I WROTE MOST OF THIS BEFORE I SAW EPISODE 10. That's very important, everyone should keep that in mind when they read this. Only cannon compliant up to episode 9.

Honestly, I wasn't sure if I should continue writing this after episode 10. Not to spoil it for those who haven't seen it but shite. Gets. Real. But I was quite a ways through it by then and it seemed like such a waste to abandon it. And this was a request from the lovely Eclipse130, it's not exactly what you asked for but it's pretty close. I hope you enjoy anyway. And there was another Guest (who clearly hadn't seen episode 10) who asked me to write more for this pairing so I did.

If anyone else has a one-shot for this pairing they'd like to see written please let me know. Other than that; enjoy!

Everyone had a Soulmate. Well, mostly everyone. Only a few very unlucky souls didn't. There were many different signs of soulmates, some had tattoos that matched in some way. Some had half a tattoo and their soulmate had the other half. Some had tattoos that represented the other person in some way. Some had timers on their skin counting down to the second they would meet their soulmate. Some had initials or first names, some really lucky people had full names. Some had fingerprints or handprints. Some had the first words their soulmate would ever speak to them written on their bodies. Some couldn't see in colour until they'd seen their soulmate. Some couldn't see in colour until they'd actually touched their soulmate's bare skin. Everyone was different. And unless you had half a tattoo and your soulmate had the other half there was no guarantee that you and your soulmate would both have timers or words or initials, it could be different.

But all of that was irrelevant to Scarlet Spider, he didn't have a soulmate.

He didn't. He didn't care what anyone said, he was too freakish, too broken too... not right to have a soulmate.

The fact that he only saw in blacks, whites and greys was irrelevant. It had nothing to do with his soulmate situation. He was born that way... he thought, he couldn't really remember. Or it was the result of something Doc Ock had done to him. Either way, it had nothing to do with his soulmate situation. Period.

Absentmindedly Peter rubbed at the initials on the inside of his left forearm. A pretty normal spot for his soulmark, as they were called, and waited for the rest of his team to position themselves. Scarlet Spider, Nova, Iron Spider and White Tiger were already in place, Agent Venom, Miles, Iron Fist and Power Man were still getting ready.

Once he had the affirmative he gave the order, his team moved in. It was a fairly straight-forward beat-up-the-bad-guys-mission and everything went smoothly. Until Scarlet got hurt.

It wasn't such a bad wound, long, but not that deep, but it was in a very inconvenient spot, right across Scarlet's abdomen, gushing blood everywhere.

"Stay down!" Spider-Man ordered when Scarlet tried to rise.

He growled and struggled to rise, "it's not that bad. Let me up punk."

Peter placed a hand on his chest and pushed Ben back down. "I said; stay down!" He placed his other hand on Scarlet's abdomen to try and staunch the blood flow. The cloth of Scarlet's suit had shifted slightly, showing the wound and a strip of bare skin.

And there was a rip in Peter's glove.

When he placed his hand over Scarlet's wound Ben's world exploded into colour.

He yelped in shock from the overload of sensation and squeezed his eyes shut, Peter of course thought this was from the pain of his wound and winced in sympathy.

"I'm sorry!"

No, Ben was the one who should be sorry. He was a monster. Monsters didn't have soulmates! Especially soulmates as perfect as Peter Parker.

Peter had initials on his forearm, Ben knew. Apparently they were his initials, the initials of his real name, whatever that was, Ben neither remembered nor cared what his 'real' name was and Peter hadn't ever told him what letters the initials were. He'd never actually seen them personally because Spidey had always been in full costume around him.

Sometimes when people with initials/names touched their soulmate's skin for the first time the initials/names went away or the letters changed colour. Ben hoped Peter wasn't one of those, it would be better if Peter never found out, was never burdened with a 'soulmate' like Scarlet Spider.

So he said nothing and stared in fascination at the beautiful world he'd never before seen in colour.

Peter was totally wiped out, not only from the fight, but from helping civilians evacuate, and there was a rip in his left glove that was really bothering him.

Absentmindedly he sat down on his bunk, yanking off his glove and pulling out his sewing kit (yes he had a sewing kit) to fix it.

That was when he caught sight of the smooth, bare skin of his left arm.

Hearing his high-pitched scream White Tiger and Scarlet Spider burst into the room, claws/stingers out.

"What? What?!" Ava demanded, looking around wildly for any sign of danger.

"M-my initials!" Peter waved his arm around like it was on fire. "They're gone!"

Damnit! Scarlet swore mentally.

"What?!" White Tiger grabbed Spider-Man's arm and turned it over, "you didn't know?! You met your soulmate and you didn't even notice?!"

Don't worry, I noticed, said Ben mentally but out loud all he said was, "well congratulations. Now if that's all..." he turned and left the room. Ava and Peter barely noticed him leaving, talking animatedly about how one of the civilians Peter had swung to safety had to be his soulmate. Ben almost collapsed with relief.

Peter was smart, incredibly smart, but when he got this focused on something he tended to get tunnel vision. He would be so focused on the many, many civilians that he wouldn't even notice the other possibility literally staring him in the face.

White Tiger was also incredibly intelligent, and more open to other possibilities, but she hadn't been anywhere near them during that fight and had no idea Peter had touched Scarlet's bare skin. They probably wouldn't figure it out and Peter would waste time tracking down any of the civilians with those initials (there had to be at least a few), and when that turned out to be a bust, which it would, hopefully Peter would give up.

Give up?! Ben wanted to hit himself. Peter Parker didn't give up on trying to help his enemies. This was Peter's soulmate, he would never give up. And though Ben didn't deserve a soulmate like Peter, didn't Peter at least deserve to know the truth?!

No! Scarlet shook his head, violently rejecting the idea. Peter was a kind, loving, giving soul, if he knew 'Ben' was his 'soulmate' he would feel obliged to stay with him.

Ben didn't think he'd be able to deal with that.

But Scarlet wasn't his soulmate, he couldn't be. Scarlet couldn't be someone's soulmate so did that mean Peter didn't have a soulmate? No, that couldn't be right, he was Peter Parker, he had to have a soulmate, he deserved that much. But if Ben was his 'soulmate'...

Scarlet's head started to hurt.

But if he knew one thing, it was that Peter didn't deserve to be straddled with a failure like him.

So he said nothing and let Peter continue a fruitless search for a soulmate he didn't have.

He was still stewing over the correct way to handle this situation when Peter burst into the room waving his arms around.

"Scarlet! Scarlet! I found one! I found a guy who found his soulmate in that commotion and he has the right initials! I found my soulmate!"

Wait what?!

Scarlet Spider sat up so fast he nearly fell off his seat.

"What the heck?!" He growled.

Peter didn't even notice his tone as he continued rambling, "he agreed to meet me tomorrow, he couldn't see in colour but he said around the time I swung him to safety he began to see in colour!"

Peter had begun to evacuate some citizens, lots of citizens actually, who had been in caught in the crossfire after the fight escalated well after he'd touched Ben so he was sure Peter was the one who had made a mistake, not him.

However, that was one hell of a mistake and it affected more than just Peter. Who the heck was this other guy and how did Ben get them to realize they were making a mistake without revealing how he knew it was a mistake?

If Peter met a nice girl or guy and started a genuine relationship with them despite not being their soulmate that would be great, better even, who the hell needed a soulmate?

But Ben, who was already lying to Peter, couldn't in good conscience let Peter force himself into a relationship with someone he didn't know based solely on the fact that they were soulmates when they actually weren't.

But then he might have to come clean and Peter would be stuck with Ben which was way worse than believing he was soulmates with some random person who'd happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. But what about that guy and his real soulmate?!

Scarlet's head hurt. He went to get help.

"I see." Danny said noncommittally. "That is a problem."

Yeah, and the sun was hot, talk about understatements. Scarlet rolled his eyes. He wasn't even sure why he was talking to Iron Fist, who he didn't even know that well.

Well at least Ben was 75% sure Daniel Rand wouldn't rat him out. The percentage would be higher, but Ben didn't trust easily.

And plus, they had an understanding about soulmates now: Danny helped him out and kept his secret until Ben was ready to talk about it and Ben didn't bug Danny about the name he'd seen on the back of Danny's heel.

"If I tell him, he's going to think he's obliged to be with me and he'll be miserable. Not to mention how awkward it will make things between us. But if I don't I'm knowingly letting him trap himself with some random stranger and robbing that guy of his real soulmate!" Scarlet reiterated, pacing the room, all but wringing his hands.

He knew most everyone else would tell him to grow a backbone; that he did have a soulmate and Peter was that soulmate so everything would be okay and/or if he couldn't do this for himself or Peter he should do it for that random guy with his initials who deserved to be with his real soulmate.

But Danny didn't do any of that. Instead he tilted his head to the side and regarded Scarlet thoughtfully for a second before asking, "what is your heart telling you to do?"

Ben snorted inelegantly. "Don't have one," he said, folding his arms over his chest.

"I think Spider-Man would be the first person to disagree," Iron Fist said softly. "You say he would be miserable to have you as a soulmate but is that not his choice to make?"*

Scarlet cursed softly, Danny was right. If there were three things 'his heart' was telling Ben it was that one: Peter at least had the right to know and the rest he could deal with after. Two: that Peter deserved better than him.

And three: that Ben was in love with Peter.

But that didn't matter. Because Peter's happiness came first.

He nodded, making sure to keep all of his internal conflict out of his voice, "fine. Thanks, I guess."

Iron Fist inclined his head gravely in acknowledgement.

Scarlet went to leave and then paused by the door, "you should tell him too you know. It's not like he'd reject you. He'd be happy to have you. Lucky too."

Danny smiled lightly and pulled his feet up under him. "Do as I say, not as I do," he advised.

"Right," Scarlet said. Accepting that Iron Fist didn't want to talk about it, he left.

"Hey, Ben. Got a minute?"

Scarlet, who had been looking for Spider-Man anyway, turned at the sound of Peter's voice. Peter sounded incredibly nervous and, as Ben watched, he shifted anxiously from foot to foot.

"Yeah, you need something?" Ben fought to keep his words polite. He needed to talk to Peter himself, rude and abrasive was usually his default mode but really wouldn't help here.

"I..." Peter swallowed audibly. "I need to confess something."

Yeah Ben was pretty sure he knew what this was about; he followed Peter into an empty room anyway. He did not want to say what he needed to say out in the hall.

"It's fine kid. I know it was you behind the windshield wiper incident." He assured Peter.

Spider-Man was stunned for two reasons. One: first rule of S.H.I.E.L.D Academy: you do not talk about the Windshield Wiper Incident. The second...

"Wait, you knew this whole time?!" He demanded disbelievingly. He shook himself, never mind, "no. It isn't about that. It's... something else."

Despite the fact that Peter couldn't see his face, Ben raised an eyebrow. "Then what is it?"

Peter took a deep breath, "it's... kind of hard for me to say."

"Well take your time, I'm not going anywhere." To prove this, Scarlet leaned against the wall, his heart pounding. Why was he so nervous? Whatever Spider-Man had to confess couldn't possibly be more stomach-churning than what Ben was still working up the courage to say.

"You remember how I said I found my soulmate?" Peter began.

Oh boy did he.

Ben nodded, "yeah, I remember."

"Well I..." Peter took a deep breath, "I don't want to be together with him. Period. And tomorrow when we meet, I'm going to tell him that."

Huh. There was a new development. Couples who got together despite not being soulmates were hardly uncommon. But a single guy who had found his soulmate then rejecting them? That was new. Sure, some people, especially those as young as Peter, sometimes waited years before actually getting together with their soulmate. But rejecting them out of hand? Odd. Very odd.

"Okay. What brought this on?" He asked, still confused.

"Well..." Peter shifted from foot to foot again, tugging off his mask to run his hand through his brown hair.

"I don't know this guy. And the truth is; I don't want to. He isn't part of my life, not as Spider-Man, not as Peter Parker and I don't want him to be. I've always fought to make my own destiny and I can't deal with the fact that some guy I've never met is supposed to take the number one spot in my heart. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

Did he ever?

Scarlet nodded anyway. "You want to choose your own path in life. Not have it chosen for you," he summarised. The knot in his chest was getting tighter. This was a good thing. Ben didn't deserve Peter and Peter didn't even want his soulmate. But Ben couldn't help how he felt.

Spidey shrugged, "yes and no. It would be different if he was someone I already knew, someone I trusted, I wouldn't mind belonging to someone like that."

Scarlet's heart skipped a beat.

"But being pushed together with a guy I've never met..." Peter shrugged again, "I don't want it. But... I guess the real reason is..." he took another deep breath, "I'm in love with someone else.

Scarlet's insides felt hot, then cold, the room somehow spun and went perfectly still at the same time, "why are you telling me this?" He heard himself ask through numb lips.

Mentally he berated himself, why wouldn't Peter like someone else? He wasn't asexual, and there was no reason he couldn't like someone. But Ben was supposed to be his friend and he'd never realized, Peter had never told him. That hurt.

But not as bad as the ripping in Ben's chest.

It was getting harder to breathe, Ben yanked off his own mask. That didn't help.

Peter ran his hand through his hair again, "yeah, about that..."

He looked up and looked Ben dead in the eye, "I'm in love with you Ben Riley."

Ben's mind blanked for a second. Then a rush of happiness so intense Ben had never felt its equal, or if he had he didn't remember it, flooded through him. It was only watching distress enter Peter's beautiful eyes when he didn't answer that brought Ben back to earth.

"N-no, no you aren't. You can't be." He tried to take a step back but was thwarted by the wall directly behind him and nearly tripped over his own foot. Smooth.

Fire flashed in those beautiful eyes, "don't tell me what I can and cannot feel. If you don't feel the same way; that's your right. If you hate me..." a trembling breath, "then I understand. But don't you dare tell me how I can and cannot feel. I'm old enough to risk my life fighting super-villains every. Single. Day. I am old enough to understand my own feelings and I am in love with y-"

Ben took a step forward. "Stop. Talking." He ordered, his pulse pounded, if he didn't get this out now he never would. All of his good intentions about how Peter deserved better flew out the window and he spoke honestly, "you think you're in love with me? I'm a monster. A monster who doesn't deserve you and who never will. A freak and a liar. I've been lying to you Peter. I've been in love with you this whole time. But you're right about one thing: you need to tell that random guy you can't be his soulmate. Because you aren't his soulmate I've only ever known shades of grey, but when you touched me my world became colourful. And that isn't poetic bullshit. I mean that very literally." He glanced at Peter meaningfully, hoping he would get the message. It wasn't long before it clicked.

Peter's eyes widened as he began to understand, "Ben?! What...?" He whispered, not quite ready to believe it.

Ben almost chuckled, he could relate to that. "Come on punk, you're a smart guy. Can't you figure out what I'm trying to say?" He touched his stomach where the wound had been. "You touched me first, remember? I just didn't say anything because I didn't want you stuck with a pathetic excuse for a soulmate like me-"

Peter punched him round the face so fast Ben's spidey-sense didn't even have time to go off. He stumbled back against the wall and was then pinned there when Peter threw himself at him, hugging him tightly.

"You're not a monster or a freak or a pathetic excuse for a soulmate. You're the one I want. The only one." He looked up at Ben, "do you really love me?"

Instead of answering Ben cupped the back of Peter's head and kissed him deeply.

When they broke apart Peter grinned, "I don't think I'll mind being yours."

Ben snickered, "stupid punk. You'll live to regret saying that." But he grinned too as he hugged Peter tightly. Because while he wasn't sure someone as vibrant and uncontrollable as Peter Parker could ever truly belong to someone, Ben was Peter's. Always.

* I was about this far into the fic before I saw episode 10, just so you know. This was not my fault.

Wow. This was meant to be a 1000-ish word drabble. Calm down self. As you can probably tell by now, I am not exactly a romance master but I do try. Hope you enjoyed guys. Bye!