Chapter Text
Jimmy awoke abruptly, a sharp pinch to his cheek jolting him from slumber. He let out an involuntary yelp, shooting up in his bed and inadvertently bumping his head against the bedrest. Laughter filled the room, and he recognized the mischievous chuckles of his friends, Joel and Grian. Blinking through his grogginess, he groaned and cast an accusatory glance at the shorter men.
"What was that for?" Jimmy grumbled, one eyebrow raised, his hand massaging his aching cheek.
"You wouldn't wake up," Joel explained with a gleeful smile. "We had to resort to drastic measures."
"I hate you both," Jimmy muttered, his annoyance evident as he begrudgingly sat up, still nursing his throbbing cheek. Grian couldn't help but giggle at his expense. After a moment though, he tilted his head and asked, "What's that on your face, Tim?"
Jimmy's brow furrowed in confusion, and he tentatively reached to touch his forehead, wincing slightly as his fingers encountered a tender spot. "Oh," he said, baffled, a faint wince on his lips. "Ow."
"Huh. Let me see that," Joel insisted, leaning in to examine the mark. "Don't touch it, Jimmy. Go wash your face or something. What even happened?"
Jimmy shrugged weakly. "I don't know. Probably one of my soulmates," he sighed, the weariness in his voice betraying the countless times he'd been hurt due to his enigmatic soulmate's injuries, most of which seemed to be minor burns he hadn't yet met. He met one soulmate, Fwhip. Fwhip didn't get hurt that often, he was pretty careful, but Jimmy and Fwhip knew they had a third soulmate they hadn't met just yet..
Grian couldn't help but chuckle. "You'd think by now you'd get used to it, Timmy," he teased, wearing a fond smile for his younger brother.
"Shut up, Grian," Jimmy grumbled, some bitterness creeping into his voice. "You already found your soulmates," he added. "Both of 'em."
Grian laughed softly. "Come on, Tim, just get ready and wash your face. We shouldn't be late for orientation," he urged, his grin encouraging Jimmy to move forward.
Joel nodded in agreement. "Grian's right."
Oh. That was correct, orientation was today- Jimmy nearly forgot. "Alright, but first, get out of my room so I can get changed," Jimmy ordered, pushing himself out of bed.
"Love you too, Timmy!" Grian cheerily called to his brother as he gently nudged Joel out of the room, quickly closing the door behind them. Jimmy rolled his eyes at the nickname but proceeded to the bathroom, eager to start his day. As he stood before the bathroom mirror, he examined the small scar on his forehead. It was a minor annoyance as long as he didn't touch it too much, but he decided to clean his face and then covered it with a discreet band-aid.
After a few minutes, he emerged from the bathroom, dressed and ready to go. Stretching, he let out a contented sigh. Joel and Grian were waiting for him, still engaged in their private amusement. "Come on, let's go," he called out.
"Finally done with your elaborate skincare routine?" Joel teased, a mischievous glint in his eye.
"Shut up, you were the one who told me to wash my face!" Jimmy retorted, slipping on his jacket and playfully rolling his eyes. Joel snickered and nudged him with his elbow.
"Children, children, let's get a move on," Grian interjected with a bemused expression, but a faint undercurrent of amusement lingered in his tone.
"I'm literally older than both of you," Joel pointed out, and Grian silenced him with a playful 'shush' gesture. Jimmy couldn't help but giggle slightly, and as they finally stepped out the door, they set off to go to college.
Jimmy had said goodbye to his friends as he headed towards his dorm room. He struggled to open it slightly because of the boxes he was carrying, and he groaned slightly in defeat. "Come on, stupid door," he grumbled, pressing his body against it. He let out a startled yelp as he fell through, the door opening suddenly.
"Whoa!" A voice said, clearly concerned, and Jimmy blinked in surprise when he realized he didn't fall on the ground yet. The boxes had fallen unfortunately, but at least Jimmy hadn't fallen on the ground... it took him a moment to realize someone was holding him up so he didn't fall. Jimmy's eyes widened, and he looked up at the person who was holding him.
It was a man with somewhat of a shorter build than Jimmy, and he had light blond hair that was tied up into a short ponytail. He had tan skin and dark red eyes that showed nothing but concern for Jimmy. He wore a red crop top over a black shirt, and he had a Band-Aid on his forehead. "You alright?" He asked softly.
Jimmy blinked in surprise, and he blushed in embarrassment. Just embarrassment, he told himself. "Ah- uh," he said, gently pushing himself off of the light blond, standing up fully so he could stare down at the shorter. "I'm fine," he said with a nervous smile. "Th- thanks."
The man's concerned look turned into a smile. "No worries," he grinned, "I'm glad you're okay. I can help you pick up the boxes," he said, although tilted his head to the side. "What happened to your cheek?" He asked.
Jimmy sighed softly. "Uh- just my soulmate," he snickered, rubbing his cheek softly. "Don't worry about it," He said with a shrug. "Also, I can pick up the boxes! I'll be fine."
"You sure?" The man tilted his head.
"Uh- yeah! I'm guessing you're my roommate, by the way..?" Jimmy asked curiously.
"Oh," The man blinked slowly. "I guess so, yeah!" He smiled brightly. "I'm Tango!"
"Jimmy," He greeted, a smile on his face as he reached to grab his boxes.
Jimmy and Tango quickly picked up the boxes and carried them into the dorm room. It was a small but cozy space with two beds, two desks, and a shared closet. As they placed the boxes down, Jimmy couldn't help but glance around the room, wondering how this college experience would turn out, especially with a soulmate who seemed to have a knack for getting into accidents- not that he wasn't used to it.
It was safe to say that Jimmy liked his dorm mate. He was sweet, and helpful, and he helped Jimmy a lot. Jimmy wasn't quite used to that. Growing up with Grian, Grian and him showed their affection to each other in a more.. teasing way. Jimmy didn't mind, he knew his brother cared about him, but it was still nice.
"So, what you're saying is, you have a crush on this guy," Joel said teasingly.
Jimmy rolled his eyes, and he punched the other's shoulder. "Oh, shut up, Joel, we literally just met last week. And, I have Fwhip!" He added.
"So?" Joel snickered. "Lizzie fell in love with me when we first met."
Jimmy scoffed. "More like you fell in love with her first," he grumbled, earning another pinch on the cheek. "Ow! Stop that!" Jimmy huffed, swatting the other's hand away, but he giggled at the fact that Joel didn't deny it.
"Plus, that doesn't count," Jimmy pointed out, "The two of you are soulmates!"
"Who knows, maybe Tango might be your and Fwhip's other soulmate," Joel snickered.
Jimmy was about to say something back, but he hesitated. Come to think of it, when he first met Tango, the other had a band-aid on his forehead- on the same spot Jimmy had his little scar. He thought it was just a coincidence, he didn't want to say anything just in case. But as the week continued, Tango had come home once with some minor burns on his hands. Jimmy had felt them too, but he didn't want to say anything. Also, he didn't want to make Tango feel bad.
"..I was just jokin', do you really think he could be your soulmate?" Joel interrupted Jimmy's thoughts, tilting his head.
"I-.. I think so?" Jimmy said slowly. "I mean when I first met him, he had a band-aid in the same spot I had my injury," he murmured softly.
"Well, did you say anything to him?" Joel asked, eyes wide.
"Ah.. no," Jimmy said awkwardly, smiling nervously.
Joel groaned. "God, Tim, you're so stupid,"