Alfred was honestly pretty sick of not having his soulmate yet. Almost everyone else he knew had those pretty little knots around their ring fingers. Heck, his own brother had gotten his during the duo's teenage years, the image of a thin blue string right above his knuckle. It seemed like an easy enough premise: as soon as one met their soulmate, matching string tattoos appeared on their ring fingers. They never went away, and were meant (he supposed) to be concealed by the ring exchanged between two lovers during marriage.

But, as he was reminded all too many times, he didn't have one yet. And he was getting old, too! Well, twenty-three. That seemed pretty old to him. He almost wondered if he, or his supposed other half, had been born in the wrong place. Maybe his partner was halfway across the globe. Or, maybe- and the thought made him shiver- his partner was already dead for some reason. He knew it was possible, he had met older generations who had been left single and alone their whole lives. It seemed like a horrible fate for anyone who had to face it.

He supposed his annoyance had gotten him to where he was now: sitting by his apartment window, a half-finished drink in his hand, with his lovely brother and his brother's fiancé sitting across from him.

"-and I just don't get why this- this stupid system was put into place anyway." He ranted, Matthew giving his fiancé that look. The look that said "hey, my brother is starting to get incredibly drunk and maybe we should get out of here at the first opportunity we get". So, when dearest Matthew had the chance to get a word in edgewise, he managed to mention something about his fiancé and his fiancé's family and he really felt quite bad about the whole thing but, if he was being honest he had already been made to sit through so many of Alfred's drunken sob stories in the past that he was getting a little tired of it. So the two of them grabbed their personal belongings and made sure they were taking the alcohol with them, bidding Alfred goodbye and waving as they left. Alfred didn't protest much, instead choosing to wander the apartment and think of what to do next. He did this for only a few seconds, as soon after his wandering began it was quickly stopped. Matthew had left his phone. Alfred snatched it up and went over to the window to see if the couple was outside yet, throwing open the window when he saw the two.

"HEEEEY! MATTIE!" he called, leaning way out to wave and holler and show Matthew that he had his phone. "YOU LEFT THIS!" as he was yelling, he felt the device slip between his fingers and quickly stretched out to grab it again, throwing his weight forwards- and over the tipping point of his window ledge. Alfred could see Matthew's expression shift from mild irritation to terror as he fell, though the only words that really came to his mind were "well, shit" before he smacked into the cold, rough concrete and felt pain spike from his arm and side. That was not a fun sensation at all. He laid there while a small crowd began to form around him, trying his best to not blank out from pain. Something was definitely broken. He groaned, vaguely aware of a man- a handsome brute of a guy- approaching him and saying something about nurses and hospitals before starting to tend to Alfred. Or, at least keep him from dying, which was always appreciated. Not dying, that is. He was vaguely aware of the ambulance siren, which the man helped him up into so that he could be taken to the hospital. The doors shut behind them, and Alfred passed out, body avoiding the pain he was feeling.

Ivan knew he hadn't seen everything yet. Though, being a nurse, he saw plenty of weird and unusual ways that people managed to injure themselves. He was twenty-five and lived by himself with two cats, and really didn't mind it. He was completely content to live by himself. People asked if he was lonely without a soulmate, but he honestly didn't think he was. At least, that's what he kept telling himself. There was no need to feel down about such a thing when he was powerless to solve it, so he might as well not feel anything at all about the situation. It made things easier in the long run.

It was really quite a shock when he finished a shift and took his quick break to spot a small red knot around his ring finger. Wait, when had that popped up? He stopped and stared at it, trying to remember who he had met today. There were quite a few, as he'd found that man on the way to work and then from there had constantly gone from room to room to help others at the hospital. He couldn't exactly just stop working to go find who had the matching string. He finished gulping down his water and crushed the flimsy paper cup to toss in the trash, resigning himself to his work again. If he was meant to find his other half, they would meet up again. He was sure of it.

- days passed-

Alfred had to be in a near frenzy right now. He knew he had met his boyfriend/girlfriend/other-person-friend, the proof was on his finger right there in front of him. The fact that he still had no clue who it was was eating away at him. How was he supposed to find them again? He had his suspicions, of course, but since he had no memories from a solid chunk of that day it was hard to tell. He spent his spare time staring out the window and calling his friends (and brother of course) to complain, which had backfired after Matthew had chewed him out with some lecture about making smart decisions with his alcohol intake. Really, though…. He felt awful. Finding his soulmate had been so incredibly important to him, and he had managed to let it slip through his fingers like silk. Doubt gnawed away at him again as it had once before, worries of spending his life alone and depressed.

After planning a get-together with his friend Kiku, Alfred bundled up to go out into the cold autumn weather with difficulty. It was hard to do so with his arm in a cast, but he managed just fine. He snagged his keys from their hook, going through his wallet as he walked and pulling out a five-dollar bill when he stepped in line, just half a block down for some coffee. Hey, it was cold out. He deserved it. Alfred put his attention forwards again, nearly dropping his wallet. It was the guy! The guy who helped him after his fall. He was quick to tap his shoulder, sticking out his hand to shake the other's so that he could thank him. Ivan of course turned to see who was tapping his shoulder, recognition dawning on his face. Oh, it was this guy. He looked down at Alfred's outstretched hand, holding out his own before he paused.

Wait a minute.

Alfred looked down as well, the two stopped in line.

"…Dude, what the fuck." Not the most eloquent way to introduce yourself to your soulmate, but it worked well enough. "Whaaaaat the fuck." He had always imagined this sort of thing to be more romantic. It was even worse that he knew their first encounter was with him falling out of his apartment window while drunk, which was just about the least romantic thing he could possibly do.

"I see we're matching." Ivan said, seeming as calm as he usually was. The discovery did have huge implications though. "Then, I suppose I'll have to ask you on a date, yes? Next Sunday?" the two would definitely need the time to get to know each other. Alfred was still left a little speechless, but he nodded nonetheless and pulled out his phone in order to get Ivan's number plugged into it.

"Yeah, yeah…. Sunday works just fine. Wait, uh, what's your name?" He should have asked that first thing, and now he felt like an idiot.

"Ivan. I do know yours, though." Which seemed a little creepy had Ivan not been a nurse in the hospital Alfred had stayed at. Alfred finished putting in Ivan's number, not really sure what else to do.

"Right, so, I'll- I'll see you next Sunday." He was just making a big ol' fool of himself now, wasn't he? "Anyway, good luck at work, I'll see you later!" He took a few steps back, awkwardly waving at Ivan before turning to leave.

After a few moments of thought he decided that, somehow, he had ended up with a soulmate who was really, really attractive.

Alfred was pretty convinced that this date was the best one he had ever been on. That wasn't saying much, since it was also the first date he'd been on. He had been worried at first, but the two soulmates had clicked together within just a few moments- as they were supposed to. Alfred talked and talked, and Ivan was happy to receive the other's chatter. It was as though they were meant for each other, and that was because they absolutely were. And if they were being honest, each was quite taken with the other's looks. Ivan enjoyed Alfred's youthful vibrancy and energy, and Alfred was more than taken by Ivan's rougher features and how he was able to ground Alfred's own energy. Their bond grew faster than he had ever experienced before, and soon enough they were making plans to visit each other's homes. It was an incredible feeling, like he wanted to see Ivan every day. Alfred never wanted to leave his side. How was such a sensation possible? There was still so much he didn't know about Ivan. The date ended with small touches and smaller kisses, Alfred playing with the candle on their table and doing his best to stall his inevitable leave from their outing.

"Don't worry Alfred, you know we'll see each other soon." Ivan said, already the voice of reason in their relationship. "And you have my number if you need anything." Which was true, but it didn't make him feel any more eager to leave. Alfred nodded, getting up for a tight hug before he went home.

"I'll still miss you." He promised.

As much as he had been comfortable with it before, Ivan was really starting to get used to not being alone. Alfred had taken to spending the night at his house, and even Ivan's cranky old cat seemed to adore the man. As the days went by, he realized that Alfred had even made it into his bed much faster that he had planned. It was comforting, though. He liked waking up and feeling a now-familiar warmth next to himself. Today, that warmth wasn't there. He sat up, rubbing his eyes a few times and looking around for Alfred. As he grew more aware, he noticed the smell of food coming through his open bedroom door. Ivan pushed the covers off of himself, getting up and lazily pulling on some pants. The worn wood floors felt cold under his feet, but he still followed the familiar path to his kitchen, where he heard a few mild curses. Alfred stood in front of his stove, a slightly messy platter of pancakes and eggs resting on the counter beside him. What a sweetheart. He wandered up to Alfred, arms slipping around the other's waist.

"Morning." He grumbled, chin resting on Alfred's shoulder. Alfred smiled, twisting slightly to kiss Ivan's cheek.

"Morning, big guy. Breakfast is ready if you want it. It's not the prettiest thing, but it tastes good, I promise!" This just earned a little chuckle from Ivan, who nodded.

"I would love some." He reached to take the spatula from Alfred's hand, setting it aside and turning the blonde around to kiss him. "Though I'm certain I love you much more." He laughed again at Alfred's painfully obvious blush. He would say that he could get used to this sort of thing, but he was already used to it.

"I love you too." Alfred said, his hands going up into Ivan's hair to keep him close.

It felt fantastic to finally have his soulmate.