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Soulmate Marks AU, RamKing.
https://archiveofourown.org/works/25097002
Everyone had a soul-Mark. The universe’s stamp on two people to mark them as soulmates. Some were a simple shape, others were lyrics, words or complex images. They could be in black and white, or full bursting colour. They could be positioned anywhere on the body. Rare cases they were under the hair or on the tongue.
Out of King’s friends, only a few of them showed off their soulmate marks. Bohn’s was on his left arm, positioned just above the crease of his elbow. A bouquet of red roses about ten centimetres tall. He wore it with a certain smug pride. The beautiful design much too pretty for someone of his character, their friendship group agreed. Boss and Mek both had the same soul-marks. The couple having been together since they were freshmen. They wore the black circular patterned marks like a fact. They belonged together, no-one could deny it.
King didn’t particularly care for the marks. His was stamped on his back at the base of his neck between his shoulder blades. A remarkably complex image of a dream catcher with black lines curling around the feathers. He liked to keep it out of the way, not hidden exactly, but private. Soulmates were an intimate thing. King knew that his would come along eventually. He was not going to go and search for them. For now, his plants and his studies occupied his time. But sometimes when he would admire it in the mirror, neck twisting awkwardly to see it, he would smile. It was such a stark black and white image, but complex and soothing. King would occasionally wonder if it would protect him against bad dreams.
The whole thing began when Bohn started to pursue a younger medical student called Duen. King found the situation amusing. Bohn insisted that the boy was his soulmate. The red roses Duen turned up with every morning proof. It was fun to see the cocky playboy Bohn so entranced. It took a few weeks before they got together but after that they were seen regularly around campus with besotted smiles. The red bouquet of roses on Duen’s wrist matching Bohn’s.
King was having to excuse himself from lunch early in order to get away from the two sets of couples. Boss ranting on about some test while Mek watched lovingly. Duen and Bohn smiling shyly at each other between every few bites. It was all sickened adorable. King had to get a book from the library anyway, so he excused himself early. Tee had gave him a pleading look as he left. The man now the third wheel. King made a mental note to hang out with that friend more, now that the rest of their group was occupied.
The library was quite quiet that day. King began strolling through the shelves, fingers trailing along the spines as he looked for the book he wanted. He was supposed to go to the engineering section at the back but he got distracted by the plant section next to the fiction books. He decided on a quick detour and began to read through the titles. After a few seconds, the sounds of soft footsteps made him look up. A younger student passed by the aisle and King remembered that he still had to find his study book. Reluctantly, he parted with the plants and followed the student round to the engineering section.
He found the book easily enough and pulled it from the shelf, tucking it under his arm. His eye caught something through the gap between the shelves. The student was leaning against the shelf opposite, reading the back of a book. He was mixed, paler than King, with a finely cut angled face. He was handsome. Short hair gelled back and black skinny jeans with ripped knees hugging his legs. The paleness of his skin and the way he stood gave off a silent stoic air. His tattoos and the ripped jeans making him look cool and aloof.
That was not what got King’s attention though, although his brain absorbed the information anyway. No, what he was looking at was the black design behind the man’s left ear. A dream catcher with black swirls dancing around the feathers. The swirls looking like the stems of a plant. King had to blink a few times as a jolt of surprise rant through him. His own matching mark itched under his shirt.
His soulmate was right there. King hadn’t been expecting him, nor had he been looking. But there he was. The man’s eyes flickered up, as if he could feel King’s gaze. King hurriedly looked away, trying not to blush at being caught. When he looked back up, the other man had disappeared. King tried to quell the rising disappointment. He would see the other again. With a sigh, he took his book up to the checkout desk. He’d see the cool looking boy again.
——
The second time he saw him, the guy was bent over a plate on the grass. King paused and poured the last few drops of his drink into the nearest plant pot before wondering over.
“You looking for something to put water in?” He asked. His soulmate looked up but didn’t answer. King held out the empty plastic cup and the guy took it. Smiling at the fact that it had been accepted, King crouched down next to him as he poured out some water.
“Are you feeding a cat?” There was no answer.
King tried again. “You a first year?” Still no reply.
“Why won’t you answer?” King’s tone was not annoyed. He understood that maybe it would take a while to get him to speak. Not everyone was as weird and talkative as King was. The silence reminded him of his plants.
“Can you speak Thai?”
“Hello? What’s your name? Where you from?”
“Bonjour?”
“Nihao?”
“Annyong?”
The guy raised his eyes and looked at King pointedly, obviously annoyed by the persistence. King beamed at him unashamedly. He would have said more but at that moment a dog came running over. Fear jolted his breath and King was leaping back onto the table behind them, trying to get himself away from the dog as quickly as he could.
The dog didn’t pay him any mind, which King was grateful for. It lolloped over and began munching at the food his soulmate had put down. The guy stroked its head fondly, completely at ease with the large animal.
“Eat slowly”. The words were quite but King already liked the sound of his voice.
“You can speak Thai!” He accused, only to yelp as the dog looked up.
The guy rolled his eyes and stood up, shouldering his bag.
“Where are you going?”King called as his soulmate began walking off. King looked at him pleadingly. “Hey! Take your dog!”
“Wait”. The guy didn’t turn around.
Maybe King needed to rethink this soulmate thing. If the guy was willing to leave him with a dog, then maybe he should just stay away. The dog sniffed at him and King tried not to scream. Yeah, maybe he should just go without a soulmate. That sounded like a good idea.
——
The second time King bumped into him, it was when Tee had tricked him into helping him with the volunteer project. King had meant to leave, regardless of the free drinks, but the younger students got there before he could. It surprised him though when his soulmate wandered through slightly late and sat down at the corner opposite. The guy seemed too shy for things like this but King liked having his mental picture of the guy changed. Obviously his soulmate was not as shy as he appeared.
So he found himself staying. Spending the meeting taking sips of his drink and listening to Tee talk, eyes trying not to dart towards Ram. He needed to stop being so creepy.
When the meeting had ended and all the juniors had gone, King turned to Tee. “Tee, the junior who was sitting there, is he from our university?”
“Hmm? Oh ram? Yeah. He’s on my roll”.
King nodded at the information. “What haven’t I seen him before?”
“Ram doesn’t usually do group activities. I don’t blame him. Visible soul-marks like that tend to get stared at”. Tee was right. It was not unusual to have a soul mark in a visible place but people tended to cover them up if they had not found their match. Ram’s was in a position where it was practically impossible to hide. It must gain him a bit of unwanted attention at times. King nodded again and took another sip of his drink.
“He only joined because I was begging him”, Tee continued. “He doesn’t talk much. It took me a few weeks to even find out that he was called Ram”.
“Ram”, King repeated, eyes looking up at the door Ram had left through. “What a weird name”.
“You always show interest in weird things”, Tee remarked. “He’s got a pretty soulmate mark though. Where’s yours again?”
“On my back. You’ve seen it before”.
Tee shrugged. “It was so long ago that I’ve forgotten. It was similar to that right?”
“Similar”, King agreed, glad that Tee had not recognised it on Ram. He wanted the time to get to know his soulmate at his own pace.
Ram. He pondered over the name as he finished his drink. His soulmate was weird and interesting. King liked weird and interesting things.
——
Later, when he had returned to his parents house for the weekend. He found himself searching up his soulmate’s name.
“Ram. Means glorious”, king read aloud to his plants. He chuckled. “It doesn’t suit him does it?” The plants did not respond but the sight of their lush green leaves made him pleased nether the less.
——
The third time King saw Ram, the guy was sitting at the bench King had used to hide from the dog. He watched as a Ram stood up to greet Duen. The two first years talked a bit as they passed over the donation box. As Duen left, King skipped up.
“So you can speak”, he greeted. Ram looked over, eyes suddenly closed. King tried not to let that weaken his resolve.
“You can even talk a lot”. Ram didn’t answer and moved to walk passed him. King held out a hand. “Wait, what if I want to donate?” Ram paused and stepped back. King tried not to grin.
“According to my analysis you only speak to people that you are close to right?” King broke off as he pushed some folded money through the slot of the cardboard box. “Wait, I’m not done donating. Since you only speak to people you are close to, then in order to get you to speak to me, we must become close right?” King pushed another note into the box.
Ram tried to push past again but King caught him. “But how to come close?” He continued. “With you being so cold to me. I should start by calling you cool boy and continue from there. That sounds closer right?” Ram just stared at him. King hesitated, another note in his hand. Seeing his hesitation, Ram took the note from his hand and pushed it Into the box before walking away.
King hurriedly turned around. “No answer means I can call you that!” He called at Ram’s retreating figure. “Cool boy!” He shouted, a tinge of frustration in his tone. Damn him and his stoic face.
——
The fourth time was when King was helping the volunteer group with their work. This time he knew that Ram would be there and had maybe come because of him, not because of Tee’s nagging. He was taking a break and scrolling through Facebook when he found a post that Ram was tagged in. He smiled as he sent a friend request and typed out a message.
,Look to your right.’
Across the courtyard, Ram leaned against a pillar as he took a drink. King watched as he took out his phone and looked up. King waved and Ram’s eyes settled on him. He gave him a smile before looking back at his phone and typing another message.
,If you don’t want to talk to me then you can text on here.’
King looked up hopefully only to frown in disappointment as Ram tucked his phone back into his pocket. King quickly typed.
,Are you ignoring me?’ Ram took a long drink and began crunching on some ice. The phone still in his pocket.
,I’ll make you talk to me eventually’. Ram tossed the empty cup in the bin. King tried to ignore his growing frustration. Ram was just trying to stir him up now.
,Remember Cool boy.’
King looked up again. Ram finally took out his phone only to hold it up to his ear. King bit his lip in annoyance. If that was how he wanted to play it, then fine! King would just continue calling him cool boy. Ram would open him up eventually.
——
The next time he saw him (king had stopped keeping count), Ram was sitting at a bench working. King walked over curiously, leaning over the other’s shoulder to see his worksheet. It was one he recognised. A class he had taken a few years back.
“There are many mistakes”. Ram jumped and turned to him, a accusing look in his eyes. King tried not to laugh. His previous frustrations melting at the sight of Ram’s stressed eyes and annoyed lips. “You can at least greet me cool boy”. Ram rolled his eyes at the nickname.
“What are you doing?” King asked. Ram didn’t reply but King was expecting it. He sat down on the bench next to him and peered over at the worksheet. “Of work from Mr Wachi? I know that. Let me teach you”.
King grabbed at the paper but Ram held on. Frustrated again, king tugged at it. “What? You don’t want me to teach you?” Ram stared at him. King tagged at the work again. “Okay, grab it, tear it off but then you’ll have nothing to submit”. Ram looked away and let go of the sheet.
King grinned triumphantly and pulled a pencil from his bag. He turned the paper around and began gesturing at the questions as he talked. Ram never spoke throughout the whole of King’s tutoring session but King did not mind. The occasional nod of his head and the clearness in his eyes showed that Ram was understanding King’s words.
When he was finished, Ram took back the paper and began packing his books and pencils back into his back pack. King sighed and turned to leave. “I’ll be going then”. A sudden hand on his wrist stopped him. The touch sent a spark rushing up his veins. It felt wondrous. And from the widening of Ram’s eyes, he felt it too.
King barely had time to absorb the open surprise on Ram’s face before the features closed off again and he was being pulled along.
“What’s going on?” Ram gave him a sharp gaze that made King feel breathless. He began walking, tugging king along behind him. “Hey where are we going? Cool boy!”
Ram continued leading him across campus. King followed along obediently, voicing the occasional question and not getting an answer. The touch of both their skin feeling warm and pleasant. He was obedient until they passed the dog from the other day. Immediately King was tugging against Ram’s grip and digging his heels into the grass.
“Cool boy! I don’t like dogs! No! Cool boy! Don’t!” He whined as Ram didn’t stop. He was obviously much stronger than King because Ram continued pulling King along behind him regardless to his struggles. “No! I’m afraid of dogs!”
Ram stopped and King halted. He managed to force his gaze from the large Labrador and on to Ram’s face. His dark gaze was calm and questioning, the hand on his wrist still comforting. King met his gaze and forced his breathing to soften. ‘Trust me’ Ram’s eyes seemed to be saying. King trusted him before he even asked. Behind Ram, the dog barked and King flinched. But he didn’t pull away. Ram turned and glared at the dog. It quietened and Ram continued walking. King running next to him in a desperate attempt to keep Ram between himself and the dog.
Ram took him to a restaurant just off of campus. His grip on King’s wrist only releasing once they had gotten to a table. King took his bag off and sat down, fear fading. “I was wondering where you were taking me”, he remarked as he looked around. “You want to thank me with a meal?”
Ram nodded once. King grinned, inwardly finding the cute gesture adorable. He turned and called for a waitress. She bustled over and gave both of them their menus. King spotted what he wanted and quickly wrote it down, passing the notepad to Ram who followed suit. Once the waitress was gone, King smiled.
“Thank you for helping me just now”. Ram nodded as if to say ‘no problem’.
King continued speaking. “When I was younger there was a vicious dog near my grandma’s house. One day it broke its leash and bit me. That’s why I’m traumatised”. Ram’s gaze turned sad. King wondered if he was sad over his fear, or sad over the dog being vicious. From what he gathered, Ram loved dogs. He felt a stab of shame of being afraid of them. Why did he have to be soulmates to a dog lover? Mentally, he made a resolution to try and get better around dogs.
Luckily, the food quickly arrived and King dug in. He was starving. “Hey, my friend didn’t order this”, he said, pointing at the third plate.
“It’s on me”, the waitress smiled flirtatiously at Ram. King frowned. Her soulmate mark was on display on her shoulder, a leaf. Nothing like Ram’s dream catcher. “Can I exchange it with your line Id?” She asked. Ram gave her a glance then turned back to his food.
King sighed. “I’ll eat this for you then”. He saw no point in wasted food. The waitress pouted and snatched the plate back, bustling off.
“Cool boy”, King whined. “Could you be more subtle when rejecting someone? I’m scared to order a drink now”. King liked the fact that Ram had rejected her but the way the waitress was now looking at them gave away her displeasure. Ram rolled his eyes and continued eating. King shrugged and followed suit.
King walked slowly with Ram down the street, the meal a happy weight in his stomach. “My car’s just over here. Thank you for sending me”, he smiled. Ram nodded as King’s phone rang. It was just his mother calling to check if he had eaten. When King ended the call and turned back around, it was to see a bottle of juice in front of his face. He jumped in surprise.
“Whoa. When did you get that?” Ram looked at him expectantly. “Is it for me? Thank you”. King took the juice and smiled. “If you have any more questions, feel free to text me. Thank you for the meal”. Ram nodded again and walked off, leaving King standing with a contented smile in the street.
He looked down at the juice in his hands. The cold liquid making him feel warm and fuzzy. Ram had taken his complaint seriously and actually brought him a drink. He was so sweet. A buzz came from his pocket and King rummaged for his phone.
,Thank you for teaching me senior.’
King couldn’t help the wide grin. Maybe he could do this soulmate stuff after all.