Dual

Duality, it's what rules this world. Everything has an opposite that compliments it, everybody knows it a longs to find it. Most people call it a soulmate, almost everyone he knows is looking for their own soulmate as if they wanted to be whole once and for all.

Most of people he knew were already paired, most met theirs as kids or during high school. He was one of the few who was still alone in this world. Gendry had heard of people who were born without a soulmate, his mother had been one of those. She was a loner, ones that never found or were born without a soulmate, but never felt the need to look for it.

Particularly, he never did much to find his own. IF he was paired, he just assumed he would find his soulmate eventually, if not it was perfectly fine. He wouldn't be surprised if he was to spend his life alone, everyone abandoned him. His father never cared for him or his mother, just gave him a powerful last name and paid for school. His own mother was the one that busted her ass off working to make sure he had a roof over his head and food on the table before cancer consumed her.

Many people had told him that you knew the moment you meet your soulmate, nobody could explain it to him. When his half-sister found hers, she only could say that it was as if the world was new, she felt him near and when she turned around it was it, she just knew. It was something that saddened him, her finding her mate because it meant she was not going to be around that often. They were half-brothers from the samefather. They both looked too much alike, which meant they looked like their father, Robert Baratheon a wealthy business guy. His mark was their blue eyes, tall frame and dark thick hair,

While working he could see how couples came in with their cars to the shop, they always ended up asking how he met his soulmate while he was working on their cars. When he said he didn't have one people always looked at him with pity and told him that his time would come soon.

He lived his life as it was, soulmateless. He felt whole and it didn't bother him, so why people pitied him? He was contempt. He had a job he was good at, he attended his last year of university and he had a group of friends, he had a comfortable life. He could go on like this.

Now he was arriving to a bar he usually never goes, because he was going to meet his sister Mya's friends and her infamous soulmate. As soon as his sister saw him she jumped to hug him and introduced him to everyone.

"Guys, this is my younger brother Gendry" – she was so excited when she started to introduce him to a bunch of people– "This is Jon, his brother Robb, Theon, you already know Beric, and this" – pointing towards a big ginger sitting on the booth's corner –"this is my soulmate, Thoros of Myr". The guy stood up and shook his hand, the rest of the guys saluted him with nod and a smile.

His sister, the rebel and non shit taker who hated rich people like their father had been matched with a rich guy herself for all he could see. Thoros was tall and buff, he was almost as tall as him. The other folks were apparently rich people, he recognised Jon from a workshop class he had a while ago in uni, he was the guy who always dressed in black. His brother was a lean guy with a dark red hair colour and that Theon guy was a skinny blond guy with a mischievous look.

Time passed and he was dreading every minute of it, it wasn't that most of the guys were wealthy or assholes, they were pretty nice and they were talking and drinking. It wasn't the fact that Jon, Robb and had soulmates called Ygritte and Jeyne whom made an appearance later that night. It wasn't the fact that Beric was the one who talked to him the most, as if he was analysing him. Something was keeping him on edge, probably the fact that at any moment they were going to ask him about his non-existent soulmate. Why did people who find their soulmates look so happy? He always wondered that.

"Hey, look Sansa is here with The Hound" – the blond guy said and Jon and Robb turned their heads to look someplace, he felt curious so he looked as well. – "Think The Hound will start a fight if anyone looks at Sansa?" – Robb said with a laugh

"Think Arya is coming too?" – Jon asked. He felt so out of place, he didn't know anyone. –

"Sansa, the redhead over there, is our younger sister and that scary guy with her is her soulmate. Arya is our little sister" – Jon explained to him while pointing to the redhead. He probably saw his lost look and felt sorry for him. Well, they were kind of okey guys for all he could tell so far, tried to make him feel included and all because he was probably going to see them often now that his sister was matched with one of them.

He turned to look where Jon was pointing and saw a tall redhead girl with an incredibly tall guy who glared anyone that came near them. The guy, or The Hound, as they kept calling him was a scary folk with a burnt scar on his face; one could tell had been good looking before that scar marked his face. He wondered if he was scarred before his matching with that Sansa girl or if she fell in love with him even if he was marked already. Could that soulmate bond be that strong?

"Gendry, you ok?" – his sister asked

"Yeah, why?" – He was feeling something, nervous since he got here. The nerves of meeting new people was getting to him, he felt out of place. He shrug off her sister's questions, he didn't want any attention. Gendry continued talking with the guys and saw how most of the time the matched people got lost in their own little world, Beric didn't seem to care neither did that Theon guy who kept talking to him.

Beers kept flowing and he found out about the other people. Jon, Robb and Theon were his age 24, Thoros was 26. They were also finishing school this year, Jon went to the same college he did and Robb went to a private on the other side of town, north way. Jon's girl was a redhead who kept challenging him to drinking games while Robb's one was a quieter type of girl. Theon was a prankster and eventually that Sansa girl, she was 21, joined them with her soulmate who was 27.

They all seemed like a solid group, everyone had a place and purpose. His own sister now had a place among them and he didn't. He was a loner, as usual. When that feeling got too much he excused himself and went to the bathroom. He needed a breather, there he did his business washed his hands and splashed water on his face and hair, making it more of a thick mess than it usually is.

As he seemed to feel better he went back, he was on edge. What was wrong with him? He had never felt so nervous in his life. Had he developed social anxiety tonight? He probably needed another beer to get his shit straight.

He was walking back when he saw someone else had joined their table. It was a small girl, he could tell. She was standing and facing her back to him. Great, probably another soulmate of one of the guys or a girl with her own had joined them. His heart was beating harder, what was happening to him? It was as if the air in this place was light and wasn't getting into his lungs.

He saw Mya pointing at him and the girl turned around as in command, their eyes locked. He saw grey eyes, deep grey who were looking at him with a surprised look. His heart was beating its way out of his chest and the world was spinning and disappearing. All sound died, everything turned black except the eye from that girls. He needed to get closer and get out of that darkness that was surrounding him.

His legs didn't want to obey him, he tried harder until they started functioning. The world was coming back, he could see the bar and the people on their table who were still talking all happily. The new girl was still looking at him; he was getting closer walking as fast as he could when she ran away. She just ran…

"Arya, where are you going?" – he heard someone yell. Who? He wasn't sure.

"Gendry, are you ok? You look as if you've seen a ghost!" – his sister was talking to him, he couldn't answer. He forgot how to speak. She was getting closer to him, walking him towards the table. Had he stopped walking? When? When the girl ran away?

He sat down, the world was still spinning. His heart was still beating fast. Everyone was looking at him. He was hot, the place was too hot and bright and the sound was now too loud. Where had the girl ran away?

"Here, take this" – someone handed him a glass of something, he drank it one gulp. It was cold beer.

"Dude, breathe. You ok?'" – he looked up, Theon was talking to him. He looked at everyone. He looked at each person, one at a time and when he saw his sister he knew. It was clear to him now.

"I think I found her" – was all he could say.

Author's note

An idea popped on my mind.