Stained (soulmate au) ~ Karlnapity
AU where a coloured mark stains your skin, where you and your soulmate will first touch.
Karl walked through life clutching his book to his chest, hands firmly planted on the covers, keeping his palms to himself, hidden. At first glance his palms were the same colour, but further examining would reveal that, actually they were two. One black, and the other a lighter shade of brown. At first glance, he would be considered normal, but it was when they looked closer that they would know. Eventually, he found himself wearing gloves, fingerless ones, just enough to cover the differently coloured marks on his hands.
Sapnap thought he was normal. There was a singular brown mark on the palm of his right hand, and he showed it off proudly to anyone and everyone, pressing hands together in an attempt to find his soulmate. He didn’t hide anything.
Quackity wore the same blue jumper as he always did, hiding as much of himself as possible, so when people saw him, they would think he had a mark. He didn’t, though, so he covered his skin, leaving it up to a person’s imagination, as to where the fated mark would lie.
When Sapnap first met Karl, he excitedly matched their palms waiting for the burst of colour from their identical marks, but to both of their disappointment, nothing happened, just a somewhat awkward situation when the pulled apart, Quackity walking in with a grin, witnessing the encounter and walking back our again.
Sapnap was right, of course, but Karl couldn’t have known that they matched the wrong hands.
Karl was the first person Quackity had ever told about his missing soulmate mark, his fears that, maybe, he was destined to be alone, and Karl had wrapped him up in a hug, gently stroking his hair, noticing a tingle in his fingers as he pulled away, but ignoring it.
Sapnap and Quackity were the first people Karl tried to save. Sapnap was easy to convince, but Quackity, not so much, he had visions of greatness, long brushed off his woes of not having anyone to love, but it was Karl who convinced him to stay, even for a little while. Anything, to give Karl some time, to keep him safe.
So of course, both Sapnap and Quackity were there when they heard a loud shattering and a shout from Karl’s house.
Karl was on the ground, palms red and possibly bleeding, fragments of a shattered portal strewn across the room, not a nether portal however, this one was white, edge blocks unseen for now. He took ragged breaths, scrambling to his feet and ignoring the two who had just ran in, instead electing to punch the already broken portal.
“Let me help, no please! PLEASE!” Karl crumpled, hugging his sides, speaking in a whisper. “They can’t die.”
It didn’t take much more than a glance to the side fro the two men who had entered to rush forwards, simultaneously scooping Karl up in their arms, Sapnap gently holding Karl’s right hand, Quackity nuzzling his hair into Karl’s left, bumping heads with Sapnap slightly. It felt right, and as Karl finally let himself open his eyes, he found bright colours bursting from his hands, from Quackity’s fringe, and Sapnap’s hand and hair.
Quackity wasn’t scared to show some skin. It was unbelievably funny how flustered Karl would get, and the wind against his back wasn’t something he had felt before, but it was cooling and calm. He made sure to wear his beanie slightly further back, so a rainbow strand of hair peeked out from underneath.
Sapnap’s wasn’t quite as normal as the thought, and he wouldn’t have it any other way. He wore his rainbow streak with pride, and showed it off to everyone who would listen, Quackity rolling his eyes beside him, but keeping the smile on his face.
Karl walked through life, gloves off, book safely put away in a satchel that hung at his hip. His hands were all different colours now, and he didn’t hide them anymore.
He had two soulmates, and one hand for each of them.