A/N-This is what I came up for soma week 2015 on tumblr. The theme was 'Worth it'. And this is pretty much your typical 'The first words your soulmate says to is tattooed on your skin' AU.

Alright without further ado here it is!

She was 18 when the words appeared.

Maka had always scoffed at the girls who would giggle and laugh at the prospect of it. Soulmates and true love was only a thing to be read as bedtimes stories, and forever after was just a figment of the imagination and nothing but. Her parents were the proof that such things didn't exist

So when the words appeared on her birthday in the darkness of midnight, tingling on her ankle where it made its residence, she was livid.

She had convinced herself for all those years, that it wouldn't show. That it was impossible to show. She was too much like her father to commit, and too stubborn like her mother to try. Besides, everything gets worn with time. It becomes fragile, and exhausted. And soon it breaks, with a tear stained note on the table and an absence of a goodbye to their own daughter. Eventually, Maka accepted it in the best way she could.

Through lies.

Who said that her soulmate had to be romantic anyway? It could be a friend, or hell even a line from a book.

Well that's what she told herself anyway.

Maka doubts that the words, "Fuck off." would be written in a book. But hey there's hope, maybe its dialogue.

But she's 23 now, and those cursed words are the last thing on her mind. She couldn't give a rat's ass honestly, soulmate or no, the only thing that mattered was how the hell she was gonna get to work on time without melting right there on the pavement.

And oh god she would be so up for calling her idiot brother right now, to haul his ass over and drive her to work, instead of the mile walk she usually does. But her pride is big, and her need to be right is bigger, and she's not willing to let a little Nevada heat break them down. Even if it meant dying mid-way to work.

She's just about to start her journey, when she's shoved, bottled tea flying out her hand and spilling onto her sandaled feet.

She watches the culprit jog away from her, and her temper flares when she realizes she didn't even receive an apology. And Maka likes to consider herself to be a nice person, she really does! But 110 degree weather, and toes that are sure to be sticky with dried liquid does things to a person. So she feels fairly justified when she shouts, "Watch where you're going, dickhead!"

And she thinks her brother would be quite proud of her for the insult (though she was the one who taught him in the first place) when they come to sudden halt, whipping around and marching right to her.

His hair is white like the snow on the mountains, when her mother took her on a 'no guys' allowed vacation, eyes like her favorite wine, and he smirks at her, unnatural teeth poking out when he spouts those stupid words.

"Fuck off."

Her foot twitches and Maka can practically feel the words on her skin. She can't tell whether her heart is beating too fast or has completely stopped because no, no no no, this can't be happening, not this asshole, it has to be a nightmare!

And she sure it can't get any worse, when he strips himself of his shirt, revealing tiny letters on his pale chest.

"Watch where you're going, dickhead!"

Her words bounce on his chest as it rumbles in laughter. Pure, genuine laughter that splits his face, and it must be contagious because she's laughing too.

Six years and three kids later, she's smiling to herself, because if having those words on skin resulted in the happiest time of her life. Then it was worth it.

Completely and totally worth it.