Author's Note: I already have a few chapters of this uploaded on AO3, but I figured I'd start putting it up on here too since I have nothing better to do. Just wanted to try my hand at the soul mate AUs!
Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia and I most likely never will.
Love was stupid. It was unrealistic, completely fake, and a total waste of time.
People didn't even get to choose who they fell in love with. Alfred had seen kids at his school talk shit on one another without having even seen the other person, but the moment their eyes met, and their clocks went off, they were completely smitten.
It was only the idea that they loved, that unworldly concept of a person the stars have destined them to be with. Alfred was certain someone could have their clock go off the moment they set eyes on a slice of pizza and accept the fact that their soul mate was a damn food.
They were all brainwashed products of an unrealistic society, planning their lives around a dumb clock forever fused with their bodies; or until they found their "soul mate" anyway. Alfred knew better.
He'd seen the videotape from when he was born. Personally, he wasn't sure why his mom consented to have the entire thing filmed by her own mother, but Alfred has never really understood women anyway. He closed his eyes whenever he was forced to watch it, but there was a specific moment when everyone in the room grew quiet, the silence only broken by his infantile wailing.
They were all waiting for the announcement from the doctor, a middle-aged man who had probably delivered so many babies by that time that he was no longer moved as he wiped the grime off Alfred's flailing arm. Alfred could relate to that doctor, though he did despise him for some reason, even if he didn't know a thing about him.
"Seventeen." The doctor said at length, and the camera jolted slightly as Alfred's grandmother nearly lost herself to the shock. "Seventeen years, twelve days, and twenty-eight minutes."
Infant Alfred promptly pissed all over the front of the doctor's scrubs while his mother burst into exhausted yet joyful tears, and it was definitely Alfred's favorite part of the video.
See, every person was born with a clock that counted down to the day they met their soul mate or whatever, and Alfred was no exception; but Alfred's case was considered a miracle of sorts. Some didn't meet their destined (bleh) until later on in their lives, when they were settled into their respective jobs and life was stable. Apparently the universe understood when that time would be in each person's life and introduced people accordingly.
Alfred's position was enviable, even when he was just a little kid. A lot of people would kill to meet their soul mates as soon as Alfred was supposedly going to meet his. Some have told him so before, and he always promptly responded with a, "Take my soul mate, I don't want her. Or him, I'm not picky," even though he really was picky. Girls were just... no. His parents always told him to be grateful, but he didn't listen.
He hardly ever looked at his clock, and the quick glances stopped completely once he was twelve or so. He frankly didn't give a shit about any of it, and if he could somehow get the timer removed, he would've done it years ago; but he let his friends fawn over him and ogle his wrist even if he was trying to do something completely unrelated, and he tried not to be too intense when asked of his feelings on the matter.
Ignoring it hardly made up for the fact that one of these days, Alfred was going to have to turn someone down when their timers went off in sync, but it made his life somewhat easier. He didn't have to worry about any of it, really, and life was manageable.
But the universe – meddling prick that it was – decided that Alfred, who'd never suffered from an injury in his life, needed to throw out his shoulder while passing a football back and forth with his older brother in the backyard, sending him to a rehabilitation center and into the presence of someone he'd dreaded meeting all his life.
His brother Matthew drove him on that first day, ignoring Alfred's comments about how stupid the whole thing was and leading the way into the building. He'd been wearing a wristband, his clock hidden from view completely. He didn't make it a habit to check the numbers anyway, so Alfred hadn't even seen it coming.
Matthew strode up to the front desk, gave the receptionist the necessary information regarding Alfred's appointment, and the two brothers stood together awkwardly for a few minutes before they were approached from behind. "Matthew Williams." Mattie said in that annoying tone that was supposed to make him seem more like an adult but Alfred just found excessive. It didn't matter if his brother was nineteen. He still slept with stuffed animals, and Alfred would never let it go. "I'm Alfred's older brother."
"Arthur Kirkland." Was the tired response, and Alfred only glanced up because he was momentarily startled by the man's British inflection. "I'll be Alfred's – "
He only noted the strikingly green shade of the man's eyes before a series of beeps sounded, and Matthew jumped back in apparent shock, eyes darting back and forth between his brother and the newcomer. Arthur was frozen in place, hand still extended in the handshake he'd been offering to Alfred, though the teenager wasn't paying attention to him anymore.
Everyone was staring at them, some smiling, others cheering a bit, and the rest going about their fucking business like decent human beings. Alfred reached up to pull his wrist band down just to make sure that Matthew's clock hadn't been the one to go off – though that was impossible, since Matt's wasn't set to go off for another six years.
Alfred scowled at his wrist. The numbers were gone like he'd always wanted them to be, but it wasn't nearly as satisfying as he'd hoped. He shoved the wrist band back into place, wincing a bit as he jostled his injured shoulder, turned around, and walked back out the door.