Chapter Text
On his 16th birthday, Jake Griffin knew he wouldn't get a tattoo. Abby Clarke was 2 months and 3 days younger than him. They had played together as infants in a playpen. Their grandmothers played cards together and their grandfathers went fishing. They walked within 4 days of each other. His first word was ball. Hers was dog. Jake Griffin didn't know how the tattoos worked. He didn't know what defined a soulmate but he knew Abby Clarke was his.
On his 16th birthday, Jake Griffin didn't get a tattoo. He wasn't surprised.
On her 16th birthday, Abby Clarke woke up to search her body for a tattoo. Her skin was as blank as it had been when she went to sleep the night before. That didn't mean that her skin wouldn't have Jake's name by the time she went to sleep or by midnight. But as she rose and showered and dressed for school, sneaking in a few extra minutes to study for her biology exam, she had no tattoo.
On Abby's 16th birthday, Jake woke up and saw his tattoo immediately. The name Abby was printed bold and clear on the inside of his left wrist. He had never doubted it would be and he wondered where her tattoo would be.
On her 16th birthday, Abby Clarke saw the tattoo on Jake's wrist. Everyone saw the tattoo on Jake's wrist. Callie brought cupcakes to the lunch room and all their friends sang Happy Birthday and asked to see Jake's tattoo. No one was surprised.
On her 16th birthday, Abby Clarke aced her biology exam just as she knew she would. She wrote the first section of her term paper on To Kill a Mockingbird. She was made captain of the volleyball team and reshelved books for 45 minutes in her aide period in the library.
On her 16th birthday, Abby Clarke texted Callie at 11:50 begging her to come to her house a half hour before school the next morning and help her check her entire body for a tattoo.
On her 16th birthday, Abby Clarke grabbed a piece of paper at 11:59 and wrote her phone number as quickly and neatly as she could.
On her 16th birthday, Abby Clarke went to sleep with her skin as blank as it had been when she woke up.
On her 16th birthday, Raven Reyes woke up with the name Abby on her right bicep. It was bold and clear and unmistakable. As she stared at her arm in the mirror she saw small words appearing around it. The mirror images showed words like pisiform and capitate and lunate.
Abby Griffin was 34 when the name Raven appeared just under her left breast and across the left side of her rib cage. She noticed it after she got out of the shower as she was drying off in front of the mirror. She screamed in surprise and then slapped her hand against her mouth hoping she hadn't woken Jake or their 3 year old daughter.
By three days later, Abby Griffin had seen a grocery list, a list of 20 a, b, c, or d letters that she assumed were the answers to a multiple choice test, "FUCK YOU, DOUCHE!" in all caps, and a careful drawing of what she thought was the exploded view of a rocket engine or perhaps a race car engine.
By four days later, Abby Griffin knew that only 350/1,000,000 girls in America were named Raven 16 years ago or .035%. As a boy name it was so uncommon as to be unmeasurable.
The third time Abby Griffin saw the words "I love you." scribbled under Raven's name she told Jake she wanted a divorce. He didn't argue. He had seen her sitting in front of the mirror watching the marks move and change. He had seen her tracing her fingertips over the bold letters. He wasn't surprised.
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Raven breathed a sigh of relief as she looked up at the two story suburban house, confirmed the address, and turned off the car. She loved Robin but Jesus Christ! Eleven year old girls could talk and talk and talk. It had been mine craft this and that and Clarke this and that and Taylor Swift this and that nonstop. It was hard to imagine how her sister could even breathe she had talked so much.
"Come on, kiddo. Let's get you to this swinging party. You have the present and your suit and towel?" Robin confirmed she did and quickly got out of the car practically dragging Raven up the walk to the front door.
The doorbell was opened by a woman who literally took Raven's breath away when she looked at her. "Hi, Doctor Griffin!" Robin chirped excitedly and Raven was glad for the opportunity to really take in the harried and so beautiful woman in jeans and a white blouse with her hair pulled back in a ponytail for the party and a streak of flour on one cheek.
"Hi, Robin," the doctor greeted the child before shouting up the stairs.
Robin saw her friends and stepped inside as she told Clarke's mom. "This is my sister. My mom wants her to stay while I'm here because if she goes to the garage she will start working on some engine or something and forget me."
Raven blushed and shrugged and nodded while she watched her sister run up the stairs with the other girls. "Yeah... that's not entirely unfair." The doctor, clearly Clarke's mom, looked her up and down with a smile. "Well you're welcome to come hang out in the kitchen with me. Or go sit by the pool or whatever."
"Kitchen sounds good."
Abby led the way. "You want something to drink?"
"Sure. Do you have any bourbon?" Abby turned to stare at her and realized the younger woman was laughing. "A soda or whatever would be awesome."
Abby found herself sneaking looks at her visitor as she finished cutting vegetables and set aside the pizza dough so it could rise. The visitor was breathtaking. She guessed she was 22 or 23 years old with the same dark hair and coloring as her younger sister. Her hair was braided down her back and the older woman had to breathe and stop her thought process every time she imagined running her hands through it. By the time she joined "Robin's sister" at the table with her own drink and some chips she realized that calling her "Robin's sister" was pretty inconvenient but she also felt like missing introductions the first time through seemed weird now that they'd been visiting for 30 minutes or more. She knew that Robin's sister was home from university after completing her Master's in Mechanical Engineering and that she was weighing returning to school for her doctorate versus taking a job and paying off some student loans. And Abby had explained that she was a pediatrician with a thriving practice but that she really wanted to take on a partner and begin working fewer days to really cherish her time with Clarke before it was too late. Robin's sister hadn't been that subtle in asking after Clarke's father and had smiled openly when Abby explained that they had been divorced for seven years and less so that he would be by later to swim and have cake and pizza.
The sound of six sets of feet pounding down the stairs broke both women from their visiting and flirting as the girls came through the kitchen in their swim suits. "Dad just texted that he is here so we're going to go swim!" Abby laughed at the excitement. The girls could have gone swimming earlier but Jake and Clarke shared a love of water that was a special bond.
Abby grabbed a bottle of sunscreen and held it up. "Let me get you all lotioned up before you go out." She poured a large glob into her hand and tossed the bottle to Robin's sister to help. She couldn't help but notice that the girls had obviously opened the makeup kits Clarke got and used them to create soulmate tattoos of their own. She saw names like Brad and Justin and one Marie written on forearms, the back of a calf, or the wrist. Abby waved through the window to Jake who had just come around the house and into the backyard to set down his bag and towel, ready to swim with the girls, as Clarke stepped up to get her lotion. The doctor stopped suddenly and gripped her daughter's arm tightly as she saw the mark on her forearm. "Raven" it said with hearts and flowers around it. How could she know? As far as Abby knew, no one but Jake knew what her mark said and he wouldn't have told their daughter without her permission. She finished lotioning the girl as quickly as possible and pulled her out the door onto the back deck.
"Clarke, where did you get the idea for that tattoo?"
Clarke looked at her friends jumping into the pool with her dad. "We were playing like we got our soulmate tattoos, mom. I know not everyone gets one but it's just playing. Chill out."
Abby knew she was not reacting rationally. "But where did you get the idea for this name? Why this name?"
Clarke looked at her mom with a completely exasperated look. "From Raven, mom. Why the third degree?"
Maybe her eleven year old was closer to teenagehood that Abby thought. She was certainly sounding like a teenager. "Why did you pick this name?" Abby repeated.
The girl looked at her mom like she had lost her mind. "Because she's gorgeous mom. I mean... she's like the prettiest girl I know." Her voice dropped to a whisper. "I mean... don't tell her I said that because I know she already got her tattoo. Robin told me she got it on her 16th birthday so her soulmate is older than her. Don't you think she's pretty, mom?" Clarke motioned toward the kitchen with her head and it finally hit Abby what Clarke was telling her. She let go of Clarke and watched as the girl ran and jumped into the pool before going back inside the house.
Abby walked back inside and saw the younger woman, Raven it seemed, playing on her phone. The dark-haired woman set down her phone. "Everything ok?"
The doctor seemed to be in a bit of a daze but she shook her head as if to shake herself out of it. "Yeah. I mean... Jake is here and the girls are all swimming. We can do pizzas in an hour or so." She pulled out the chair closest to the other woman. "Your name is Raven?"
Raven nodded her head. "Yep. Raven Reyes and Robin Reyes. My mom likes birds." She shrugged. "But with the alliteration at least I can be a comic book superhero." When Abby didn't respond she went on. "You know like Peter Parker or Lois Lane or Sue Storm or Clark Kent."
"I think Clark starts with a C and Kent with a K," Abby joked.
Raven nodded. "Yes but the sound is alliterative."
"What superhero would you be?" Abby whispered.
Raven took a sip of her drink. "I don't know... I guess something with engines or machines. I rebuilt a race car engine when I was 16." The dark-haired girl watched as Abby's eyes started to tear. She didn't know why the doctor was crying but it wasn't ok. "Hey. Whatever is wrong is ok."
Abby took Raven's hand and began to smile. "It really is." She brushed her other hand down Raven's cheek and jaw. "I'm Abby, Raven. Your name is on my body and I see the schematic of that engine as frequently as any other image with your name. It was there when I woke up today."
For a few seconds Abby could see the shock and confusion on Raven's face as she struggled to take in this information. For fewer seconds the older woman feared that her name wasn't on Raven's body. And before she could be lost in that fear, Raven framed the doctor's face with her hands and leaned in to kiss her. It started as a gentle kiss. A connecting kiss. But quickly the kiss began to be taken over by the tension of these years waiting. These seven years of knowing there was a soulmate out there and not knowing where she was. Raven stood without breaking the kiss and backed Abby against the refrigerator as she kissed her eagerly with lips and tongue and teeth.
Abby whimpered in relief when she felt Raven's leg between her own pressing up into her and she struggled to stop them. They stood in the kitchen while six eleven year old girls and her ex-husband played in the pool just outside. She finally pulled her lips away and pulled Raven close to hug her and then lean their foreheads together as they tried to get their bodies under control.
The younger woman spoke first. "I have won two different trivia games by knowing all the bones in the hands and feet." Abby laughed and kissed her again before Raven added, "I bet I've called your phone number 100 times."
"Oh... sweetie. It's been disconnected since my parents moved to Arizona. It would have been ... 3 years before your 16th birthday." The doctor laughed. "Who was the douche?"
Raven laughed. "A guy named Murphy was in detention with me. He really was a douche. But he stepped on an IED in Afghanistan three years ago so..." She pulled a hand away and crossed herself.
Abby felt nervous for a moment. "Was the 'I love you' note for me?"
Raven kissed her again. "How could it not be?" she whispered. "It was the last thing I wrote." She laughed. "I wish I had thought of my phone number but yours didn't show up until a week later and it didn't occur to me."
She looked at Abby's arms seeing only the strong muscles and tendons of the other woman's arms and clear skin. She quickly rolled up her t-shirt to show Abby her name. Abby brushed her fingertips over the marks. "My handwriting hasn't been that readable since before I went to medical school," she laughed. "And I spelled cuneiform wrong."
Raven looked up and down the older woman before whispering, "Can I see yours?"
Abby swallowed audibly and bit at her lips. "Raven Reyes, you can see mine when this party is over and these little girls are gone and Clarke has gone to spend the night with her father and a million times after that. But if I show you my tattoo right now this party is very quickly going to get very PG-13 and beyond." Raven smiled again and kissed her soulmate gently before taking a step back but still holding Abby's hand.
"I'm not sure how this is supposed to go. Do you want to go out with me? Today? Forever?"
Abby smiled just as brightly. "Yes, yes, and yes."
When Clarke came in to get snacks and saw Abby and Raven holding hands she told her, "See mom. I told you she's pretty."
And later, when Raven met Jake she saw the mark on his wrist and the sadness as it flashed across his eyes for only a moment. Then he was unexpectedly hugging her so tightly she could barely stand from the shock. He pulled back with tears in his eyes and told her, "She's been waiting for you," and more quietly he whispered, "I'm not surprised."