For my friend Appynation on tumblr. Used their heith soulmate au.
Keith jerked upright in bed, eyes wide and chest heaving, feeling beads of sweat roll down his back. He could just remember the wisps of his nightmare, Shiro crash landing into an icy wasteland, being strapped down to a table, protocal gone and communications with the Garrison cut off, something calling him in the desert that wasn't even meant for him-
Keith squeezed his eyes shut, fingers unconsciously moving to the soulmark on his inner wrist, pressing two fingers to the inside.
I'm scared. I need comfort. He tried to explain in emotions, but it probably just came through as a panicky mess.
Whoever his soulmate was, they were up at the premature hour. A whirlwind of comforting and concerned emotions flowed through his wrist, calming his breathing until it came out in slow puffs. He opened his eyes to cast a look at the red alarm clock.
Damnit, nearly five am. He launched the rescue and extraction mission to Kerberos in three days, and he could use all the sleep he could get. He sunk back into the disheveled blankets, before pressing his fingers into his soulmark again.
Thank you. He tried to convey, but emotions was always something he was bad with. He figured that growing up in a foster care on top of being on the autistic spectrum made him that way, but hopefully his soulmate understood. His whole life his soulmate was a consistent probability, something that stuck with him despite the house switching and the Garrison and even losing Shiro.
And in return he helped them when they needed it, offering humorous or happy emotions when he felt sad ones leaking through the soulmark. It didn't happen often, either because his soulmate was often upbeat or just didn't want to burden Keith with their emotions.
Keith wouldn't have cared. He lifted his wrist to his lips and kissed the moon-shaped soulmark, sending warm and fuzzy emotions to his soulmate.
He quickly got one in return, and Keith smiled to himself in the darkness, the kiss making him feel light and feathery.
God, whoever his soulmate is, he was already deeply in love with them. He couldn't wait to meet them, kiss them, thank them for all the emotional support his whole life, showing them the stars.
Keith rolled over, grabbing a pillow and hugging it close to his body. He buried his face in the top of it as the feathery feelings faded, but his smile not.
It was nearing five am when Hunk suddenly jerked awake from his calculations, coffee be damned, and felt pangs of panic and fear though his soulmark. He closed his eyes, giving himself a moment to cheer himself up, make him happy enough for his soulmate to calm down, before pressing two fingers to his wrist.
It's alright. I got you. You're safe.
It took a moment for his soulmate to respond, and when they did they were calm, still a bit nervous but happy that Hunk was there.
Hunk grinned. Then eyes widened as a pleasant burning sensation coursed through his soulmark, the telltale sign that his soulmate kissed their mark. Adrenaline shot through his bloodstream, and if the panicky emotions didn't wake him up earlier he was definitely awake now.
He turned his head, looking for his boss, and when he spotted him talking to a poor and overworked intern, raised his wrist to his lips and kissed his soulmate back.
Then he pulled back, admiring the detailed soulmark once more. It was shaped like Earth's moon, changing with the phases and even glowing faintly in the dark if you squinted. Although that may have been the contrast of the white on his dark brown skin, he didn't mind. His soulmark was pretty.
Out of the corner of his eye he saw his boss turn, so he took a swing of coffee and went back to work.
The rescue and extraction mission to Kerberos was launching in a little over forty-eight hours, and everything needed to be triple checked, after all.