"Hey, we have the same soulmark."

Those were the words that both haunted Janus' every nightmare and enthralled all of his dreams, a twisted dichotomy that he was unsure he would ever be able to escape from. Janus had a soulmate that was never meant to belong to him, and a boyfriend that he cherished above all else.

"How far the mighty have fallen." He muttered to himself as he slipped out of the bed he shared with Patton Hart. The two had been officially dating for almost three years and they had been living together for the past year. Janus was ready to claim Patton as his, to show Patton just how much the kind-hearted man meant to him, but there was one big problem.

Janus has been born 'half-formed' someone who was not meant to have a soulmate. He had no markings on him and it was registered that he didn't have a soulmate. This meant any marriage he had with Patton wouldn't be legal, and after all, marriage was just a ceremony and a piece of paper. Patton knew that Janus was dedicated to him fully and forever right? Janus sighed, walking into the kitchen and turned on the kettle for a cup of tea.

He had never expected someone to have the same Soulmark as the fake one that adorned his arm. He had expected to be able to use it to blend in with the rest of society and leave it at that. Maybe if he found someone he loved he could claim that his soulmate had died, but Patton was a surprise to him.

Janus traced his 'soulmark' in thought, it was so intricate, and he had noticed small inconsistencies between his and Patton's marks, barely noticeable at first glance, but there none the less.

"Hey Jan, you okay?" Patton's sleep voice was coming from the kitchen entrance.

He debated lying to Patton, telling him to go back to bed, but the concern in Patton's eyes told Janus that he needed to say it now. Delaying it was only going to make things worse, and he really did want a life with Patton.

"Not really, I need to tell you something."

"Of course." Patton walked over to the steaming kettle that Janus had forgotten about. He poured the two of them a cup, tea for Janus, and hot chocolate for himself before he sat down.

"What's wrong?"

Janus sighed and sat down. Keeping this secret had been tearing him up inside, and Janus knew that getting it out would help him get the weight of his chest, but that didn't mean it was the easiest thing to do. "Patton, I'm not your soulmate."

"I know."

Janus wasn't expecting that either. "W-What?"

"I haven't always known, but there were little things. Any time I wanted to move the relationship forward you always hesitated, and I thought it was because you had a bad experience, like your parents were soulmates that didn't get along, but you told me more about your parents, and that didn't seem to make sense, so I paid attention." Patton began to stir at his hot chocolate. "You always looked so sad when I referred to us as soulmates, you hide it well, but I could tell, and whenever I talked about how we met you would touch your arm with this look of guilt. So I kind of made a guess."

"And you aren't mad? I find that a bit hard to believe." Janus looked at him skeptically.

"I haven't really been honest either,"

"What, my honest Patton has been lying."

Patton gave him a sheepish smile, finishing off his hot chocolate. "Like you've said Jay, we all have secrets we want to keep."

Standing up, abandoning his hot chocolate, Patton held out his hand for Janus. Janus took it without hesitation and Patton began to lead him up the stairs. "When I first saw your soulmark, I was so happy, and so sad all at the same time. I was happy because I wouldn't have to be alone, but sad because you would never get to meet him."

"Him?" Patton had pulled Janus to the office, before letting go of his hand, kneeling down to pull a box out of the closet.

"Yea, I thought maybe we were supposed to be a Poly, I wasn't sure if I was polyamorous, but I wasn't against the idea, but well, even if we had been, we would have never gotten the chance. He pulled out a photo album and Janus knelt down next to him, pictures of Patton and another young man with matching soulmarks, proudly showing them to the camera.

"I loved Roman with all my heart." He began to flip through the photos, "He was so adventurous and so confident. Something you two share, and he was so kind." Patton kept slowly flipping through the pictures until they got to one of Roman in a hospital bed, smiling up at the camera happily.

"He was only 16 when they found the brain tumor. He thought the headaches were just for working too hard and not sleeping enough. He wasn't willing to stop because he was just so excited about getting the lead role in the play, but he collapsed during the first act of the final show." Janus could see the few tears dripping down his lover's face and he wrapped an arm around Patton's shoulders. His voice stayed chipper but there was a hint of melancholy in it.

"He never made it to graduation, and everyone acted like I would never find love again." Janus could hear the hurt in Patton's voice. "But then I met you, and at first I felt guilty for finding happiness outside of Roman, and guilt that I was hiding him from you. You didn't need to know you were missing a soulmate that you never got to meet. Then I started to notice the guilt in your own eyes. By the time I realized you weren't my soulmate, I was already in love with you, and I didn't think it mattered. You needed someone, and I needed you."

Janus pulled Patton into a tight hug, holding him from behind. "I may not be your soulmate cookie, but I love you." He whispered.

"I know, and I love you too Janus." He leaned up, giving Janus a gentle kiss. They weren't a perfect pair by societies' standards, but they were perfect for each other.

"Let's have a promise ceremony." Janus had pulled away, just enough to be able to see Patton's eyes.

"What?"

"We can't get married because we aren't officially soulmates, but we can have a promise ceremony, where I promise to love and take care of you, and you do the same." Janus was looking at Patton with a serious look and a bit of a mischievous smile. Fuck society's rules. "And if you think you are Poly then we cross that bridge together when we get there."

Patton sat confused for a bit until his mind finally caught up with what Janus was asking.

"You are asking me to marry you?"

"Yes."

"Yes!"

AN: I just realized I hadn't posted this one yet, and this is one I was so looking forward to! I'm sorry for the 2 hour delay O.O