A/N: Never thought I'd see myself writing a soulmate AU fic, but here I am. Saw a prompt, thought of fic, wrote fic. It's out of my system now.

AU where words appear on your arm saying the first thing your soulmate thinks about you when they see you for the first time. I added a mechanic where the words naturally fade over time but continue to respond to touch: appearing when the owner touches the skin there, disappearing when the soulmate touches it. Because Plot Device™ and also because people like me would never wear short sleeves again if the words were always visible.

Original prompt: promptsfordays tumblr com /post/147813804435/soulmate-au-where-your-tattoo-shows-the-first

Chinese translation: jiushiguanglidedao lofter com /post/43e1ca_ea1fb1b

Viktor was 16 when he received his words. The thrill of competition made him not realize it for a while, but as he got changed out of his costume after winning gold at the Junior World Championships, he noticed a slight itchy feeling on his left arm and found his skin marked by a line of words written neatly in his own handwriting: "Wow, he's amazing. Beautiful." The thoughts of his soulmate seeing him for the first time, written on the soft skin of his forearm.

Viktor didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Finally, he had a soulmate, but that soulmate could be any of millions of skating fans around the world who'd watched his performance. Others' words often served as clues so they could find each other; of course Viktor wouldn't be so lucky.

So he decided to keep the words hidden. Words naturally faded with time, only reappearing when one passed their hand over them, the touch revealing the markings. So Viktor just never touched that part of his arm. Not in his choreography, not for curious reporters, not even in front of inquiring rinkmates. His soulmate could be anyone, so Viktor showed his words to no one.

As he got older, the media speculated. Viktor, have you received your words? Viktor, is there a reason you're hiding your soulmate? Viktor, is the reason you refuse to reveal your words because you don't have a soulmate? Viktor, Viktor, Viktor.

He ignored all of them with a wink and a smile. "Maybe I do, maybe I don't. I prefer to keep that my own business. It's much more fun that way, isn't it?"

He kept his fans close, flirting indiscriminately. His soulmate would be able to find him, he figured. Surely, they'd come find him. If he interacted with everyone who approached him, aggressively thinking his name at them, eventually one of them was bound to be his soulmate. Right?

A decade passed.

Viktor threw himself into skating to stave off the loneliness. But he was getting old for a competitive figure skater, and no matter how many gold medals he won or how many fans he greeted, he couldn't find his soulmate. Some had approached him, sure, but in the end it was obvious their words were the thoughts of someone who wasn't Viktor.

"I'm thinking of retiring after this season," he told Yakov during warmups before the Grand Prix Finals one year.

Yakov shot him a sharp glare. "You're skating the short program in a little while; keep your mind on your program."

Viktor took a long swig of water and handed the bottle back to Yakov. "I can multitask, you know."

"No you can't. Hurry and finish warming up. And don't think about useless things. We can talk about it once the finals are over."

"Yes, yes," Viktor said, heading back out to the rink. He ran through part of his step sequence, jumped a clean triple loop. He felt the cameras following him, knowing that his every movement, every nuance of his facial expression was being analyzed by announcers around the world. He was, after all, Viktor Nikiforov. And Viktor always put on the perfect show.

A loud yelp came from the wall, and Viktor turned to see one of his competitors land on his butt, his coach on the other side of the wall clearly surprised. The same skater had done a gorgeous step sequence only moments ago while Viktor was taking a drink, and Viktor trained his eye on the skater's jacket to try and recognize who they were. It was his first time seeing a Japanese skater at the Grand Prix in several years. The country had sort of fallen off Viktor's radar for a bit, but he might have to start paying attention again. Good for Japan.

The Japanese skater's coach seemed to be Celestino, who was fussing over him in English. "Yuuri, what happened? Why did you suddenly— Wait, did you just get your words?!"

Now that got the attention of everyone on the rink. The entire group of skaters stopped and turned to stare. Murmurs echoed among the audience who peered curiously to see what was happening on the ice.

Viktor felt a vague pang near his heart as he remembered his own words. Hopefully this skater would be more lucky than Viktor was, though he really didn't envy the way the skater's words appeared so publicly. Viktor was sort of glad it had taken him so long to notice his own; the attention he'd have gotten if such vague words were shown publicly was something he'd worked hard to avoid.

"Congratulations, Yuuri!" Chris called from behind Viktor. Viktor looked at him as he skated by.

"You know him?" he asked.

Chris stopped and turned. "Yeah, Yuuri Katsuki, the top skater from Japan. Really, Viktor, there's a limit to how ignorant you can be of your own competition. A privilege of being the best, I suppose."

"My attentions have been elsewhere his season," Viktor admitted. He'd been absorbed in his own loneliness and self-pity lately as his age crept up on him. It was pathetic, he knew, but so long as he kept winning gold it didn't matter what he spent his free time doing. If he spent his time moping around in his apartment alone with Makkachin, then so be it.

Back with Katsuki, it seemed he'd gotten over his shock somewhat and was talking to the others gathered around him. The auditorium was buzzing with excitement, but a hush came over the crowd as everyone's ears strained to hear the words this skater had received on live television before an international competition.

At the prodding of his coach and the other skaters, in careful English, he read them aloud, face burning: "Haven't seen him around before. Nice step sequence. He's beautiful."

Viktor's heart dropped to his stomach. No. No way. Right? There was no way. Sure, he'd noticed Katsuki a few minutes ago while observing his competitors' warmups and thought pretty much the same thing, but those words could've been thought by anyone. It wasn't him. He wouldn't get his hopes up.

Beside him, he could hear Chris trying to talk to him, but he didn't register a single word. His eyes could only see Yuuri Katsuki. His ears could only hear Katsuki's frantic stuttering about how those words could've been anyone, it didn't mean anything.

"Viktor, so you did get your words," Chris said, and Viktor realized he'd pulled up his jacket sleeve and had been been absently rubbing at his forearm. The words were clearly visible thanks to that, the Russian much neater now that Viktor was older and his handwriting more legible, but otherwise exactly the same.

"Ah, I…yeah. Many, many years ago," Viktor said.

"What's it say? You've always been so secretive about it."

"It says that I'm amazing. And beautiful."

Chris whistled. "High praise."

"I noticed it after my Junior World Championships win. It could be anyone who watched the Championships, so I didn't want to talk about it publicly."

"Knowing how some of your fans are, not a bad idea. Why'd you show them now? You know some fan with a camera already has closeups. Feeling more open about it now that Yuuri got his like this?"

"No, I just…" Viktor frowned, not wanting to voice that traitorous hope squirming in his stomach. Yes, he was secretly hoping his soulmate was a man, but that didn't mean he had to pin his hopes on the first guy whose words seemed remotely plausible as having come from Viktor. It was mostly women who approached him, so he was getting a little overexcited. That was all.

Meanwhile, Chris seemed to be piecing together the reason for Viktor's distracted state. "Viktor, don't tell me you…"

"Don't get my hopes up," Viktor snapped, turning to Chris angrily. "Please."

Chris just grinned, a slow smile that crept across his face. "Holy shit. Holy fucking shit."

"Chris, just because it's similar to what I thought…I mean, it's not possible, it's been a decade, I don't think—"

"Viktor, oh my god."

"Viktor got his, too? Today's warmups are just full of surprises," JJ said, skating over and peering curiously at Viktor's arm.

"A long time ago," Viktor said hurriedly, hiding them under his sleeve. "They're really old."

"JJ, you've talked to Yuuri before, right? Didn't he become a fan of Viktor after the Junior World Championships?" Chris said.

JJ shrugged. "I wouldn't know. We're not close."

"Chris, that doesn't mean anything."

"But it might. Yuuri's words are what you thought about him, right?"

"Chris…"

"Hey, Yuuri!"

Viktor let out a long sigh. He was really hoping to keep the whole soulmate issue private until he'd sorted it out himself. So much for that.

Viktor watched as Chris sidled up to Katsuki, whispering things into his ear. Katsuki protested vehemently, but Chris's pushiness won in the end, and soon Katsuki was being propelled toward Viktor as the whole auditorium and probably the entire skating community worldwide watched with increasing fervor.

Chris was grinning ear to ear. "Viktor, meet your #1 fan. Became a world-class figure skater chasing you. Isn't that right, Yuuri?"

"Chris!" Katsuki protested. He turned to Viktor, face flushed and panicked. "I'm Katsuki Yuuri. Err, Yuuri Katsuki. You inspired me a lot growing up, so I'm a fan. It's really so nice to meet you."

Viktor's eyes landed on the Japanese writing on Katsuki's arm. When Katsuki noticed Viktor staring, he subtly turned his arm to hide it.

"Chris, what you're saying is impossible," Katsuki muttered, gripping his left arm tightly.

"You never know until you try, right? Viktor over here seemed pretty shaken when you read your words aloud."

"Viktor doesn't have his words, though," Katsuki protested. He looked cautiously at Viktor. "…right?"

His heart pounding, Viktor pulled his track suit sleeve back up, revealing the words he'd rubbed into visibility only a minute ago. "They appeared the day of my Junior World Championship win. It says I'm amazing and beautiful. It could've been anybody."

Viktor didn't miss the way Katsuki's expression shifted. "Chris, he's right. That could've been anyone. I don't even remember what I thought back then, only that he was—" He stopped himself. "Anyway, it could've been anyone, not just me!"

"But it also could've been you," Chris said. "And Viktor here," Chris pointed at Viktor, "seems to have noticed you for the first time by watching your step sequence just now. Why he didn't know who you were until today is another issue entirely, but if those words on your arm are exactly the same as his thoughts upon seeing you for the first time, it's worth a try, right?"

"You're trying way too hard to play matchmaker, Chris," JJ said. "Let them figure it out themselves."

"What? Apparently Viktor's been keeping his words secret for over a decade, so he's not going to make the first move, and I know Yuuri well enough not to trust him to take initiative either. I'm just helping two friends out."

"Thanks, Chris, but I really don't think it's necessary," Katsuki said quietly. He looked up at Viktor with wide, sad, yet hopeful eyes. Viktor's pulse quickened. If it were anyone else, Viktor would have thought him ordinary, but for some reason this man was almost too attractive for Viktor to handle. Maybe it was just Chris's words getting to him, but he felt drawn to the skater in front of him. But it couldn't be, right?

Slowly, Viktor readjusted his sleeve, pushing it the rest of the way past his elbow so it stayed clear of his words, and held out his left arm as if offering a handshake. Since it had come to this, might as well make the leap.

"Want to try?"

Katsuki's eyes widened. He scrambled to push his own sleeve back. "S-sure," he said, voice shaking.

Viktor's heart pounded in his ears as he and Katsuki gripped each other's arms below the elbow and slowly pulled back, sliding their hands down to the wrist.

"No fucking way," JJ whispered.

Viktor felt tears start to fall.

Yuuri's touch had wiped away the words on Viktor's arm, as Viktor's had for Yuuri's.

"Viktor…" Yuuri mumbled, staring in awe at their bare arms. He grabbed Viktor's hands and forced him to reveal his words again. Then Yuuri's own hand wiped them away. Again and again.

"Congrats, Viktor, Yuuri," Chris said, self-satisfied grin on his face. "Looks like you two found your soulmates."

"Yuuri!" Viktor cried, leaping at Yuuri and throwing his arms around him. "Why did you never approach me? Why did I never see you? I'm so sorry, Yuuri. I'm so sorry."

"Viktor…" Yuuri's hands hesitantly patted Viktor's back.

"This is so great. I'm so glad. I finally found you. I finally found you." He squeezed Yuuri tightly, then pushed back to look into his eyes. "I'm not going to go easy on you today just because we're soulmates, though."

"I-I wasn't expecting you to," Yuuri said, surprised. He smiled. "I won't go easy on you, either," he said.

Viktor beamed. "That's my Yuuri!"

Chris thumped Yuuri on the back, and he stumbled into Viktor's arms. "Neither will I. You're up first, aren't you, Yuuri? Warmups are basically over, so I hope you're ready."

"Oh god," Yuuri whispered, reality setting in quickly. During all this excitement, the clock had been ticking.

Viktor pulled him into a tight hug. "I believe in you, Yuuri. I haven't paid much attention to my competitors recently, I'll admit, but your skating earlier caught my eye more than anyone else here."

"That's just because we're s…soulmates," Yuuri said.

Viktor frowned. "Hmm, I wonder."

"Viktor!" It was Yakov. "Viktor, get off the ice! I don't care what happened with your words, I expect you to be focused and win today. Got it? Warmups are over, get over here!"

Viktor released Yuuri. "My coach is calling me. Good luck, Yuuri."

Yuuri nodded, still seeming a little shell-shocked by the turn of events. "Yeah. Thanks. Uh, you too."

Viktor beamed brilliantly.

"Vitya!"

"Oops! See you on the podium, okay?" He winked, relishing in the way Yuuri blushed. Honestly, he should've watched broadcasts of the other competitions instead of being so absorbed in his own mind. Just because he'd never skated on the same ice as Yuuri before didn't give him an excuse to have never noticed this adorably handsome man. All these years, he'd been missing out on so much!

"Viktor!" Yuuri's voice called out behind him, and he turned with a smile. Yuuri had composed his expression, a fierce determination in his eyes. Viktor's heart skipped a beat. Oh. "Please watch me," Yuuri said. Then he'd turned and headed back to his coach for some last words before his turn on the ice.

Viktor watched after him a moment before finally heeding Yakov's increasingly irritated shouts. He'd been distancing himself from his competitors recently, caught up in his own mind, but now that Yuuri had drawn his attention, he wasn't sure he'd ever be able to look away.

He looked at the words on his arm, simple compliments he'd spent many hours staring at over the years, now filled with new meaning. He pressed his lips to his forearm, ignoring Yakov's lecturing at his side.

"Nice to meet you, Yuuri," he murmured. "Yakov?"

Yakov paused his lecture to give Viktor a stern glare. "What?"

"Put my retirement discussion on hold for now," Viktor said. He put a finger to his lips and grinned. "I might have another year in me after all."

Yakov fumed. "Oy, Viktor, you can't just…Viktor, are you listening?"

Katsuki Yuuri. His soulmate. His soulmate. He had a soulmate.

This skating season was going to be a good one.