most recent death in a series of similar killings; all of the victims have been people in their early twenties, and they've all been upper-class citizens going to UCLA. We've got our first serial killer."

Kirsten, now alert and actually paying attention, scans the table in front of her for a pen. Seeing one near Camille, she gestures for her roommate to pass it to her. When she has it in her hand, she begins to jot down notes from what Maggie's saying onto her left forearm.

It's not like she ever needs to write anything down to remember it—her temporal dysplasia lets her relive any moment she chooses like it's actually happening—but maybe it's a habit she had before she lost her memories as a child, or maybe it even has something to do with the "soulmates" some higher power seems to provide for everyone. Whatever the reason, it's stuck with her to jot notes down anywhere within reach: paper, napkins, even her own own skin.

So she writes down all the details Maggie explains in blue ink and when her boss is done speaking, she sets down the pen and makes her way out of the lab. Maggie said that Angela's body would be coming at—here, she reflexively checks her arm to see the time—5 o'clock in the evening, which gives her another 6 or so hours to do whatever she pleases.

Kirsten doesn't notice how Cameron had looked at her curiously while she was writing, nor how he had rubbed his own arm like something was tickling it. She doesn't see how his eyes followed her, fondness in them, as she left the room, either.

part v. prince charming.

Cameron's going home until the next sample comes in, taking the bus because his car's engine is acting up and it's being fixed today. He's staring out the window, watching the road and shops pass by.

A passing sign advertising "deals for the whole family!" reminds him that his sister said she'd call at around noon and with the slow speed this bus is going at, he might not get home in time. Plus, he forgot his phone on his nightstand so he's not even able to take the call on the bus. Sighing, he pushes up his sleeve to his elbow so he check the time on the watch around his left wrist.

And there, on his forearm, are the same notes that Kirsten carefully jotted down, detailing everything they might need to know about their new case. They're even in her handwriting. His first thought is How did Kirsten write all this on my arm without me noticing? until a minute passes and it clicks in his mind.

A very loud, "OH SHOOT" slips from his mouth as he stands up abruptly in shock because oh my god Kirsten Clark is my freakin' soul mate.

part vi. unlucky in love.

Cameron is calm. He's walking into the elevator to the lab now; he's had a few hours to think about this, and he thinks his mind is clearer now (the long explosive rant to his sister about his newly discovered true love did help). He's just going to calmly go up to Kirsten, probably after the stitch so she won't be distracted, and he'll tell her that shootshootshoot oh my gosh Kirsten and I are soul mates, me and her, soul mates, this is crazy we're freakin how is this even possible?!

Okay, so maybe he's not that calm. But he can handle this.

He thinks.

Less than 10 minutes later, Cameron is seriously doubting his definition of "handling" a situation.

Cameron's in the conference room, sitting down in the corner with all of the blinds shut. Oh god oh god that was so embarrassing why why why did I have to do that stupid, stupid, stupid—

Camille interrupts his train of thought by bursting into the room at full speed, reaching down and shaking his shoulders. "WHEN DID YOU FIND OUT YOU TWO ARE SOULMATES. HOW. SPILL."

Cameron flails for a second, not really sure how to answer. "I-I-I don't know, I just went to look at my watch and all of Kirsten's notes about the case were on my arm right where she wrote them down on hers and someone once told me that meant you're soulmates with an extreme connection and then I was thinking about how I would tell Kirsten when she was done stitching into her, but then I saw her and it just kinda slipped out at a very loud volume..." His voice trembles a little and Camille's face softens a bit. She pats him comfortingly on the shoulder.

Cameron looks up at her and his eyes just scream 'help me please I don't know how to deal with this kind of thing because I'm a socially awkward puppy dog child help meeeee.'

Or at least, that's what Camille's reading from them.

part vii. (unlucky in love)2

Kirsten is flat on her back, laying down on her bed. She's staring up at the ceiling and thinking about everything and nothing.

'Everything and nothing' meaning Cameron's confession after the stitch.

Godammit, that guy. Just when she thought that her romance drama was over, having turned down Liam's proposal, someone had to make it crazy again. Kirsten doesn't even really feel emotions! Why is she the one with love problems?

Camille interrupts her ranting train of thought by opening the door to her room and sitting on the edge of the bed. Kirsten scoots over some to make room for her, and Camille takes the hint and lays down in the same position as her roommate.

After a few minutes of silence, the brunette sighs and turns onto her side, facing Kirsten. "You wanna talk about Cameron?"

"Not really."

Still, Camille pushes the subject. "He says he found the same notes you wrote on your arm about Angela Hawkins on his. That's how he realized, I mean. And he was going to tell you in private, but, well, he got really nervous and it slipped out.

"Look, you should talk to him about it. He seemed pretty torn up about it when I talked to him- I really don't think he meant to embarrass you. Just… tell him you'd rather not date or whatever; maybe you guys are just platonic soulmates."

Kirsten opens her mouth hesitantly. "What if… what if I think we're… not so platonic?"

Camille jumps up into a sitting position, a grin like the Cheshire Cat's spreading across her face. "Really?! Kirsten, that's great!"

"No, not great. What if he thinks we're just platonic soulmates?!" Kirsten frowns, giving her face an uncharacteristically (for her) worried look.

Camille rolls her eyes. "This is a guy who's been pining after you practically since the day you met. He's going to be thrilled, trust me."

part viii. happily ever after (or at least for today).

Kirsten and Cameron are in the Lab's conference room, Kirsten leaning against the wall and Cameron sitting down. He refuses to meet her eyes, fiddling with the sleeve on his left arm. Neither of them say anything for at least 5 minutes of awkward quietude.

Kirsten sighs, breaking the uncomfortable silence between her and Cameron. "Look," she starts, "I don't believe in soulmates. I think the idea, frankly, is pretty stupid, and that society puts way too much pressure on people to find their 'perfect person.'"

With each word she can see Cameron's face getting more and more sad and downtrodden.

"But," she sighs. "I do believe in you. And…" she hesitates. She mumbles something unintelligible under her breath, turning her head and looking away from Cameron, an uncharacteristic blush on her cheeks.

Cameron clears his throat, thinking wait did I just hear what I thought I heard? Hesitantly, he asks, "Um, Kirsten, could you repeat tha—"

"I like you, you idiot!" she yells, interrupting him. "Okay? I happen to be kind of fond of you. So. I'm willing to… see where this goes. Where we go."

A big grin appears onto Cameron's face, lighting up his expression. "Really? You want to date… me?" he bursts out excitedly, jumping up and standing.

"Say it a little louder, I don't think the people in San Fransisco heard you." she grumbles, blushing. Her lips curve upwards into a little smile, contradicting her harsh tone.

"I just… Wow. This… this is exciting. Do we—can we go on a date now? Or is that too soon, should we go some other time? I mean, I know a restaurant that's really good that's only a few minutes away… But, no, no you're right, that is too soon. Is tomorrow okay? Or should we do next week? Next week sounds goo—"

Kirsten, tired of his rambling, sighs, walks over to him and presses her lips onto his, interrupting him the middle of his sentence. After a minute, she leans back. Cameron is frozen in shock in front of her, an adorable expression of surprise on his face.

"You were rambling." she offers as explanation. Kirsten then turns and walks to the door, pushing it then holding it open for Cameron. "You coming? I believe there's a restaurant nearby calling our name."

Shaking his head, Cameron rushes out the door, practically skipping to the elevator. "Oh, you'll love it! I got a few of my favorite recipes from their head chef."

Kirsten rolls her eyes, following him. "This dork…"

part ix. fin.

Sure, being soulmates can make or break a relationship. But you don't instantly fall for someone because you have their tattoo on your ankle, too. And you can be in love with someone who doesn't have the scar from the arm you broke when you were five.

Soulmates doesn't mean true love.

(Well, not always.)