Chapter Text
Billions of people on the planet and everyone has a soulmate. On the day of the younger mate’s 18th birthday, both wake up with a mark representing something unique to their soulmate. However, since the mark is not always in a visible spot and could live across the world, there are many people who never find their match. Walking down the street, it was easy to tell who had never come in contact with their bonder. Dull eyes, wrinkles, and sagging stooped bodies pulled the Incompletes slowly down the street. Just taking one look at an Incomplete made most children wait with bated breath for the day they could find their other and keep themselves from being one of those hopeless zombies.
One morning in a tiny apartment just off the University of Kansas campus, Dean Winchester woke up with a burning in his shoulder. Sleepily, he sat up and rolled up the short sleeve of his Metallica tee. His mark! He did a quiet fist pump so as to not wake his brother Sam sleeping on the other side of his thin bedroom wall but he couldn’t stop the wide grin splitting his face. Today must be his soulmate’s birthday since he was already 20. He wondered what she’d look like. Whether she’d be tall, or short. He knew she’d be beautiful, even if it was only to him. He’d been getting worried- Sammy had woken up when he was 15 with a lollipop seared into his skin. It didn't usually work that way and it wasn't uncommon for people to wait years before their soulmate became mature enough for the mark to appear, but after two years… well, maybe he wouldn’t have to worry about his soul mate’s identity much longer.
In a house, in another state- Illinois to be precise, Castiel Novak woke up on an otherwise ordinary Thursday morning with the imprint of a key, a burn scar, on his hipbone. He didn’t notice it until he got into the shower. It had been slightly itchy, but he was glad there hadn't been any actual heat- a key would have been just as bad as a branding iron. He smiled, relieved. Somewhere in the world was a person meant for him. Even though he knew everyone had a soulmate, he’d been worried that maybe he’d be the mistake, one person born without a soulmate. He wondered when he'd meet this person, wondered what the mark they wore would look like, where it would be. What had been considered a part of him so deeply ingrained that it marked his true love.
Castiel pulled himself out of his daydreaming to finish up his shower and nearly run down the stairs. He almost knocked over his brother, Gabriel, in his haste to get down the stairs.
“Whoa there Cassanovak!” Gabriel teased. “There’s no way you don’t have your mark with that much spring in your step. Share with the class.”
Castiel sighed and tried to tone down his excitement. “Gabriel, I have no spring in my step. I am merely happy that I am finally and adult.”
“Mmm-hmm.”
“Really”
“Okay”
“Gabriel”
“I didn’t say anything. But I am now. You can’t come down just yet; Mum’s not done with your ‘Adult Breakfast Supreme’” Gabriel actually made air quotes and then reached into the pocket of his sweats and pulled out a lollypop. “So what’s your mark? Where is it? You know, you still haven’t let me show you mine! I know it’s a tramp stamp bu-“
“You mark is far to low to be considered a tramp stamp, Gabe. Besides, I’ll show my mark to everyone at breakfast.”
“So you did get a mark!”
The sound of their mother floated from the kitchen. “Boys. Play nice and come sit down. We have a birthday to celebrate!”
Gabriel gave one last smirk at his brother and jumped over the side of the stair case. Castiel rolled his eyes and walked down the last 12 steps and into the kitchen.
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The rest of the school year passed by extremely slowly for Castiel. Now that he had his mark he was always on the lookout for someone, anyone, who looked like they could be his mate. There had been awkward party almost-hookups and a few shed tears but Castiel was determined to find his bonder. He had actually been accepted to the University of Kansas that fall, early decision, to study Theology and English literature. However, he was starting to get nervous that he hadn’t already found his mate. Lots of people either dropped out of their first year or took a gap year to go searching for their mates but Castiel had been so sure that his mate would come to him. Maybe he was wrong.
Pulling up in his red jeep, Castiel surveyed the campus. There were students everywhere, running around and squealing as they hugged friends hello and family goodbye. Cas had had a going away party in Illinois before he left, so it was just him and his clunker full of boxes. Sighing, he slammed his car door shut and walked over to check-in.
“Hey watch out!”
Cas just had time to turn around before instincts kicked in and he caught a baseball inches before it hit him in the face. He looked up to see a guy a few years older skidding to a stop in front of him.
“That was really impressive”
“I assure you it was nothing,” Castiel dismisses the compliment and turns around.
“Wanna join our team? We could use some of that ‘nothing.’”
A hand lightly touches his shoulder and Cas turns around. He looks up into the man’s face and was met with brown eyes to match the color of his skin and frown lines.
“Come on it’ll be fun.”
“I have no interest in playing sports.”
“Okay man. Hey, if you change your mind, I’m floor 3 in building A. Name’s Henrikson, in case you were wondering.”
Castiel nodded stiffly, feeling uncomfortable with all this conversation so quickly after his arrival. “I’ll think about it.”
Henrikson’s face lit up and displayed smile lines that Castiel hadn’t noticed earlier. He gave a tight lipped half smile-half grimace and finally walked away.
Getting set up in his room was rather easy. After lugging all the boxes into the dorm room, he hung up his clothes and went to take a shower. By the time he got back there was a suitcase on the other bed. Looking around Cas noticed a man with a mullet leaning under one of the two desks in the room.
Closing the door and clearing his throat to get the man’s attention, Castiel walked across the room. “Hello. I’m your roommate, Castiel”
A head poked out from under the desk, bringing out a dazed smile and a lot of plaid. “well hello there. I’m Ash.” He gestured to the desk, “I’m just setting up my computers. I forgot one of my adaptor cords so I’m just trying to reroute a couple of things.”
Castiel, who had just gotten his first smart phone and laptop that week, nodded. “Well I wish you the best of luck”
Ash snorted. “Alright thanks. Hey, my friend’s throwing a beginning of year party at his apartment. It’ll just be a couple people and it’ll be better if you meet them now. You’ll see a lot of them if we stay roommates.”
Castiel contemplated the offer for a moment. But after driving straight from Illinois to Kansas and having to set up and talk to all the different people, he was getting tired. He told Ash so.
“You drove straight here? Damn. No wonder you don’t want to hang. Another time?”
Cas nodded. “I suppose.”
It was a little while longer before he got to go to bed. Ash talked the entire time he was getting ready to go to his friend “Dean’s” house and Castiel didn’t want to ruin the relationship with his roommate on the first day. As soon as Ash closed the door and left Cas was sighing with relief and tumbling into bed. He had his first class tomorrow and wanted to do well. It was Shakespeare 101 for his English Credit.
Fortunately, so was Dean.