Everyone knew that on your eighth birthday, a name will appear on your wrist, written in gold. The letteriing could be rough and rigid, or it could soft and dainty, it would depend on who the person on your wrist was. Typically, thoroughly one's life, the writing will change, sometimes it would go from being rigid to being loopy, the writing would change gradually throughout the years. Everyone knew this. Everyone knew that the person on your wrist was your soulmate, someone that would be a perfect match for you, someone who you were destined to be with forever.

Everyone knew this.

Either their parents would tell them, recounting the story of how they found their soulmate wistfully, or they would hear about it from a teacher who would tell them about soulmates in a scientific way, naming all the theories and giving all the statistics in an extracurricular class.. Or one would hear about it from a book, telling the meeting of soulmates as one big, extravagant event, that would be the most important part of your life.

Everyone knew this. Everyone except Alfred.

When Alfred was young, just about two, his mother gave him up for adoption, for reasons unknown. Alfred grew up in the system, seeming to be too old for anybody wanting to adopt. But he always held hope. He hoped that maybe, just maybe, someone would come and decide that they liked him and maybe, just maybe, Alfred could have a stable home, just once in his life.

As the years flew by, the hope that Alfred stored in his chest slowly dwindled away, until by the age of seven, he had no hope left at all.

The adults around him pitied him, having lost all hope at such a young age.

By the time his eight birthday came along, Alfred didn't know much about soulmates, if anything at all. The adults around him were too busy dealing with the older kids who were acting out, and the younger kids who would cry for attention. They told stories of soulmates to those kids, but not Alfred. Occasionally, he would overhear a little snip-bit of a conversation between an adult and a child, discussing the business of soulmates, but that was as much as Alfred ever heard of them. He would occasionally catch sight of a name on an adult's wrist, but those times were rare, seeing as most adults around him covered there names with long sleeves or a bracelet of some sorts. They couldn't afford to put all the kids in extracurricular classes, only being able to put them in the free, public classes at public school, so Alfred never learned from a teacher, either.

On his eighth birthday while he was brushing just getting done brushing his teeth, he noticed the light gold shining in the fluorescent light. Alfred quickly spit the toothpaste out of his mouth, only taking the extra few seconds to rinse his toothbrush and put it in the small caintainer, before he looked down at the name written on his wrist, written in smooth, yet hesitant, motions.

Ivan B.

Alfred heard enough to know that the name on his wrist was his soulmate, his destined to be. But there was a part of him that doubted this knowledge, a part of him that wondered if he just heard wrong, and this wasn't his soulmate's name.

So, he walked out of the bathroom, down the hall, and into the kitchen where jos current foster-mother, Kathrine, was cooking. The other three kids who lived in this rather large house were all still asleep, so it was just him and Kathrine in he kitchen.

"Hey, Kathrine," Alfred said to get her attention.

"Hm?" She hummed as she reluctantly tore her gaze away from the sausage she was cooking in the pan to look at Alfred.

"Why is there a name on my wrist?" He trusted his arm toward her for her to look.

Gently, he wrapped her fingers around his wrist as she looked down at the name. "This is the name of your soulmate."

Alfred grinned feeling the giddy excitement pool into his stomach. "When I get to meet them?"

"Well, I'm not exactly sure, but it will probably be in a few years from now." She smiled softly before letting go of his wrist and turning back to the stove.

A week after birthday, Alfeed started to get impatient. He wanted to meet his soulmate now! Then they could Cowboys And Indians, and eat the small pudding cups that Alfed occasionallly got together! If he would just come already than maybe Alfred would have someone that was always there with him, despite moving every few months.

Because of this, Alfred decided that while he waited, he was going to write about all the cool things he was doing, so then when he met this Ivan he would know just how much he missed while he was off not trying to find Alfred. While Alfred did want to look for Ivan whenever he tried his foster-parents would tell him to be patient and that the time would come when he least expected it, then they would go back to doing what they were before.

The first time he wrote something, it looked a little like this:

Dear Ivan,

I can't go find you right now, so in the mean time, I'll just write to you.

When I find you, I'll give you this so then you won't feel left out! Cool, right? I came up with this idea all by myself! Now, if only you could write, too, then we both won't have to miss out on cool things while we're away from each other.

I wish we found each other soon, despite living in a house with three other kids, it gets lonely! Everyone else is older than me and they don't talk to me much...

But, hey, I have friends at my school! Maybe we go to the same school! I know you're not in my class, there are no Ivans in there, but maybe you're in a different class! And it will only a matter of time until wd find each other!

Oh, I have to go eat dinner...

Sincerely,

Alfred.

Eventually, his once a week letters turned into once a day letters, then daily notes, and before he knew it, Alfred was writing in a journal every day, every entry always starting with dear Ivan.

Two Years Later

Dear Ivan,

I have the best news! You know the current foster-parents' house I was staying at? Well, they decided they wanted to adopt me and another boy, Matthew! They're going to be my parents! One of their name's is Arthur, he has bushy eyebrow and talks in a funny way, and the other's name is Francis, and he always makes really good pastries! He also taught me that word. Pastry. It sounds weird.

Anyway, I can't believe it! Just a little while ago I didn't have a home, but look at me now! Now, I have two real parents, a really cool home, and a brother! Matthew's quiet sometimes, but he's really fun! Sometimes we play tag in the backyard, or we'll draw pictures, or watch TV, or sometimes we'll read, but he's really fun! I like my new family, I just wish you were included in there... but whatever, I'll find you one day, hopefully soon, so get ready!

Your best friend,

Alfred.

Eventually, 'Your best friend' turned into 'Always Your's' and then that turned into 'Love always', despite Alfred having never met his Ivan yet.

It was seven years later, when Alfred was 17, that he finally found the one on his wrist.

It didn't go exactly how Alfred thought it would.

Alfred thought that when a met Ivan, they would instantly like each other, go get coffee or something, and then they would talk, and that was usually how far Alfred thought about, he never pictured the years after they met, he would only picture a few days afterward.

That wasn't how it happened. It wasn't even close.

The day was a Monday, and everyone that was close to Alfred knew that Mondays did not favor him. He had just had a stupid fight with his friend and he went to take a walk his mind too full of too many things.

He didn't have a destination, but soon he found himself standing in front of the locale library. He smiled to himself. That day his teacher said he had to do report on the Cold War and that he had to get his information from books, not the internet. It seems his feet knew what he had to get done.

When he walked in he was grateful for the heat that enveloped him, scaring away the cold that was previously biting at his cheeks.

Despite what many of his friends thought, Alfred like going to the library.

He likes how, no matter what time of the year, it's always the right temperature, never to hot, never to cold. He likes the smell of books, both old and new, and the vibe it gave off. He likes the quiet that would always surround him, and he likes the times when e could hear nothing but the occasional flip of a page or taping of the keyboard.

Alfred started to walk past the many bookshelves, keeping an eye out for the history section. He didn't get very far into the library, however, when he saw the section of the library solely dedicated to soulmates. Alfred stopped in front of the sign that was on the side on the bookshelf, debating on whether or not he should go in. From where he stood, he could see the sub-section dedicated to fairy tales regarding soulmates. He remembered when he was young, when he didn't know much about soulmates, when he wanted to hear stories about people finding their soulmates, and when he wanted to read all the fairy tales all the other kids knew about.

Before Alfred could think of anything to dissuade himself, Alfred walked into the section his eyes dead-set on the stories for little kids. And that's exactly where he stood now, having only needed to take a few steps to get there.

There were many shelves, filled with small books, many colorful and below the 4th grade reading level, some spines on the books sticking out, having been put back out of place. Alfred didn't recognize any of the books and he felt a little overwhelmed at the sheer amount that he could choose from. There were just so many, he didn't know where to start!

Alfred did a quick glance-over all the books and grabbed the one that looked like the least childish, which happened to be a black book with gold lines outlining the edges and gold lettering in the middle, claiming the title and the author. The gold reminded Alfred of the name on his wrist, the name of his soulmate that he had yet to find, the name of his soulmate who he continued to write to in his many journals that he accumulated throughout the years. Alfred glanced down at the name that had once been written in small hesitant letters but that was now written in normal sized and had a kind of self-assurance about it.

Alfeed tucked the book under his arm and moved to the more adult section, where all the science was behind the whole soulmates thing, thought most of it was just theories, not actual science. There wasn't as many books here than there was in the kids section, so Alfred didn't feel as threatened as he did before.

The books here were in better condition, having been handle mostly by adults and put away correctly. Alfred didn't give much thought to what he was grabbing as he slid a white paperback book out of it's place.

The book was titled 'Everything You Need To Know About Soulmates'. It seemed like just the book Alfred needed.

He tucked it under his arm, just like he had done with the other book, and quickly walked out of the section. He found a seat at a small table in front of a window that showcased the small garden. Alfred found himself smiling as he opened the kids storybook, getting ready to read the stories he never got to as a child.

Unfortunately, he didn't get too far.

A few pages in, Alfred heard a small snicker beside him.

He turned his head slowly and found himself looking the most handsome man he had ever seen.

The man, or boy, as it was, had short platinum blonde hair, boarding in silver, glinting in the artificial light above him, perfectly framing his face. He was tall, probably taller than Alfred, with broad shoulders and holy fuck that was a creepy smile on his face.

And he was looking right at Alfred.

And- Were his eyes purple?! How was that even biologically possible?!

Alfred's observation was interrupted when the stranger giggled again.

"What's so funny?" Alfred asked in whisper.

"You are reading a children's book. Are you a child?"

Alfred stared in shock, he didn't think that this stranger would laugh at him, his mind racing to think of a good comeback.

And when he finally thought of one, the stranger was gone.

Unbeknownst to him, that was the first time he met his soulmate, his destined to be.

The second time they met they were on much better terms, their interaction being more than just an insult, the library incident long forgotten, having happened two years ago.

It was Alfred's second year of college, and he was majoring in pre-law.

The year before he had lived in the dorms with his brother, Matthew. And that was his plan this year, too. That was until Matthew told him he wanted to have someone else as his roommate because, no offense, but I think it would be better if I lived with someone that's not my brother. Which, of course, Alfred did take offense to but he let slide, because it was his brother, after all.

This led to Alfred getting a roommate by the name of Ivan.

When they met, there were lots of fights. These fights fights were about a lot of things, way too many reasons to keep track of. Once, it even got so bad that Alfred tried to get another roommate, but then he was told that he couldn't change in the middle of the semester.

After a while, they dtarted to become friends, though that didn't stop the fighting, but it did happen less frequently and the severity was lowered.

Not long after their friendship formed, they become best friends, and seemed to always be together.

Not long after that, Alfred started to feel giddy every time they shared the slightest of touch.

It never occurred to Alfred that maybe Ivan was his Ivan.

When they finally figured it out, it was Ivan who brought it up.

They were both watching A Nightmare On Elm Street (Alfred was the one that insisted that they wat he's that movie) Alfred was laying on his bed, not paying the movie much mind, instead choosing to play on his phone, Ivan was sitting in a chair at the desk they shared, watching the movie with a little more interest than Alfred.

Ivan paused the movie and turned to Alfred, a curious look placed across his features. "What's your last name?"

The sudden question garnered Alfred's attention, causing him to disregard his phone immediately to focus on Ivan. "Dude, we've been best friends for, like, three months now, how do you not know my full name?"

Ivan merely shrugged his shoulders.

Alfred grinned and held out his hand, "Alfred F. Jones, at your service."

Ivan smiled lightly and to Alfred's hand shaking it slightly. "Ivan Barginski, it's nice to meet you."

Alfred moved to take his hand back but it seemed that Ivan had other plans, as he grabbed hand and pulled it foreward, tilting it just enough to see his wrist.

Alfred felt blood rush to his head as he realized that Ivan could see the golden letters that adorned his lightly tanned skin.

Ivan's smile widened as he let go of Alfred's hand, now making a big show of rolling up his right arm's sleeve and moving his arm closer for Alfred to see.

In the low light of the TV Alfred could make out a name, written in handwriting that he knew by heart, the gold was the same color as the one on his wrist, written in loopy cursive.

Alfred J.

Alfed brought his hand up to the side of Ivan's face, slowly snaking his fingers through Ivan's silver hair. He hesitantly brought his lips to Ivan's in a small, warm, chaste kiss.

Alfred smiled and slowly moved away to get a small, black book out from the nightstand. He brought it over to Ivan and held it out, patiently waiting for Ivan to take it.

"I think you should have this, since we're soulmates and all."

In Alfred's hand was the first journal he wrote in when he was eight, the one that he waited eleven years to give Ivan.

The last entry went a little like this:

Dear Ivan,

I finally found you.

Love,

Alfred.