Hands of Fate (l.s. soulmate AU)

Chapter 1: I Never Saw You Coming

Humans used to have four sets of extremities. Fearing their power, Zeus split them into two separate bodies, condemning them to spend their lives in search of their other half. A punishment for humanity's pride. Or at least, that was what the myth said.

Maybe someday Zeus' anger would rise again and he would strike the humans for their indecency, for deceiving him and finding a way to reunite with their other halves.

Ten years ago, when Harry had walked into Matched, the day had been in no way eventful. It had been rather mundane. He had certainly not expected to find his soulmate, he hadn't wanted to find one. The thought of being tied to a person, of being obligated to them had always irked him. Growing up with parents who had been biologically destined to end up together, but had woefully resented each other, had successfully pitted him against the idea of a soulmate.

How could a single code in the long string of genetics bind one to another? It baffled him.

If it weren't for the mandatory testing, Harry would have never found himself anywhere near the building. Soulmate relationships were not perfect; they did end up in divorces, in unlovable environment, in abuse, in neglect. So why bother letting oneself hope? Why let your heart beat in anticipation when it would ultimately be put through pain and suffering? It was all for nothing. At least that was his analogy.

Admittedly, the number of pairs who went through such situations were a minor blip when compared to hundreds of thousands of successful matches, but his own childhood never failed to remind him of that minor blip on the otherwise clear radar.

What his parents had failed to provide in the form of love, they had tried to provide it with materialistic possessions, hoping Harry wouldn't catch up to the sham that was their bonding. Harry had pretended as well, pretended he didn't notice the distance between his parents, pretended he didn't know that his father slept in the guest room, pretended they weren't itching to severe the bond to go their separate ways.

He pretended for the sake of their social standing. For the tabloids and gossip mongers always on their tail. Growing up in the sight of media had damaged his perception of the world. If not for the camera lights glaring at their family's every move, maybe he too would have had normal childhood.

Through all the pretences, Harry had kept his little sister ignorant of their parents unloving marriage. While his parents had failed to shield him from the truth, he had, to an extent, kept Gemma safe from developing a mind-set akin to his own. Maybe that was why she found her soulmate only a month after turning twenty-one, because she believed in them, believed there to be someone who was her perfect counterpart. Their parents had been separated for three years at that time; stating they still loved each other, but in a platonic way, and the media had eaten that up.

Harry supposed he had done a well enough job to protect Gemma, for she believed it was time that had made them grow apart, and time would bring them together as well.

But for all the love he had for his sister, he couldn't bring himself to stay in her company longer than what would be considered polite. Her pitying gaze at the lack of his soulmate was enough to urge him to dig up an excuse to leave whenever they found themselves together. His mother on the other hand understood him too well. Where Gemma chose pity, Anne saw her own image reflected in him. Naturally, she avoided seeing him too often. A resentment for herself, for failing to shield him from her own bias.

To say they were a close family would be laughable. The cracks within their hearts ran deep and wide. He wondered if there ever could be anything that would patch up the shredded tapestry. If they could be with each for the mere notion of love and closeness, and not for the cameras flashing outside the windows of the restaurant.