A oneshot for the SBI AU + Prompt event on twitter. This one is for 'platonic soulmate AU' + "Don't leave"

Techno had his bag packed and shoved into the closet of his room before Wilbur even went to bed.

It would have been easier if he could leave during the day, if he didn't have to sneak out of the apartment he literally lived in and paid rent for in the middle of the night like a rebellious teenager trying to defy his parents' rules. But Techno knew Wilbur - knew his soulmate. As soon as he felt the pull of the red string that tied them together, Wilbur would come looking for him. And Techno didn't want to give Wilbur a chance to stop him.

Emotionally charged conversation? No thanks. Techno would take his chances running away from his problems instead.

He considered leaving a note on the kitchen table or something but honestly, there was no need. Wilbur would wake up, see he was gone, and probably text or call him. Techno hadn't decided if he would ghost him yet, but he supposed that was a bridge he could cross when he got to it. Either way, Wilbur would have the sob story of the century about being abandoned by his soulmate.

One his fans would eat right up.

When Technoblade was taught about the concept of soulmates he thought he would be exempt from the deal. A person who was meant to understand you, support you, love you unconditionally? It seemed a bit farfetched. That you were supposed to magically feel pulled towards them sounded fake to him too. He had never felt a pull. If anything, he stuck to his boring routines so rigidly it was kind of ridiculous. Others swore by it though and Techno knew soulmates came in many shapes and forms, be it romantic or platonic. So maybe he wasn't that surprised to discover he had one.

He was surprised to discover that basically the entire world knew Techno's soulmate before he himself did.

Wilbur was on the front of dozens of music magazines. He was selling out entire venues in a matter of minutes. He was front-lining music festivals left and right, in between being asked as a voice coach for tv singing competitions and signing sponsor deals. He was a celebrity, one of the biggest ones of their generation.

And Techno walked into him by accident on the sidewalk.

Techno never felt the pull because Wilbur quite literally ran into his life. Techno stumbled and almost fell, and Wilbur grabbed his wrist to keep him from tripping. He raised his head, looking at Techno from beneath the beanie he had probably pulled down over his eyes to remain unrecognized by his many fans.

And for one brief moment, Techno could very clearly see the red string wound around his pinkie finger, curling around both their wrists. Connecting him to Wilbur.

He knew from Wilbur's face that he had seen it too.

"You're-" Wilbur blinked at him, grinning like a maniac. He didn't seem unhappy which was a good start. Techno hadn't been unhappy back then either, only startled.

He flinched when a camera flashed. Wilbur cursed under his breath before pulling the beanie back down, but he didn't let go of Techno's wrist.

"Let's get out of here," he said. "We can talk somewhere more private."

How the heck Techno of all people had ended up with somebody like Wilbur as his soulmate had to be some kind of grand cosmic joke. Not because they weren't compatible, obviously. Techno didn't think that was possible, the entire point of soulmates was to be compatible.

At a glance, Wilbur and him might seem like opposites. Techno was introverted and hated travel while Wilbur thrived on attention and didn't like to be cooped up too long. Techno stumbled over his words and would rather not interact with people if he could help it. Wilbur was so charismatic he literally made it his job (aside from the singing). But that was surface stuff if anything, Techno came to understand soon enough.

Wilbur was funny and chaotic, he laughed at all of Techno's jokes even the ones that were objectively lame. He was perhaps the only person Techno had ever met that matched his ambitious nature, his drive to set goals and get there. They also enjoyed the same crappy movies, which made the foundation for their entire friendship at the start when they were still figuring this whole soulmate thing out. Wilbur would come over and Techno would put on the absolutely most atrocious-looking horror movie. After that, they played games. They ordered takeout and watched online videos of cats.

Slowly, Techno got used to the idea of having a soulmate. Wilbur once said that he grew up an only child without siblings - Techno did too - but that spending time with Techno was how he imagined having a brother would feel like.

Techno had chuckled and called him cringe. And then Wilbur had thrown a pillow at him so hard he toppled over the backrest of the couch, both of them laughing.

Techno should have known better than to think that would last.

Slinging the bag over his shoulder, he opened the door that led outside the apartment. It was a bit depressing that all his stuff could fit in a single duffle. What did that say about Techno's life, really? As he walked down the stairs, he started to feel that familiar hollow in his chest, the cold and uncomfortable sensation of not being very close to his soulmate.

Techno was pretty used to it.

It was bearable, all things considered. Being away from your soulmate after finding them didn't put you in real, physical pain or anything. Techno would describe the feeling more as an absence. A lacking. He could feel it in his ribcage, settling restlessly. Most people would still go out of their way to avoid it.

But Wilbur said he didn't mind either. He never pushed Techno to go with him to gigs or events, despite them both feeling the effects of being apart. Techno didn't leave their apartment much aside from going to the store. He wrote his books and published them under an alias, being a faceless author was good enough for him. His popularity as a writer hadn't reached Wilbur's level of fame but he was doing well for himself, without having to worry about all the trouble that would bring him in his everyday life. Getting stopped on the street, random people wanting to take pictures with him or hug him, being expected to do live interviews. Techno shuddered at the thought, but those were the exact things Wilbur did (and enjoyed doing). Techno didn't enjoy them and Wilbur had assured him that was fine.

Why would it matter what anybody except for Wilbur thought?

Techno's hand wrapped around the strap tighter, until it started to cut into his skin and the pain took some of that hollowness away.

The train station was deserted this late at night, but Techno checked his phone and there definitely was another train supposed to be coming shortly. It would take him out of state. Techno had called Skeppy and asked him about a place to stay and he said he'd help him out. From the confusion in his voice, Techno knew he didn't really understand. Nobody could. Having a soulmate was built up into such an ideal, running away from them once you found them just- it didn't make sense.

Techno wasn't running away from Wilbur though. He was cutting him loose.

Techno spent a decent amount of his time online. Mostly to do research for his books or just for his own entertainment. But he also checked social media. Sue him for being curious to know what people said about his works.

And Techno didn't know if he should be surprised that there were so many people who hated him.

Or maybe not him, the person they hated was 'Wilbur's soulmate'. The forever absent one. Wilbur had mentioned having found his soulmate in a couple of interviews, he had asked before doing so if Techno was okay with that and he had shrugged and said he didn't care. Wilbur and Techno didn't go out in public together much so it seemed like not many people had connected the dots. And after seeing what they said about him online, Techno was more than grateful for it.

/brokenvoice wrote: "his soulmate never goes to a single concert of his? Talk about being supportive /s"
/littleratguy wrote: "RIGHT? Does he even care about Wilbur lmao?"

/mellowyellow wrote: "Wilbur Soot DM me I'll be a much better soulmate than he can ever be, I'd never miss a single gig :3"

/missmossy wrote: "When I'm nervous about important events having my soulmate there helps calm me down. I don't know what I would do without them. And I definitely can't imagine being selfish enough to let them travel half the world on tour without me. Wilbur must have felt like shit."
/KenitheMeni wrote: "Physically too! Remember how bad it feels to be away from your soulmate. Couldn't the guy bother to show up for Wilbur even once?"

Heh, for somebody who always said he didn't care what others thought about him, Techno was turning out to be some hypocrite.

But maybe a small, tiny part of him had started to see the logic in what people were saying. Techno really, truly didn't care what others thought or said about him. That didn't mean he couldn't agree that maybe - just maybe - they had a point when they said that Wilbur deserved a soulmate that did make an effort to step out of their comfort zone. And the physical discomfort thing… Wilbur did complain sometimes that it was distracting during gigs. Techno had overheard him on the phone a few times. Wilbur was too kind to hold it against him, but of course it bothered him.

Of course Wilbur deserved better.

The screech of the train tracks pulled Techno from his thoughts.

He waited for the doors of the carriage to slide open with a mechanical hiss. His bag felt too heavy on his shoulder, dragging him down. He didn't want to leave. Living together with Wilbur, it was the happiest Techno had ever been.

But Techno couldn't be that selfish.

If he stepped on this train, it would take him far away and he would have no intention to return. And that would hopefully be enough to sever the red string. Nobody could really explain how rejecting the bond worked, but people couldn't explain the very concept of soulmates either. It was simply fate. Techno was a little nervous though because he had heard it would be painful. He wondered if it would hurt enough to wake Wilbur up.

Only one way to find out. After taking a deep breath, he stepped onto the train's step.

"Techno!"

Fingers curled around his wrist and once again Techno almost tripped but Wilbur kept him from falling. But he also pulled Techno back, making him stumble down the step and back onto the platform.

"What the fuck are you doing?!" Wilbur asked, too loud and too sharp and so, so upset it made Techno want to scream back at him.

"Let go," he said firmly. Wilbur refused to unwind his fingers.

"Not until you talk to me," he said. "What are you doing?"

"What does it look like I'm doing, Wilbur. I'm catching a train." And because the universe must hate him, that was when the doors closed again. Techno wasn't about to literally jump a train, though the idea held some merit. Maybe he'd end up pulling them both onto the tracks. That certainly would be a way to avoid this conversation.

"Why?" Wilbur asked. Such a simple question that managed to render Techno speechless.

Because the answer didn't feel as if it could be contained in a neat little package. How could he start explaining that he stayed awake at night and hoped that if their red thread split into pieces maybe fate would be kind enough to reforge it for Wilbur with somebody that could be a proper soulmate the way he deserved? Somebody who didn't have their own brain working against them, shriveling at the very thought of crowds and loud noises and being overstimulated. Somebody who didn't mind being uncomfortable to make their soulmate happy.

Somebody who was, like, normal. And not difficult.

"We don't have to do this." Techno pulled away again but Wilbur held on firmly, desperately. He was going to have bruises in the morning. Maybe that was fitting.

Wilbur shook his head. "Just tell me where I fucked up, okay?"

The hollow in Techno's chest was endless and he hated it. "What-"

"I know I haven't been around a lot, and I'm sorry about that. Really, that's not- Please, Techno, tell me how to fix this. Tell me how to be better." Wilbur's hair was a mess and he was wearing his coat over his pyjama. Techno suddenly blinked and realized all at once that Wilbur must have been lying awake. He must have felt the distance and chased after him.

And he thought Techno trying to leave was his fault somehow.

"Wilbur…" He really wasn't made for emotional conversations.

A small, forced laugh came from Wilbur then. He sounded exhausted, yet somehow resigned. "Probably too late to say that now, isn't it?"

His hold on Techno's wrist fell away and with it the warmth that touch brought. The noise the train made in departing cut through the silence between them, small red lights disappearing into the darkness.

"I'm sorry," Wilbur said again. "This was stupid, I'm- I should have respected you wanting to leave. I panicked, I guess." His head turned away then, as if he couldn't stand having to look at Techno a moment longer. "I can get somebody to bring you your stuff if you text me your new address."

"No," Techno said.

Wilbur's gaze shifted back to him, confused. "No?"

"I already have all my stuff in here." Techno dropped the bag onto the ground, holding it up was starting to hurt his shoulder. "Some of us don't have an addiction to Amazon Prime, Wilbur."

His bad attempt at lightening the mood got another frail chuckle out of Wilbur.

"Fuck, Techno." Wilbur drew his hands over his face, pressing into his own cheeks. Maybe he was trying to hide the tears in his eyes, but his shaking shoulders gave away that he was close to crying. Techno noticed.

They were soulmates. Techno would always notice.

"What you said before wasn't true, by the way," he said.

Wilbur lowered his arms again. "Hm?'

"If you're going to be crying, you should be crying for the right reasons." Wilbur scowled at Techno, the way he usually did when Techno teased him. Man, Techno was going to miss that scowl. "So you should probably know I'm not leaving because you're a bad soulmate."

With a sigh, Wilbur took a step back. "Oh, piss off. You don't have to spare my feelings or anything. I noticed you were avoiding me, I thought you were in one of your moods again."

After scoffing at Wilbur for describing it as a 'mood', Techno answered. "I was avoiding you to make it easier on you when I left."

"That doesn't explain why you want to leave in the first place."

This time it was Techno's turn to be unable to meet Wilbur's eyes. What had made so much sense to him in the days of working himself up to this life-changing decision suddenly felt stupid and childish when it was only the two of them on an empty train station, the constant buzz of the fluorescent lamps their only witnesses.

But if nothing else, Techno probably owed it to Wilbur to say out loud why he was walking out of his life forever.

"I'm not very good at the whole… soulmate thing. And I don't think I can get better at it."

Wilbur blinked at him, stunned.

Then he started to laugh. Techno didn't know if he should be offended.

"You're going to make me regret not getting on that train," he deadpanned. It only made Wilbur laugh harder. But when Techno continued to stare at him with a somewhat serious expression, Wilbur finally stopped.

"You're not joking," he concluded out loud. "That's- Techno, when have I ever made you feel like I wasn't happy to have you as my soulmate? I literally introduce you to people as my brother more often than not."

"I know that," Techno said, a bit testily. He could feel his face heat up stupidly - mostly because he was embarrassed about this entire conversation.

"Then what's the problem?"

Techno opened his mouth, but no words wanted to come out. This wasn't supposed to be about him. Saying 'you deserve better than me' definitely would make it about him.

"I can't explain," he said lamely. All the thoughts were bunched up in his brain right now, it would take him days to make sense of them again.

And Wilbur wasn't laughing anymore. He was staring at Techo with a contemplative expression. "Do you want to leave?"

"I…" It was almost painful to admit because it would make this whole dramatic exchange pointless. "No."

"Then stay." Wilbur reached out, slowly. Techno didn't pull away. When his soulmate's fingers curled around his wrist, the string was there. "Don't leave. We can wait until you're ready to try to explain. And we'll see what happens then. But until that moment, don't go anywhere."

"And waste this perfectly dramatic opportunity to run away like a ghost into the night? Come on, Wilbur, I know you can appreciate the theatrics," Techno joked lightly.

"Don't be a prick," Wilbur told him. "I'm literally freezing in these flannel pants for you." Techno laughed.

He didn't know what would happen next, but at least they'd figure it out together.