Fated to Be - Soulmate AU
Killer X Reader
Everyone had the first words their soulmate spoke to them etched somewhere on their body. It appeared randomly, both in time and location. You've had yours for years, and are about to just give up on your desire to find your love... but a bar fight just so happened to bring them right to you.
"Oh… Oh it's you." You said softly. "My…" "Soulmate." Killer finished.
tags~ fluff, gn!reader, soulmate au, love at first sight, destined lovers to be, drinking mentioned, yearning for someone youve never known but always loved
w/c~ 3.3k
a/n~ hi!!!! this is my first time writing an au fic at all!! i honestly went wild and took a lot of creative liberties for the sake of the bit, and i just love it when stuff glows hehe. reader is a heart pirate, and the heart pirates and kid pirates are in an alliance at the moment for ambiguous reasons. also the words on your body will glow once first said, and will do so for a couple days. i just felt like that quirk would be cute lol. things will be a bit ooc for the sake of my lovesick fantasy. not beta'd i die like a champion.
inspo~ this ask from a beloved anon 💜
"[Y/N]… You're staring at your words again." Shachi commented, snapping you out of your daze.
Your eyes widened and you lifted your head to direct your eyes at him rather than the spot on your chest you were once staring at, sighing apologetically. "Right, sorry, I know there's shit to do."
"Honestly, there's not a whole lot to do. You just looked so out of it I had to make sure you were still here on this planet." He chuckled, nudging your shoulder with his. "You've been thinking about your soulmate words a lot lately. You really wanna find them soon hey?"
"I do. I just wanna know who's fated to receive all the love I have to give…" You mumbled, buttoning up your boiler suit and covering the words engraved into your skin. "The words I have are just so damn frustrating. Do you know how many times I've heard someone say 'do you really' in any context?? I hear those words all the time, and it doesn't matter if it starts the sentence or is in the middle of the sentence I still- … I still perk up a bit, hoping I've found my one and only."
"I'll admit, that's an odd set of first words to have your soulmate say to you." Shachi agreed. "I am curious of what the context could be."
"I'm a fool for love, doomed by the narrative." You complained dramatically.
"Alright, as much as I'd love to let you lament, there is something else we have to do."
"Tch, and that would be?" You questioned.
"Remember how we recently allied with the Kid Pirates?" He asked, waiting until you nodded before carrying on. "We're stopping at a nearby island today for a 'get along' dinner at a tavern." He elaborated with air quotes.
"Get along? Why's it called that?" You snorted. "I've never had any issues with anyone aboard the Victoria Punk. Things seem fine?"
"Oh yeah, everyone else is fine. It's more for…" Shachi paused, pulling down his sunglasses to glance at you sideways.
"… The captains are being forced to get along, aren't they?" You groaned, sighing deeply when Shachi nodded. "My god. They're like children."
"Mmhmm. It's funny as hell. On the bright side, free food cooked by someone else, so it won't be all that bad. Hell, maybe you'll find your soulmate there." He hummed.
"Don't get my hopes up man. I will drown you in a bucket of my tears." You grumbled, giving him a stern look. "I'll come along though. When are we set to arrive?"
"Thirty minutes or so. They were bickering over the denden, so Bepo stepped in and suggested a mixer to encourage them to get along. On the other end Killer agreed, so now we all have to attend to make them get along." Shachi chuckled.
"Of course. At least Killer and Bepo have synced minds to try and control our unruly captains." You noted. "I haven't met many on that ship besides Kid, so it's nice to know there are brains on board."
You and Shachi laughed it up, agreeing not to share that one with Law or else he'd have a field day insulting Kid with fresh material. He'd surely come up with new insults to sling and strain the alliance further. Kid was enough of an instigator.
With your plans for the evening decided, you went to go and freshen up up a bit while Hakugan piloted the sub nearer to land, drifting along right below the Victoria Punk. On the off chance you did run into your soulmate, you didn't wanna smell of oil and grease from being in the boiler room all day.
"Maybe my soulmate is on Kid's crew…" You mumbled to yourself. "… Nah, probably not. I shouldn't have that expectation going into this."
Shaking the thought from your mind, you finished changing into a new tank top to wear underneath a fresh, unstained boiler suit. It was easier to change into a fresh one, not wanting to put any effort into dressing up nor give up the comfort the uniform offered. Instead you doused yourself in your favourite perfume after doing up your collar button, deciding that was enough of a unique touch to your presence. Thoughts about the words etched just below your left collar bone still lingered in the back of your mind, and you kept them there, focusing on the dinner to come. You were way too excited to watch Law and Kid bitch at each other drunk off their asses. It was a higher form of entertainment to you.
Once you decided you were ready to help with surfacing, the familiar lurch that came with breaching the water's surface jostling you. Time really flew by while you changed, and dinner was a mere ten minutes away. Law had become more present now, and you could see the displeasure on his face. He was not happy to take part in this get along activity, and was definitely only doing it because Bepo wanted him to. After settling things where you were, you stepped up between Shachi and Penguin to talk to Law who stood across from them with furrowed brows and a pout.
"Ya doin' alright, Cap'n?" You chuckled.
"… No."
"See this is why we're having a dinner between crews. You've gotta get along with that oversized magnet for a bit." Shachi pointed out.
"C'mon cap'n! It'll be fun!" Bepo said enthusiastically, trying to get Law to loosen up even a little bit.
"It'll be fun when I'm ten tankards deep." He grumbled, reluctantly heading up to the deck.
"Poor guy." You snorted. "Let's get some free drinks, hey?"
The three of you followed after Law, then the rest of the crew, lingering on deck for a moment to watch the grandeur of the Victoria Punk pull into the harbor and drop the anchor. You waited back with Penguin and Shachi for a bit, but others started to hop onto land both from the Tang and the Punk. Previously established friendships took the lead, and boy were you all thankful for that. It encouraged others to hop down as well, you included until the captains finally came down, big frowns on their faces.
"Get along and show us to the bar!" Penguin piped up.
The comment earned laughter all around, lightening the mood enough that neither Kid nor Law desired to punish it. Instead the two of them walked off grumbling at each other, their crews following behind until a grand tavern stood before you, looking like it could house at least two more crews of equal size. Tonight was about to be a good night.
And a damn good night it was starting out to be. Someone made prior arrangements and the lower floor was cleared out and prepped just for your crews. Everyone sat among one another and started drinking right away, the atmosphere becoming far less tense once liquor was involved. You meant to mingle with some of the others at first, but couldn't help it when you gravitated towards a table where Shachi and Penguin were sat, the other spot only being taken by a man named Heat. Well within your comfort zone, you were able to introduce yourself with ease and get into your much needed meal. Things wouldn't be so bad tonight, so long as your captains did their part to get along too.
"The reason behind this dinner tonight is still the funniest shit ever." You chuckled, sipping on a tankard that nearly overflowed with ale.
"Our captains really like going at each other's throats." Shachi said.
"Tell mew about it. The entire trip here we had to listen to Kid express his displeasures by screaming about how he doesn't wanna have dinner with that damn doctor" Heat sighed, giving air quotes at the end.
"Are we sure they're not married? They bicker like and old couple an awful lot." You joked.
That comment earned laughter from your table and a few others, including the one behind you that had Bepo and Killer sitting at it. All sorts of laughter rang throughout the air, and some unique ones caught your attention. People were most adorable to you when they were laughing, and you wanted to find the sound of one particular laugh that sounded so sweet to you. Unfortunately, one of the local regulars didn't appreciate the joyous atmosphere and hung himself partway over the railing of the second floor, dumping a beer out over it while screaming and slurring.
"Who the FUCK laughs like that? Shut UP. Fuckin' annoying bullshit." The man slurred from above, some mutters of agreement following from his comrades.
Initially you didn't quite get what was so disturbing to the man, or who he was even upset at. The Kid Pirates seemed to know exactly who was being referenced though, and it only took a split second for all hell to break loose.
"Don't you fuckin' dare insult anyone in the Kid Pirates!" Kid's voice rang out in a rage from the front of the bar. "How DARE you insult Killer!"
Law simply sat there and watched, not wanting to get directly involved just yet. Kid started the fight pretty damn quickly though, magnetizing the belt buckle of the stranger and dragging him up off the balcony, slamming him down right on your table. You screamed at first because that startled the hell out of you, surprised to see such quick action. What surprised you more though was how seemingly unfazed the guy was, lifting himself from the table with a groan.
"You can shut the fuck up too, bitch." He slurred. "Bitches are supposed to stay quiet."
"I beg your fucking pardon??" You scoffed, shocked the most by the ongoing verbal assault that was suddenly directed at you. "You're gonna learn to watch your mouth now, boy."
Now it was personal, and with words of insult being slung at you, Law went from being indifferent to wanting to be directly involved. His attention snapped over to your table, and he sat up slowly, holding an empty tankard out in his hand. When you made eye contact with him, you grinned with a cruel glint in your eyes.
"You know what, go have fun with our captains, bitch." You muttered, kicking his jaw so hard he flew into the table where Killer sat.
A beautiful wordless sequence of events carried out after that, a solid punch to the guy's jaw being delivered from Killer's fist. it sent him straight up through the ceiling, but the fool found himself back inside the bar quite quickly, having been warped right back into Law's clenched fist where the tankard was once held, stuck between him and Kid. The man went pale, whimpering with regret; it was all he could do before his face was pummeled in by the two captains. It was the most cooperative exchange the boys had so far that night.
"You pay for drinks, I pay for the damages?" Law proposed.
"Deal." Kid agreed.
The boys sent the man flying out the door, getting up to follow after him. Kid used his power to drag the rest of the people from the upper balcony that were contributing to the mocking outside with him. For once, they agreed on something, the bar mostly returning to normal after they left. The promise of payment for damages was enough for the staff to brush the incident under the rug, the dull sounds of a beatdown occurring outside going entirely ignored. The sound satisfied you immensely.
"Wasn't expecting that." Penguin scoffed. "You alright?"
"Yeah. M' fine. I'm used to morons like that." you scoffed. "I didn't do anything to him. Damn."
After dusting yourself off, you glanced at Killer behind you, initially drawn in by the panicked sounds Bepo made. Amidst the chaos, he looked tense, and pretty damn upset honestly. You don't know how you could tell with that mask of his in the way, but you just could. He was the source of the action, after all; that stranger taking up issue with what you now realized was his laughter, and the laughter you had been drawn to in the beginning. You just found that to be entirely fucked up— to make fun of someone for how they sound in their moments of joy. So, you walked up to him, waving to catch his attention.
"I like your laugh." You spoke up, not noticing how he froze in place. "Dunno who pissed in that guy's drink, but he's sure a bitch about it."
Before Killer could choke out any sort of response to you, Bepo tackled you to the ground in tears, babbling incoherently as he spoke.
"Please, help me! I forgot Law's coin purse on the sub. We can't pay for the damageeees!!" The bear wailed in his drunken forgetfulness.
"What?? So go back and get it!" You groaned.
"I caaaan't! Too-hic-drunk!" Bepo continued to whine. "Please, get it for meeee. It's on the kitchen counter."
"Ugh, fine." You gave in, totally not influenced by the cutesy eyes he flashed at you; he was good at getting that to work on more than just Law. "I'll be back in ten. You're lucky you're so adorable."
You shrugged at Shachi and Penguin, then waved apologetically at Killer before you got up and rushed out of the bar to go get the forgotten coin purse. What you didn't realize was that you had left Killer entirely speechless, and why he was so speechless. Before anyone else could ask him what was up, he ran for the bathroom, needing to check something and confirm if it was real.
The bathroom was thankfully empty when he got there, headed straight for the mirror where he stared intensely at his reflection. A faint glow could be seen under his mask in the reflection, and that could only mean one thing: he had found his soulmate. Lifting his head a little, he pulled up his helmet to show the underside of his jaw in the mirror, revealing the faint words that gave off a soft orange glow, a glow that only showed when your true love's first words were spoken to you. I like your laugh; those words shone back at him in the reflection, the light pulsing with each beat of his heart.
"I… need to go back." He concluded, putting his mask back down.
Though the glow could still be faintly seen, he didn't care, listening to his heart entirely as he marched through the bar and outside in search of you. The fighting had ceased by now, Law and Kid chatting around the side of the building. The rare moment would have been nice to take in, but he had something far more important to worry about, picking up his pace as he nearly broke out into a run towards the Polar Tang.
By the time he got to the docks, you had just finished retrieving the coin purse and hopped back down to dry land. When you saw him running towards you, you stopped, watching with confusion as he came to a stop before you, panting heavily. He looked different somehow, but you couldn't quite figure out what had changed.
"Yo, you good? Did something happen back at the bar?" You asked.
Killer took a moment to catch his breath, and you waited patiently. Once he stood up straight, you noticed a strange glow coming from under his mask that wasn't there before.
"… Do you really?" He asked after a moment.
"Do I what? Sorry I-!"
Your confusion was short lived when warmth spread across your chest, starting from the left side and cutting your words off entirely. When you looked down, through the white of your boiler suit you could see a faint orange glow, and with wide eyes you tore open the top button of your suit to check your words, gasping when you were met with their glow.
"Oh… Oh it's you." You said softly. "My…"
"Soulmate." Killer finished.
Upon both of you realizing this the words glowed brighter, warmth flooding through your bodies. You stepped closer, as did he, tentatively reaching a hand out to touch the glowing words on your chest.
"Do you… truly like my laugh?" He asked.
You chuckled, not expecting the vice captain of the Kid Pirates to be so soft. "I do. I really do. I was… actually trying to find out who's laughter that was at first, so I could see if I could make them do it again."
He couldn't stop himself from pulling you into a bone crushing hug, both of you losing your balance and toppling over onto the docks. It didn't matter to either of you, the urge to draw each other in far stronger than any forming bruise. Sat in his lap, you had your arms around his neck, holding him tight in disbelief. Your hearts beat as one in the moment, and when you pulled back a bit, you could see how intense the glow was between you.
"I never thought I'd find you." You said softly. "I've sailed so many seas with no luck. I can't believe you were only a ship away…"
"I've spent so much time wishing you'd be nearby. It was worth all that wishing." He mumbled.
"Can… Can I see your words?" You then asked cautiously. "I've heard you never show your face but… They're a bit higher up than mine."
"It's alright. You're my soulmate. I want you to see me." He huffed. "I'm not one to trust quickly, but given the circumstances… You're one of the only people who have ever said they like my laugh… The part I hate most…"
"Mmm, well, hate it all you want, and I'll love it more to make up for it." You told him, waiting as he pulled up his mask a bit. "Such an… intimate location for you."
"Fate wants to test me it seems." He chuckled, pausing when his lips were just barely revealed.
You took a moment to admire the glowing words etched under his jaw, tracing them with your fingers as he shuddered a little. Without really thinking, you leaned up and pressed a kiss to his jaw, lingering for a moment on the words before leaning back. His heart beat fluttered rapidly, his breath hitched in his throat.
"S-sorry…"
"No, don't be. Please…" He paused, taking a deep breath before he pushed his mask off all the way. "Kiss me properly, if you will."
"My god you're handsome." You mumbled, gazing up at him. "Cute laugh, cute face…, Man, fate really played favourites with me. I want nothing more than to kiss you."
You couldn't help but babble at first, truly captured by him before your desire to kiss him took over, cupping his cheeks in your hands as you drew him into a tender kiss, tasting a mix of beer and sake on his lips. His hands held your waist, a muffled hum slipping out of him while his heart nearly beat out of his chest. You were so soft, as he had dreamt before, and he melted into your touch, kissing back as if this would all be taken away from him at a moment's notice.
Both of you had been waiting so long to love the right person, and now that you could, both of you were entirely unapologetic about it. Wandering hands caressed all they could until you ran breathless, needing to break apart for air. Panting, you stared at each other, cheeks red as a cherry. He watched through messy blonde bangs, letting out a sigh of relief.
"Is it too soon to tell you I love you?" You asked shyly.
"We were meant to love each other. Of course not." He said sweetly, hugging you again. "With a touch as tender as yours, I don't think I can stop myself from loving you."
"Good, good… We're gonna have a few things to explain to our crews." You chuckled.
"That can wait. Let's stay here a little longer." He requested, squeezing you tighter. "I'm sure they can wait for their coin purse a little longer."
"Heh, you've read my mind."
