For Outofthecavern on Tumblr.

Everyone has a soulmate, someone to whom you are connected to by a chord to your heart.

A chord as red as blood, the symbol of life itself.

You only have one soulmate, one person pre-destined for you to spend the rest of your life with.

Take care of them for they will never find another.

A broken cord breaks the heart.

A broken chord breaks the soul.

Jason was seven when he first noticed them; the faint wisps of red when he was our on the streets in the middle of the day. He didn't think much of it; it was merely a trick of the light, his tired and malnourished body telling him it was time to rest, to eat.

No, it wasn't until he was on patrol years later; well fed and raring to go, did he notice them again. Bright streaks of red light in the Gotham night. A red that was like blood against the black sky, a vividness that made him want to reach out and touch, and grasp and collect. That filled him with happiness? Joy? Excitement?-

Love.

His mother used to talk about it; the string of fate; a cord connecting you and you destined soulmate. A red ribbon of life that starts at the heart and encircles your right arm before breaching the cold crewel night and flying off into the distance in search of your other half, its other half, and fusing to it.

Jason had never been one to believe in his mother's astrological fortune-telling beliefs. Soulmates? Only a person without a will to live would need a belief in soulmates to keep them going. Jason had many things to believe in, number one; survival.

His will to live, to get by another day, to find something to eat, somewhere to sleep overruled any necessity of a soulmate. He didn't need another mouth to feed, or someone else to worry about on the streets (not that he would ever drag anyone into his world).

He didn't have time for love. Then again he hadn't really known what love was.

Not back then.

But now, in this house full to the brim with love, the prospect of a soulmate was nice.

It was meant to be the best feeling in the world; having a soulmate, a complete chord. The total joining of two people, of two halves becoming a whole.

But Jason will never find his soulmate.

He will never get that feeling of completeness, and neither will his other half. Because Jason was selfish, he was selfish and proud, and in his pride he's doomed someone else to live a life without love.

...You only have one soulmate, one person pre-destined for you to spend the rest of your life with...

At least the had not found each other, at least they had not joined.

At least this won't hurt them.

Red. It had been a long time since he had seen that particular shade, but that piece of information was lost with so many others within the folds of his anger.

Anger that was pushing him onwards and upwards to the higher floors of the Titans Tower, taking out his opponents as he went.

Anger that had one goal; find the Replacement. The boy who took his place, his life, his family. Find him, end him, and take back what is rightfully his.

It made sense in his mind.

But when fist connected with cheek, when red sparks flew and shockwaves threw them apart, he wasn't quite sure.

Jason suddenly felt like his world was falling apart. His chest felt empty, it's contents a red cord that lit up the room zigging and zagging around the room, intricately dancing with it's partner.

He wants t take it all back, all of it, the cord, the punch, coming back from the dead. All of it, because-

How can his soulmate love him now?

How can he join with someone who knows Jason just tried to beat the crap out of him?

How can he force someone to live in perpetual fear for the rest of his life?

He can't.

So he runs, away from the room, the Tower, his soulmate, and back to where he grew up; the slums of Gotham, his home.

They had touched, actually touched. Flesh to flesh. Jason was back and he had touched Tim.

Jason, Tim's soulmate, had touched him.

Though it was obvious that Jason doesn't know, it's probably why he ran; the thought of a soulmate hadn't even crossed his mind.

Tim had known for years, ever since the first wisps of red smoke appeared in his bedroom, and led to the rooftops; to the younger half of the Dynamic Duo.

To Jason Todd.

The boy Tim idolised and the man he loves, who was stolen from him, only for Tim to scare him away. It seemed to be the story of his life; whoever he loves either dies or leaves. Jason was not different.

But maybe, just maybe, if Tim could find him they could start again, and explain everything, then maybe Jason might want to be with him.

Tim will give Robin back to be with Jason.

He uses the partial link Jason made when he touched Tim to locate him. An apartment block in the worse part of Gotham, a couple of blocks away from crime alley, and within walking distance of his old home. Of course it would be the apartment at the top of the building. Nearest the roof. Some habits die takes three rings to get Jason to answer, another two and some begging to get the older teen to let him into his home.

Then commenced a few minutes of awkwardness before Jason broke the silence,

"So, I" he took a deep breath to collect his thoughts "I'm sorry, about punching you I mean, I wasn't really thinking straight" Tim smiled back at him, a comforting and hopefully loving smile,

"That quite alright Jason, you've just come back from the dead I understand."

Jason really didn't mean to laugh, he didn't mean to be so dismissive of a nice sentiment, he wasn't,t not really, because there was a good chance that Tim didn't know what had happened in his room, what the red means.

"Do you? Understand?"

"What it feels like to die? No."

"No, what happened in your room, I'm sorry."

"About punching me? Because you know... You punch like a girl."

"I do not" Jason was smiling, playful banter was something he missed, though they were missing the point

"Do too"

"I do not, and I meant the other thing." Tim's face fell. It was a mistake, Jason should never have touched him, should have noticed the red cords before reaching the room, he shouldn't have been so thoughtless and angry.

"I'm sorry"... Wait...

"What?"

"I'm sorry, I scared you away, I came to explain, what- happened- in my room" he knew, Tim knew, understood and he still came and found Jason, he knocked on Jason's door. "I don't know if you know but we're- wait a minute did you just apologise... You know?" Jason could do the thing but nod in shame. "Then why the hell did you run?" A sheepish smile bloomed across his face.

"I punched you"

"Yes... And"

"I punched you" he repeated a little more insistent.

"So you punched me... I've been punched by Bane, that was nothing believe me"

"But I couldn't make you join with someone who tried to beat the crap out of you, it's not fair." Tim rolled his eyes, actually sighing at his soulmate's stupidity.

"No what's not fair is the Joker killing you, what's not fair is that I was too shy to approach you all those years I was following you because I was too scared at what you'd say. What's not fair is that you partly joined to me and ran away."

"I partly joined to you?"

"Of course, skin to skin contact, can't you feel it?"

"No... I..." Jason looked back at the previous few days; he had had this fuzzy feeling, a lightness in his chest, a need to smile even when he was feeling so down. "... Yes."

Tim smiled at the awe in Jason's voice, the realisation. Jason laughed again, but this time it was a light and carefree laugh. A laugh of sincere disbelief. He dropped Tim's gaze, staring down at his feet.

"Tim," Jason, looked up again, catching his eyes in a look so filled with intensity and love that Tim blushed at the attention "do you want this?" He did he really really did. So it was his turn to look down and draw his knees up to his chest, as a sort of protection, just in case Jason didn't.

Oh gosh, what if Jason didn't want to be joined to Tim? What would Tim do? You only have one soulmate, and they were partially joined, that could not be broken, Jason would be forced to live with a bit of Tim for the rest of his life. It wouldn't be fair on him, he's only just come back from the dead and-

"I can here you thinking from overhere" Jason was still smiling at Tim, maybe, maybe he wants this too.

"Sorry, and I do. I really really do, I want this more that life itself. I love you more than life itself." Jason's grin grew (if that was even possible)

"So... How do we do this?"

"R-really?" Jason nodded

"Yeah, I... I want this too, more than anything, it makes me... It makes me complete." They sat for a while, just sitting, staring at each other. Smiling at each other, searching for the lie that wasn't there. Before Tim reached forward for Jason,

"Put you right hand on my cheek"

It was nothing like the previous time, the moment of contact was indescribable. It was happiness, joy, love, excitement, every possible emotion rolled into one, his chest didn't feel empty, but full, complete. Jason attention focused solely on Tim, so much so that his world was the blue of the younger boy's eyes and not the red of the ribbons dancing around the room, finding each other, fusing together, completing one another.

It was over all too soon, and Jason was shocked back into the real world, breathing in sharply.

"Wow." There was no other way to describe it. Tim smiled back at him, obviously feeling the same.

"Yeah, wow". He smiled before closing the gap between them and leaning in for a kiss that Jason has never before wanted so badly, a kiss that sealed everything they were feeling, that lasted forever and yet still not long enough.

Jason had a soulmate. Tim; there was nothing better in the world.