It had been a week since then. Wash was on leave while his wound healed, armor-less, yet still coming to watch Tucker train even if he wasn't allowed to join in.

And Tucker was spending way more time in his armor than normal.

Yellow. Tucker had seen yellow, the same yellow pattern he had seen on Wash for years, only this time without sheets of metal in the way.

And Tucker was quietly freaking the fuck out.

Soulmates.

Shit, what did that even mean?

His mom had told him once that it meant that the other person would be his compliment, someone that, while not "completing" him, brought his best to light. This person could be like a sibling to them, or a lover. Either way, there would be no way to tell until he actually met that person as to which it would be.

And Tucker had met him, nearly ten years ago he had met him, and he was confused.

Of course he had thought about it! He had met Wash as a teenager, a lust filled teenager with an overactive imagination, and had befriended him.

But that was it, all they ever had was friendship, and Tucker, though always happy to get laid, did not want that to be the extent of his relationship with Wash, didn't want to ruin what they had, so he had stayed back, packing away his feelings and replacing them with cheesy pickup lines and bad innuendo that would make Wash shove him and tell him he was gross.

But Wash was, had always been, his soulmate, and had never expressed anything other than camaraderie and friendship towards him.

Tucker had heard rumors about uncompatable soulmates, people that fit together, but didn't fit in the right ways, whose soulbonds just didn't click. One would want a lover, the other wouldn't feel the same, and they would try to make it work, but ended up hurting each other before they left. The distance would hurt, but being together would have been worse.

Tucker didn't want that.

Of course he knew he couldn't hide forever, couldn't stay in his armor for all eternity, but he needed to. Just until he knew what to do.

-
Three days had passed and Tucker still had no idea what to do.

Wash was getting better and Tucker was running out of time.

Tucker was in his regular clothes, getting ready to put on his armor so he could meet up with Wash. He was thinking about about how to tell Wash about their bond, about how this was all going to blow up in his face and how he was going to loose his friend just because Tucker's stupid soulbond wanted something he couldn't have, when the curtain opened behind him, the flutter almost being lost in the sound of Tucker's shirt hitting the floor.

Wash had opened his mouth to speak, but snapped it shut at the sight of Tucker's back, aqua lights on dark brown skin.

Wash turned away without a word.

'Fuck.'