“i think you picked up my coffee by mistake!”
summary: soulmates were pretty obvious in this day and age, there were no countdowns or visions anymore - your name just appeared on their skin, it was as easy as that. right?
is this tom or peter? this au is soulmate!tom, and the word count came to 2.2k. it’s pretty fluffy, and the warnings are that there is some language, and that this is purely fictional - don’t take it too seriously! this was also written for @starksparker’s writing challenge, so check her out!
tag-list and mutuals; @therealme13posts @space-starz @crxssourbones @tshquackson @aliceinwhateverland @thothollandd @kilieria @spideyjlaw @spideyboyx @amxliapond @augustus-did-not-get-stabbed @theironholland @hoefortomhoelland
hold up!! this is a part one in a three-part series named “peppermint” - please view the masterlist here
When your parents were younger, things were a lot more complicated in different factors of life. Letters were used to communicate, all clothes and dish-washing had to be done by hand, and well, you never really knew who your soulmate was. You may have had a feeling, or a special connection with someone you could not quite put your finger on as to why; but you were never one-hundred-percent sure. So, science progressed - research was done, testing was regular, and finally, when a perfect dosage of Amortentia was given when the new generation were born, it meant everyone was now definitely sure.
You were yet to find the sign; and you were pretty confident you hadn’t missed it sometime in your life already. It would be fairly hard to miss your name in block capitals on someone’s forearm; especially since no-body wore long-sleeved shirts anymore, most always had their hoodie sleeves rolled up, and the fact that no-body’s name was plastered on yours, were things that gave it away.
Wind was rushing through the trees dotted around the city centre, causing the occasional autumn leaf to depart from it’s home, onto the concrete floor that lay below it. Most people wore scarves, gloves and insulated boots by October, but made sure to still wear short-sleeved shirts when the weather wasn’t too unbearable. Today, you had chosen a sweater, jeans and the comfiest shoes you own though, knowing that the day ahead of you was going to be long, difficult, and well, long. Due to this knowledge, you had also decided it would be a good idea to grab a drink to-go before your shift at work; and you knew just the place to get it from. Picking up the pace that your feet followed, you began walking swiftly towards the large circular sign that hung tightly to the small building’s wall, shoving your hands in your pocket to ensure you had remembered to put your card in there this morning. Taking a sigh of relief that you could feel the familiar hard plastic, you pushed your way past the heavy door and into the cinnamon-scented cafe you knew, and loved.
Taking in your surroundings for a second, you could feel the warmth radiating from different aspects of the room - the genuine smiles coming from friendship groups at the tables, the steam arising from the hard-working coffee machines, even from the hand-written signs plastered against the back-wall displaying today’s specialties. A warm feeling you didn’t recognise, however, beamed from a brunette standing quietly in the short queue before you - he was standing among-st a few friends, but they were talking and gossiping among-st themselves whilst the boy that caught your attention stared intently at the menu hanging on the wall. He wore black, skinny jeans, with a unfamiliar logo shirt and a chocolate coloured jacket; his hair was messy, like it had air-dried this morning and he had yet to style it or tame it in anyway. His hands were in back-pockets, and your eyes were glued to him for a little while - before his friends interrupted your gaze loudly.
“Dude! Tom! Roll your sleeves up - what if your soulmate walks in and you don’t know about it?” The one teased, winking playfully and showing his bare arm proudly; the name ‘Bethany’ written carefully in capital letters just above his elbow joint. “I had given up too, my friend, but then she walked in - it was romantic as fuck.” He grinned, before putting his arm back down to his side and looking back up to his friend to capture his response fully, but instead, another boy chimed in.
“Harrison, you were in a club when it happened and you were completely plastered, how in the world is that romantic?” He rolled his eyes, laughing gently to himself, the comment earning a light laugh and smile from the brunette originally in question. However, before any retaliation took place, the barista called the next customer, and the boy continued. “Harrison isn’t the best at convincing, but I would do as he originally said - you never know who it’ll be, mate.” He smiled, before walking towards the counter and spilling out his order to the girl before him, glancing down at his arm once or twice, just to make sure.
By now, you had made your way into the, still quiet, queue, standing behind the group quietly and contently - card in hand, ready to pay. Your wait was cut short, though, as the brunette had excused himself from the queue and taken a detour for the bathroom briefly. You sighed a little mentally, thinking there was no-point daydreaming over a boy you had never even spoken too, and instead, continued with the original purpose you set out to complete, walking towards the barista once she called for a new customer again. Your order was quickly placed, name soon given and card swiftly swiped, before your feet carried themselves to the waiting bay with a couple of other people who had previously ordered.
While the wait escalated, your eyes scanned the room you were currently stood in - attempting to find the best possible seat on offer so you could quickly race over once your drink was ready. Mentally passing a couple of window seats, and several ones in dark corners, your gaze finally found a cozy set of accent chairs in the lit corner of the cafe; making you smile to yourself with content and snap your head back towards the coffees that were making their way out to customers. During your period of being absent-minded, though, the handsome brunette had made his way out of the small bathroom and back into the queue, sleeves rolled up this time, before placing an almost-identical order to you, minus two shots of peppermint you always paid extra for. He had smiled politely to the cashier, handing her a five-pound note and telling her to keep the change, before taking a few steps towards the waiting bay and keeping his hearing and eyesight directly onto the drinks that were slowly becoming served.
And as your head had snapped back to the counter, your drink had been ready, and a snippet of the order read out to attempt to find the customer that had purchased the hot beverage. To your surprise, however, the paper cup you had been waiting for was no longer resting on the marble counter-top you were standing in-front of; instead, it was gripped by a manly hand, and was a few seconds from touching lips with someone you were pretty sure was not a Y/N, too.
“Hey! Wait! I think you picked up my coffee by mistake!” You scrambled, stepping one or two steps towards the mystery boy and raising your hands towards the cup a little, your lip now bit gently. The brunette stopped quickly, only a few moments before his lips would have made contact with the cup, his eyes widening and his gaze clamping down on you. “Oh shit - really? I didn’t even look at the-,” he began, lowering the cup to chest level and turning the paper around swiftly, but carefully to ensure the drink didn’t spill, to see your name scribbled messily, but credibly, on the side with a black sharpie, causing his lips to part and frantic words to utter from them, like “Crap! I’m so sorry,” and “I’m an idiot,” for a few seconds.
You couldn’t help but let out a light laugh at the situation, shaking your head gently and smiling at the boy before you, who you could now see was incredibly handsome from the front-angle too. He smiled gently at your reaction, taking a quick breath of relief before lowering the cup further and resting it softly in your hand without any physical contact yet. “It’s fine, honestly, we must have got a pretty similar order.” You began, gripping the drink a little firmer in your hand before taking a sip quickly.
“A large hot chocolate with whipped cream and two big marshmallows?” He laughed, pushing his hair back a little before hearing the same order he just spoke being repeated by one of the baristas and a cup with the name ‘Tom’ scribbled on being pushed forward on the counter. He quickly scooped it up, taking a sip similarly before hearing your response. “What about the peppermint?” You questioned, glancing down at the name on his cup and making a mental note to yourself, trying to ensure you would not forget it anytime soon.
Although, once your eyes lifted from the cup and back onto the boy’s face - you saw that his eyebrows were both raised, and furrowed, and his lips were parted in a little bit of disgust. “What in the - peppermint? Why would you ruin a perfectly good hot chocolate with that?” He questioned, making you laugh lightly again at his reaction and genuine concern over your regular drink choice. “I bet you’d like it! I got all of my friends hooked.” You joked, before taking a bigger sip of the drink and glancing back up at the boy, Tom. “Tastes like Christmas.” You explained, but he simply shook his head and relaxed his eyebrows slightly. “Maybe next year,” he retaliated in a light-hearted tone, before he noticed you glance at the time on your watch and then looking back towards him. Your shift started in twenty-minutes, so you tried to wrap the conversation up, as much as it pained you. “I’ll remember that if I see you here then, but if not, it was nice to meet you, Tom.” You winked towards the cup with his name plastered on, before putting your left hand out in-front of you and between your bodies in the small, cozy coffee shop.
“Although I’ll make sure of it, it was nice to meet you too, Y/N.” He returned the soft smile along your face, before reaching his right-hand out and making sure it made contact with yours in a gentle shake, but his face froze when he felt a small tingle shoot up his arm. You failed to notice the change in expression, however, pulling your hand away slowly before spinning on your heels and making your way to the door, your mustard-coloured sweater sleeve down to your wrists as you pulled the door open and exited the familiar shop.
Tom, however, still in shock, didn’t manage to snap out of the trance until you were already beginning to walk up the street. Thanks to his company, both Jacob and Harrison had shaken him violently when they had seen what he had felt within him. “Dude! Go after her! Seriously, look!” Jacob yelled, causing a barista to shush him like a librarian whilst he gained looks from the other customers sipping their drinks. Ignoring the glances and sounds, though, Harrison simply grabbed his best-friend’s arm, pulling it up towards him and pointing with his finger at the ink that was now embedding itself into Tom’s tanned skin one letter at a time.
After the slightly-aggressive, but more eager, pressing and pointing by Harrison, Tom snapped out of his trance and looked up to his friends frantically, before quickly taking a double-glance at the name that had appeared on his jacket-free arm. “Shit! What do I do?” He expressed, looking between the two friends and moving his other arm up towards his face, using the hand to brush the new knots out of his hair as his mind raced with new feelings, different ideas and genuine surprise. His eyes quickly found the shop window, and then became trapped onto you, watching you walk towards the bus-stop you regularly used to commute to your work-space whilst sipping your coffee every-now and then. You were beating yourself up a little about not getting the cute boy’s number, but felt a little reassured once you remembered the last comment from the brunette. Feeling a little warm, as you had escaped the shade and was now standing directly in the muted, but apparent autumn sun, you decided to roll up your right sweater sleeve first, ensuring it was folded neatly and presentably.
“Go after her, you mug! She’s your soulmate!” Harrison mimicked Jacob’s earlier tone of voice, dropping his best-friend’s arm to his side and ushering him towards the coffee-shop door, in which Tom quickly nodded and agreed to, swinging the glass door open and finding his legs picking up a little bit of speed and urgency as he made his way towards the bus stop. His eyes trapped onto the sight of you - his soulmate, the girl he simply met at a coffee shop as he had been an idiot and picked up the wrong coffee - but widened when they saw you were now rolling up your left sleeve, inhaling a sharp breath as his pace picked up. “Y/N! Wait up!” He ushered, only a few meters away from the stop, but you failed to look up yet - instead, your eyes widened even larger than the brunette’s from the familiar coffee shop. Spinning for the second time on your heels, you turned towards the direction from which he was running, your head finally lifting to make a mutual gaze with him again.
“Shit - we’re, we’re soulmates.” You broke the silence between your bodies.
“Do you think that explains why we both like hot chocolate?” He responded, a grin widening across his face in the busy streets of London, the both of you standing quietly outside the familiar coffee shop.
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