Chapter Text
Once upon a time, there was a white Addison, the only one of its kind in Cyber City. It single-handedly ran the email servers. Every day ran the exact same, and every action the Addison completed was automatic and habitual. There was a familiar routine that was so flawlessly executed that those who used the email servers were convinced it was run by a large team rather than by a single Darkner. It woke up, walked to work, completed its tasks, walked home, ate a small meal that automatically arrived at the door, then went to sleep.
The only change in this ever-constant routine was a numerical timer embedded into its left wrist. It was dark grey to stand out from the white, static-like skin of the Addison. The glow was just bright enough to distract from the work in the pitch-black office, leading the Darkner to frequently stop and look at it.
38:21:15:59:46
38:21:15:59:45
38:21:15:59:44
The marking wasn't a birthmark or a pixel deficit, given how it had been so perfectly placed. It was done so intentionally. Each change was precise, methodical. What was it for? What would happen if it hit zero?
The dread was the same as what it was when the white Addison thought too much about the Thorn Ring it was cursed to carry. If the timer reached zero, it must be bad, like his deactivation.
The Addison had no way to learn the truth. Therefore, it needed to find a solution by itself. In the past, when it didn't want to acknowledge the Thorn Ring, it used the few spare Dark Dollars it had left to order a material pouch that could wrap around its stomach. This 'money pouch' was supposed to be a secret pocket to keep valuables safe, but the Addison deemed it a suitable prison for the ring.
The same plan could not work for the timer, but the logic could still be applied. It found a scrap of brown material and wrapped it around the wrist. It needed to keep the numbers hidden away from the world. That would keep everything safe.
Soon, much like the material pouch tied around the stomach, the makeshift cuff on the wrist became a part of the body and was never taken off or acknowledged again. At last, the Addison could fully forget about it and return to the peace of the automatic routine of the day.
Time blurred once more.
Everything was the same, over and over, until it wasn't.
One day, the power in the building went out, forcing the Addison to make the difficult decision to return home and rest for the day to counteract the consequence of losing half a day's wages. On that walk back, during a busy afternoon in Cyber City, it made a conscious decision to stray from the normal path and enter the West Shopping District.
It was discovered by a pink Addison with eyes the same colour as the white Addison's. In an instant, the world grew larger.
Suddenly, 'it' became 'he', and 'the white Addison' became 'Snow'. Two strangers had discovered they were brothers.
Snow slowly began to learn about some rules of Cyber World: how that automatic routine he had relied on was actually really unhealthy, and how it was important to take breaks and socialise. Life was beginning to expand, and everything was wonderful.
But the cuff on his wrist stayed on. In fact, it remained firmly in place, even when the material was tattered and worn compared to the new uniform gifted to him by his brother's partner. The sleeves were long, and the white embellishments on the ends hid the cuff entirely.
His brother, a pink Addison by the name of Rose who owned the Cyber Boutique, had initially noticed the cuff on the day they met, but decided to say nothing. Snow had too much to juggle with adjusting to the new world. The last thing he needed to be aware of that day was how every Darkner was created with a timer that told them precisely when they met their life partner.
The time to explain it came on the first 'day off' Snow had ever taken (purely because Rose could see how Snow had zero awareness of what that was). The pair spent the afternoon in Rose's home, chatting and helping Snow learn about the concept of 'hobbies'. From taking the time to make food, to taking a tour of Rose's room and embracing the mischief of stealing the plush shoe that was as large as Snow's torso, to discovering the joy of colouring a picture, it was a simple but enjoyable day.
"Maybe next time we're off, we could look around the city. We could get you signed up in the library and you could borrow books of your own. There's plenty to do: museums, galleries, even a funfair."
"A funfair?" Snow's full attention was on his brother, ready to learn about the city he barely knew.
"Yeah. It's an outdoor place with all sorts of amusements and games. There are little carts that go around set tracks and carriages on a large wheel that give great views of the city. That's called the Ferris Wheel. Could be an excuse to go visit Orchid and her friends. What do you think?"
"I like that plan. It sounds like the city is really big." Snow put the empty plate on the table and curled up beside Rose. The shoe plushie was in his arms and provided a further sense of comfort and grounding.
"Yeah, it is… Wait. There is a way to show you." Rose blindly reached out to the small console table just beside the arm of the couch on his left to grab the remote. "There's an information channel that talks about all the features of Cyber City and the surrounding areas. It repeats on loop so don't worry if you miss anything." With a flourish, he pressed a button on the remote to turn on the television.
It wasn't the information channel that came on.
Instead, it was a game show, bright and flashy as the results from a round were displayed on a large board.
"And it looks like the Red Team has just jumped back into the lead after that incredible round!" gasped a bright voice. Rose sighed in understanding. He should have anticipated that channel.
"Lightners watch all sorts of shows, but we have our versions of them. Solas is a big fan of this Tenna guy from one of the other Dark Worlds. I'm not sure whether it's because the guy's a good host or whether Solas likes seeing the different outfits he wears."
"Is he good at what he does?"
"He's certainly something, let's put it that way."
The camera changed to show a tall figure dressed in a bright green suit, a black shirt, and a yellow tie tucked neatly inside. The combination was loud and garish, yet he somehow made it work. Curiously, instead of a face, the head was a television, complete with a nose and mouth that projected out from the screen. Tenna’s focus was on the contestant who had just earned her team the crucial points.
Snow felt a warmth blossom in his chest. That Darkner was beautiful, and that thought was only emboldened when the host turned to the camera and smiled in a way that made the white Addison's coding skip a line. "You said his name's Tenna, right?"
"Yeah. 'Ant' Tenna, I think. Why do you -" Rose turned to his brother, grinning as he noticed the soft pink dusting white cheeks. "Snow?"
Snow blinked, shaking his head to try and give Rose his attention. "S-sorry, I just… I've never seen anyone like him."
"That is true. There are a lot of Darkners you haven’t seen… But I think someone has caught some feelings~" Lightly bumping against his younger brother, Rose playfully added, "I think you're in love~"
"L-love? Me? N-no, that wouldn't make sense. I-I mean, I only saw him. There's no way that I could, not when he's so - a-and I'm just a-"
"It's fine to have a crush on someone, even if they aren't the right Darkner." When Snow opted to tilt his head rather than vocalise another stutter-filled question, Rose continued, "Every Darkner when formed, or when they reach a certain age if they form as a minor, has a timer on their left wrist or equivalent limb. When it reaches zero, you meet your lifelong partner. Usually that’s romantic, but there are more platonic bonds as well."
"So this is… Not bad?" Snow's right hand slowly rubbed the left cuff.
"No, not at all. Probably scared you when you didn't know why it was there. It's a good thing. Your lifelong partner - or 'soulmate' - is the perfect Darkner for you, and you for them. Think of it like finding a matching pair of shoes."
Snow wasn't convinced that easily. He sighed. "Then why do I feel a sense of dread every time I look at it?"
"Sometimes there's a sense of anticipation or a fear of the unknown. You don't know who it will be until you meet them for the first time. Once you make eye contact of some sort, the timers go off and disappear together. Just to make sure you both know it's real." Rose rolled up his own sleeve to show a clear left wrist. "It's nothing to be embarrassed about having."
Snow glanced down at the cuff. "Do I have to show it?"
"No, of course not. There are plenty of Darkners who prefer the surprise. But I'm guessing that's not your reason."
"Well… I always feel like I'm bad luck. If something is going to go wrong, it'll happen to me. That's why I was trapped by myself for so long. I know you'll say that isn't true but…"
"But we have time to figure it out for you." Rose gently ruffled his brother's hair. "We can ask Solas to make you a new cuff. Maybe two, so it's a fashion statement."
"Should we make them white? Make it harder to see at a glance?"
"I like your thinking! Why don't we get a sketch ready for Sol to work with?" While Rose searched through his inventory for his small notebook, Snow took the moment to think while rubbing the left wrist. While there was a sense of reassurance in knowing that others had a timer on their wrist and it didn't mean deactivation, he found he wasn't fully at ease.
He felt love the moment he saw Tenna. He was so charming and popular that he likely already had his soulmate and a family. There was no question about it. What if he reached the zeroes and didn't like his assigned soulmate? Rose insisted it would be a perfect match, but…
For a moment, if he forced himself to ignore the timer, he found he would much rather admire that host. And maybe, in a daydream securely locked in a password-protected zip folder, he would pretend that he was in a Dark World where timers didn't matter and he could try and find a way for Tenna to love a nobody like him.
On the next working day, Snow was given a pair of pure white wrist cuffs from an excited Solas. They were made from a soft material and had elastic inside them for easier moving and adjusting. They fit perfectly and caused no irritation. It was only when the previous scrap of material was removed that the three Addisons noticed how tightly it had been wrapped. The new cuffs would put less strain on Snow's hand.
Once it was confirmed that no further adjustments needed to be made by the orange Addison, the topic of soulmates never came up again. When trying to shadow his Addison friends and attempt to learn some skills, Snow noticed how some Darkners glanced down at the wrist, but no one ever commented on it. There was relief in knowing that his privacy was being respected.
With each phase of his internships, it became clear that while Snow had potential to draw interest to something, he wasn't able to make the moves to actually make the sale. Even if he used the precise techniques that others recommended, it would fail. Something about him made him unappealing to actually purchase a product from. No one could figure out what the problem was.
His fingers curled behind the cuff with the intention to pull it off. He was already faulty for not being able to make a sale, why should his fear of the timer add to that oddness?
Then, he stopped. Ashes, the self-assured yellow Addison businesswoman, had insisted that Snow was never to change himself to please others. He was to remain true to himself and what he believed in. Would that count here?
He decided it would, and set the cuff back to where it was. He wanted to figure himself out before dealing with the pressure of learning about someone else.
Months passed.
One fateful day, the Cyber Boutique was quiet. Rose had challenged his brother to choose outfits for a mannequin from a small selection of clothes. As Rose stepped away, Snow felt a brief sting on his left wrist. He didn't remember bumping it against anything, but gently pressing his thumb against the cuff didn't cause any pain. That, at least, was good. Deciding that he had simply moved it too fast, the worry was put aside.
A few minutes later, however, the door to the Boutique slammed open as a periwinkle Addison raced in.
"FELLAS!!! BIG NEWS!!!"
"Hi Morpho. Can you please use your indoor voice inside my store?" Rose took the opportunity to approach. Both Snow and Solas were hot on his heels. "What's got your wires tangled up?"
Morpho excitedly waved a small, manilla envelope in the air. "You will NEVER guess who is the luckiest artist in town??"
"Me, obviously," teased Rose. "Seriously though, what happened?"
"So there I was in the Color Café, collecting my supply of paints for the shop as usual, when Swatch called me over. They explained how they had been gifted tickets for a show for their entire flock, but due to an emergency accident in the Mansion, they can't go anymore. So I've been given six tickets to the show in the Desktop Gallery tonight!"
The excitement didn't catch on. Silence hung in the air for several moments.
"And…?" Rose rolled his wrist in an invitation for Morpho to continue, "What's on?"
"TV TIME, Live! It's starting in three hours!"
That answer struck a flame of excitement in Solas, who quickly snatched up the envelope. When he saw for himself that Morpho was telling the truth, his face lit up. "Oh my hardware, it really is! We’re gonna see Tenna live! Tell me they're good seats. I want to be able to see every single outfit!"
"I think so? They're in the stalls. Somewhere in the middle? But we don't have time to guess! I've already told my sister but we need to get ready!"
Snow tuned all the bickering out, opting to rest his head against the back of Rose's upper arm. It was only when Solas raced out with Morpho to find Ashes that Rose gently nudged his arm to snap his brother out of the daze.
"We're gonna have you looking beautiful in case you two get to meet."
Snow chuckled, feeling his face warm up at the idea. "That'll never happen, but thank you for the support."
"... You know I'm still dressing you up, right? This is a special occasion and we need to make the most of it!"
“Can we match?”
“You read my mind, little bro.”