❥ Soulmate AU; Where your soulmate gets a mark on his skin, the moment you fall in love with him.

• Semi x Een •

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The weekend could not come soon enough.

I was meeting up with Hichimiya and Tendou at Tokyo on Saturday, and there were still 3 more days in my countdown.

Semi found it excessive, that I was crossing out each passing day with excitement.

"You really are out here just fantasizing about Korean men when I'm right here." He says out of nowhere, while I am preparing some espresso for an order.

This makes me almost cough up a lung, slapping his back giving a hiss in embarrassment, which only makes him laugh even more before he turns to face the customer in front of him.

Life as a college student... It's not really... All that.

It's not like the way movies and books describe it; a magical time with just friends and fun, and acing your exams even if you can barely keep up with the attendance.

It's not the best 4 years of your life, like lots of fiction works romanticize it to be; even if you have a job and a significant other who loves you.

Because, with college comes so much stress. So much pressure, and a lot of self-evaluation.

Living together with Semi and my brother, all our banters, the fun we have in the form of our hobbies... All of this... It helps, but college can absolutely engulf you.

And I can see that in the way that Semi's eyes are dulled out by the time he's handing out the last cup of coffee and he greets Yamato-san to switch shifts.

It's in the way he stretches himself before he sits at his desk as soon as we come back home, and in the way his eyes don't even go to the glass of juice I place next to him when he's busy trying to figure out answers to his assignments.

It's in the way he's at his desk even at 3 am sometimes, when I wake up in the middle of the night and find that he's not beside me.

And it's the same way for me, because I start to get eye bags from the continuous reading that I do, and the endless writing I do by my computer makes me develop myalgia.

College... consumes you.

On the night before Finals, Semi and I found the need to stay up all night, to study.

Semi and I both were always thankful for Takeru, but it's during hard times like this, that his little actions make our hearts feel the unconditional love that he has towards us.

The way Takeru cuts fruit for us, prepares food that we can eat easily at our study desk... and even sets an alarm every four hours to come and refill our coffee mugs with a huge batch of coffee he'd made...

It makes me pity my Dad. He's willingly letting go of a child who would have never let him down at his worst.

It is with tears in my eyes that I leave for our exams with Semi.

Even Semi seems very sentimental, because he ruffles Takeru's hair, raising his fist which my little brother fistbumps instantly.

"Don't pressure yourself too much. Don't think that you have to leave here when you turn 18 and get a job. You don't have to, unless you want to. You're family, Takeru, so stay with us for as long as you need."

This makes the stoic expression on his face waver a little, a small pout on his face as he looks at me, and then at the ground.

"Oh. Yes. I... I feel comfortable because I know you mean it when you say that now, Semi-niisan."

It looks like adding 'brother' after Semi's name was a slip, because Takeru's eyes become even wider than Semi's and he raises his arms into an 'X'.

"I-I- I meant Semi-san!"

This makes Semi and I exchange a chuckle, and Takeru adjusts his glass in embarrassment.

"I'm glad you consider me as your older brother. But you don't have to be so stiff. You can call me Eita, you know?"

"... Okay."

It's almost time for our exams, so Semi and I say goodbye to Takeru who wishes us good luck and advises us to come back and take a rest as soon as we're done.

"How do you feel, Eita?"

"I feel like I'm learning a lot about life because of you, Een." He says, starting up his bike. "I've only ever known about the thrill of playing volleyball, in life, but after I met you, I'm learning a lot of new things about life."

"That sounds really romantic, Eita." I gush, holding onto his waist before he drives off.

"I mean, since I started liking you, I've started to appreciate the things I have. Like my friends, like Satori. I realized that there are people who would do anything for me. I realized that there were people who would care for me even if I hurt them... Like you."

"That sounds toxic..."

"Goddamit, Een. I learned that, and it made me realize how bad I would be if I kept hurting you. I'm trying a lot for you. I... I would never turn your heart into broken parts."

"I..." My voice trails a bit, because, even though we had been living together for multiple months, it wasn't often when Semi would, on his own, express his feelings so clearly, like that. "I really, really want to ease your ache too, Eita."

I can hear my boyfriend chuckle in response. "I'm really not good with words, but you keep making me try to learn new things because I shouldn't be the only one receiving the kind of strength you give me, just by smiling at me like a goof."

"You said something so romantic, and yet you had to insult me within the same sentence. Why do I even like you? I'm surprised that the mark on your hand hasn't gone away."

There is silence from Semi's side, and I take a glance at the mirror, only to see Semi with a big pout on his face, looking straight ahead at the road as he drives.

"Een."

"Yes?" I say, and the bike comes to a sudden halt when he parks at the side of the road. 

"You shouldn't... Don't say stuff like that."

"Eita?"

"Even as a joke... Don't say shit like that." From the mirror, I can see that he looks really upset, his eyes on the handlebar display.

Semi looks so disheartened at my joke that I have to get off the bike, which makes him look at me with a raised eyebrow.

"What?"

"I'm sorry. I was just joking. You know it won't go away, right?" I say, facing him. Semi looks at me with furrowed eyebrows, and lets out a huff.

"I'm not having an easy time these days and the pressure could seriously kill me. I'm so nervous about maintaining the good things I have right now, and I'm trying so hard that it is about to break me. You know this, more than me, since I know you're hanging onto the same kind of tenterhook as I am."

Tenterhook? Semi's slightly improved vocabulary makes me smile a bit, to myself.

"Not funny." He says, making my smile get wiped off completely. "I'm serious, Een. I'm having a hard time. And so are you. My head hurts, but my heart does not ache at all. Because of you. I'm going through this shit because of you, so why the fuck would you try to say something to jinx it, Een?"

It looked like I hit a nerve, a bad one, at that. I press a soft kiss on his cheek, and his eyebrows had rised because of my action, going back to his furrow while he looks away and huffs.

"Y-You dumbass. It's public!"

"Since you plan to make me stay with you forever, you better get used to me, not just at home but also here, like this." I let him know, my hold on him tighter when I climb on his bike this time.

Semi doesn't say anything else and starts the bike, but from the mirror, I catch him looking back at me, a lopsided grin on his face when he looks away and back to the road.

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a/n: guess which bish finished s3 and is crying about her husband semisemi again-

yes, i am le bish

i love him so much,,,, it's been like 4 years since i first saw him in the manga and cried all over wattpad about wanting animated semi vhdfjsdf I LOVE HIM