So typical soulmate AU, your soulmate's name is written on your wrist when you hit around 13. Gary didn't get his name until after his dad had left. The name gave him some hope - Quinn Ergon. But he didn't need to know her name, to know when he saw her. She was beautiful, intelligent, GENUINE. And then he got arrested. But it was okay - he'd never forget her, he knew she'd come back to him one day! They were soul mates, after all, right? This was how things were supposed to be.
So he waited, and he sent messages to her: and he could never forget her, her name on his wrist, his soulmate.
When Quinn turned 13, she got a name on her wrist. Gary Goodspeed. Goodspeed was the name of the hero that just died, the one from the infinity guard. She figured this Gary must be a member of the Infinity Guard, too, and decided she'd join it. Not just to meet her soulmate, of course, but because she loved it. She was intelligent, capable, and knew she could do so much good there. She believed in soul mates, sure, but she never put much stock in them. She'd live HER life, reguardless of what some silly biological tattoo said her destiny was. She didn't even realize it, when she met her "soul mate." He was just some dumbass.
Ventrexians don't have soul mates. That's a weird human puberty thing, just like there were countless other weird alien puberty things across the universe. So he didn't see what the big deal was, why this human was so obsessed over the name on his wrist or the person that name belonged to. As far as he could tell, Gary didn't even know Quinn for even more than an hour. But he could respect his new friend, as weird as he was.
Except once the feelings started to bleed in.
Gary lost his arm. Not just any arm, but... the one with Quinn's name on it. Of course, limbs weren't what tied you to your destiny, but... That was his favorite arm, man!
But... He had to admit. He really liked the new one, the one Avacato had installed for him. It was badass! He was badass. So what if he'd lost the name on his skin, he still had it imprinted into his mind, and he had gained a new friend, too!!! It was kinda a win-win situation, really. And when he clasped hands with Avacato - for real, this time, with Avacato initiating - he felt a thrill go up his new arm, spreading warmth into his bones and lighting his entire body with joy.
Avacato realized something huge. He was... In love with Gary. Of course he'd fall in love though, Gary had always been attractive, kind, courageous, weird, heartfelt, honest, affectionate... And, to top it all off, he'd promised to help him find his son. How could he not fall in love with this man?
Gary was heartbroken. Quinn hadn't remembered his name. How could she forget his name, the one that must be written on her wrist?
His name couldn't be Gary Godspeed. She must have misheard. It had to be... Jerry or something, right? Maybe Gerald? Not Gary. He couldn't be Gary. He couldn't -
Except when Quinn finally figured out how he knew her, it made sense. Of COURSE he'd cause so much chaos and flirt with her so readily, he thought she was his soulmate! It was RIDICULOUS. He was ridiculous. Soulmates didn't matter that much anyway, right?
Nightfall lost her soulmate. Over and over again, across countless timelines. She had to keep him alive, at least once, they had to be able to be together, they were SOULMATES, They were MEANT to be together, even if -
Avacato stood there, Gary's hands on him, his hands on Gary, staring deeply into this man's eyes as they got closer together. He was pretty sure they were about to kiss. He didn't know how he could NOT kiss him, he was right there, getting closer and closer, and - he had to make sure, Gary had his whole soulmate thing but that was just a dumb human thing, who cares about dumb human puberty things, he just wanted this dumb human. His dumb human. He. He had to make sure.
He knew Gary could feel it too. The pull. The connection. The LOVE. And Gary opened his mouth, and said...
"I think we're about to hug, bro."
Hugging is good! Hugging is fine. Not what he expected, but, he loved this man. He'll take what he could get. After a bit more banter, he pulled the human, HIS human, closer, and they hugged. He couldn't help but rub his face against the side of his head, scent-marking him, immersing himself in all the love his human had to give.
Avacato died. Gary couldn't believe it. He clutched his best friend's son like a lifeline, protecting this kid the way he wished he'd had someone to protect him. Not just a name on a wrist, but someone real, someone THERE, someone who could hold him as he cried. He was crying too - his best friend's corpse, the first real connection with a real live person he'd had since... Well, not even since 5 years ago, but... since his own dad had died, really. He'd loved Avacato.
The next time he recorded a message, it wasn't for the name on the wrist of the arm he'd lost. It was for the person he'd just lost, the one who'd been there to help him move on, who had given him his new arm, who'd protected and excited and engaged with him, who'd sacrificed himself for his family, and trusted Gary to look after his son. Gary didn't know what he was going to do without him.
Quinn didn't want to watch her soulmate die. Her soulmate - Gary - had lost so much already, but he was needed here. She loved him, but she also knew his kid needed him more than the universe needed her. And besides which - this was her mission. She was going to be the one to finish it, wether he liked it or not.
She'd never put much stock in Soulmates. She wouldn't sacrifice herself for a soulmate (though she would sacrifice herself for the universe). But Gary...? Gary, she believed in. Gary, she could die for.
In what he thought were his last moments of life, it wasn't just his soulmate that Gary thought about. Gary thought about... Quinn, sure, but also. He thought about cookies. He thought about Avacato. He thought about the kid he'd been entrusted to take care of, Little Cato, who he'd started to think of as his own. He thought about his entire life, all the moments that lead to this, his new family, the universe he tried to save. He thought about Mooncake.
Waiting all these years for a name on his wrist seemed... Silly, when he thought about it. There was so much more in this universe - so much more to love, so much more to lose, than a name on a wrist.
