Statistics from the past few months have shown me that the happiness these little one-shots bring hasn't wavered in the slightest. Thanks for that (as always).
Scenario: Love and magic are not mutually-exclusive.
Fair warning: mature language.
This has a few holes in it because I wanted to quickly push out a piece you all would be able to read while I make some more of these one-shots. Enjoy, and review at your pleasure. Suggestions for future chapters are always appreciated.
He'd never been into magic. In fact, when his mother first told him that he was a mage, Troy avoided her for days.
No, it wasn't like being told one was a mage was strange or anything. More so was it the fear associated with the mages that caused him to recoil into his invisible shell when he'd first been told the news.
It wasn't like a Fantastic Beasts situation where magic had become a distraction or danger to society. Troy just personally had some... assumptions of his own about mages. Like how they were all pompous. And irrationally brave (to the extent where they'd put their lives in harm's way to experience the thrills of life). And maybe even a bit naive to the harsh truths of reality.
But as a young kid, who was he to pin these labels on a group of people he was now become a part of? From where had he formulated these preconceived notions? It seemed that it would be time for him to destroy any semblance of animosity he had for magic because this one detail suddenly defined everything about him.
"I've signed you up for some training lessons every Wednesday afternoon. Does that sound okay?" Mrs. Burrows asked him.
The little nine-year-old nodded and tied the laces on his cleats before heading into the car. He had a soccer game that afternoon.
. . .
Troy was now twenty-four and driving straight for the unnecessarily tall office building he liked to call his first home. His actual house was his second home. The view of the tall skyscraper cut in half by the low-hanging stratus clouds was nothing short of picturesque, and though the immense traffic behind him was tense, Troy couldn't help but take a moment to admire the view.
He parked in his usual parking spot and rode the elevator up to the top floor. He wasn't in the highest position of the company, but he could say that he definitely had influence over the jobs of countless people. Okay, maybe hundreds. Not countless, but fun to think of as.
Work, as usual, was a bore. The largest drag of his life, but the money was great. Materialist, he could confidently affirm he was. The typical rich man who knew his power extended beyond what he could currently see.
Today, he wanted to switch things up before heading home. His extra work was already completed, and his assistant headed home from feeling sick, giving him the rest of the evening to do anything he pleased. He could head home and watch a slew of mafia movies, or he could head to a pristine restaurant with his best friend, Jake Holling.
But he decided to head to the park. He left his bags in the car and made sure his keys and wallet were in the car, finally crossing the street and somehow finding himself running until he had safely crossed the entrance of the tiny park.
But his running didn't stop! Oh no, he had a gusto in his lungs that he exerted upon his limbs like a wildfire preparing to spread through a forest of unsuspecting trees. He felt as if there was something symbolic about this moment in his life, this moment when he was running from what was tethering him to-
"Ouch!" he heard a female yelp, and he himself was parked on the ground, too.
They must have collided when he was too busy thinking about his heroic moment, but she'd already extended her hand to pull him up. She wore a comfortable-looking outfit to him, reminding him of his uncomfortably well-fitted suit. He wanted nothing more in that moment than to duplicate her outfit with his magic.
And he did.
Troy didn't mean to, but as soon as he had thought that, the woman was standing in her underwear, with him wearing her outfit from a few seconds before. She screamed as loudly as vocal cords could possibly scream, and she raced off, leaving him in a camo print sweatshirt and gray sweatpants.
Fuck, these clothes are tight.
"Did I just see that?" another female said from in front of him.
Troy had to do a double-take when he first saw her. She was breathtaking. Almond-shaped eyes and a thin nose. Wavy, brown hair down to the small of her back. She wore a baby pink hoodie and a pair of black leggings that made her look somewhat fragile.
"Come here," he commanded. He was so deathly afraid that she would ridicule him endlessly for his outfit and what she had just bore witness to.
She walked over quickly, lightly jogging along the way.
"You have powers," she whispered, though there was no one around them for her to keep this a secret from. She had been the only other witness to the embarrassing scene.
"Yes, I do, but I need to make sure you never tell anybody. Give me your phone."
She shook her head, taking a step back.
"Do you realize what you're saying?"
He didn't respond, only sighing and rubbing his temples in annoyance. Almond Eyes smiled understandingly.
"You don't like your powers, hm?"
He didn't respond again, only keeping his fingers rubbing those temples of his. She gently grabbed his wrists so she could see his face.
"It might sound a little cliche, but you are amazing because of your powers... and more. Can I tell you something?"
"You're already talking, Almond Eyes." She raised an eyebrow playfully.
"Almond Eyes, I like that. Okay, give me your phone instead."
He gave her his black iPhone, and she created a new contact, being sure to name herself "Almond Eyes". She decided to take a quick picture of herself for the contact photo, and when returning the phone, she cleared her throat.
"I'm going to show you something. But promise me you won't tell anyone you saw this."
He nodded, and a tiny smile broke out on her face. She gently pulled him down to her height, and she placed the softest of kisses on the tip of his nose. For some reason, though, he found no meaning to push her away for doing something so intimate within minutes of meeting him. In fact, he wanted to somehow encourage her to keep kissing his nose.
But she pulled away quicker than he would have liked, and suddenly, intricately beautiful patterns of lines appeared on her face, making her look like a majestic princess.
"I know you see it," she said quietly. "You're the only one who can. No one else around here is able to see what you're looking at right now."
Had he been in any other situation, he would have snakily commented on how much of an innuendo that sounded like. But at that moment, he once again was taken out of his thoughts by her holding up her phone so the camera was facing him. On his own face, he saw the same patterns.
"Why can't normal people see these?"
"Nobody else but us can see these," she replied. "Do you want me to take them away?"
"No, no. Not right now. But what does that mean? Only we can see these?"
Almond Eyes must have figured out that his magic training was somehow cut short.
"Do you maybe want to get dinner?" she asked.
Troy snapped up, glaring at her.
"What, is this all some elaborate way to get me to go out with you?"
Almond Eyes started to laugh, causing him to chuckle quietly (against his own liking). Her laughter was so contagious that he could imagine himself swimming in ocean of it. Drowning in it, even.
. . .
"My name's Emma, by the way. But I like Almond Eyes. You can keep calling me that."
The Chinese takeout she'd chosen to buy (though he'd insisted repeatedly he'd pay for) was the best he'd ever had, maybe because the Chinese food he'd eaten before came from the small shops a few roads down from his dorm when he was in college.
"Okay Almond Eyes, tell me why only we can see these."
Emma sat him down and took his hands in hers, making sure his full attention was on her.
"Troy, you didn't finish your training did you?"
He eyed their intertwined fingers suspiciously, looking back up and shaking his head.
"There's something that happens when you finish training, and that's when you get to meet an important person in your life."
"I don't follow."
"You... kinda meet... your... I can't word it in a way that won't freak you out. Promise me you won't freak out."
I won't.
"You meet your soulmate. It's some weird way they figure out your soulmate, but you do have one. Please tell me you're not freaked out."
"I think I know where this is going."
"Six years ago, I remember standing under that tree they said you really like. They said you'd show up there because that was the place you'd always train. You liked to go there every Saturday.
"So, I waited. Maybe a few hours? But I'd known after the first hour that you wouldn't be showing up. I mean, I'm not trying to be sappy or anything like that. I just... for some reason, I was drawn to this city a year ago. I should've known it was because you were here."
He removed his hands from hers, and she frowned, once again understanding what he was feeling.
"It's a bit much, I know. And you have no reason to believe me besides the patterns on our faces. It's getting a little late, so I think I'm going to head home."
He didn't stop her, but as he saw her tiny figure disappear into the darkness, he noticed that she never told him they were soulmates.
. . .
Troy never remembered his dreams, but that night, he envisioned almond eyes. Just Almond Eyes. Just her.
He could feel himself holding her, somehow being able to feel her hair. Yes, it was just as soft as he'd figured it would be.
He suddenly jolted awake, sweat running down his entire body. He felt hot under the covers, and when he ripped them off his body, he couldn't help but stumble over the toilet to vomit.
He called his mom to tell her everything.
. . .
"Can we meet again?" he asked Emma later that day over the phone.
"Of course," she smoothly replied. "At the park maybe?"
"Sounds good."
She wore a gray overcoat on top of a black turtleneck and black flowing pants, and her almond eyes shone in the light still flowing from behind the cloudy skies.
"I'm sorry for not meeting you under the tree that day," he began.
"Why are you apologizing for that? You didn't know I would be there-"
"I have more to say. I'm also sorry for pulling away yesterday. You were just telling me something I should've known if I'd only finished training, and my mom told me exactly what you said. She even knew who you were."
Emma looked away from him, staring at the trees above them sadly. Troy took hold of her wrists just as she'd done the day before, and he rolled up her right sleeve so her forearm showed.
He placed a slow trail of kisses from her palm to her wrist, then up her arm. He ended by taking her palm and holding it against the side of his face, closing his eyes as he marveled in the softness of her skin against his jaw. Opening his eyes, he saw the patterns on her face again.
"I thought those appear only when you kiss me on the nose?" he asked confusedly.
"It happens anytime we kiss each other anywhere," she grinned. "Though if we kiss in select places, the patterns look a little different."
He took her face and tilted it up so he could see her eyes. He smiled genuinely when seeing her smile, and he leaned down.
Troy felt chills just from kissing her, and the wanting he had yesterday from her kiss on the nose grew tenfold as she kissed back in that moment. Her arms linked around his neck, and he held her so close to his own body that he could feel her eyelashes brush against his skin.
"You didn't tell me something yesterday," he remembered.
She was panting as she placed her head in the crook of his neck. His arms had encircled her so much that she felt protected beyond description. She only murmured in response, completely at bliss.
"We're soulmates."
"I know," she said, her happiness apparent in her voice.
"You're my soulmate, Almond Eyes."