Requested by Lilith

Soulmate AU:

Somewhere on your body is a tattoo that depicts an image that has to do with your soulmate.

Narrator's POV

Matthew was fine.

He was completely fine with being alone, with being ignored.  Ignored to the point that people forgot his existence.

He was fine when his parents forgot his birthday.

He was fine when his friends forgot to invite him to hang out.

He was fine when his brother forgot to invite him to his wedding.

Matthew was fine.

Why?  Because he had something to hope for; his soulmate.

Right on his shoulder, a picture of a bird, that was proof there was someone out there, waiting for him, who would love him and remember him.

All Matthew would have to do was wait and wear anything he thought could be the symbol his soulmate had of Matthew.  Which is why Matthew always wore the symbol of the nation he called home, Canada.

He wore that Maple leaf symbol everyday.

He put it on his books, his computer, his phone, even his house.  All in hopes his soulmate would someday see it and notice it.

But seasons went by, his school days gone, his college days with them, and now he was an overworked employee.  But Matthew still insisted he was fine, but he wasn't.  He was starting to get impatient.

'Where are you?'  He wondered to himself more and more often as he sat at his cubicle.  'I'm still waiting for you, are you still waiting for me?'

"Have you thought about travelling?"  A manager said, snapping Matthew from his thoughts as he glanced over at his manager.  But as usual, the question wasn't directed to him, it was directed at a coworker.

"No, why do you ask?"  The coworker countered.  The manager shrugged.

"Well, how do you know your soulmate isn't in another country?"  He asked, making a look of realization dawn on Matthew's coworker's face.

"Another country!  That's the answer for why I haven't found them!  Thanks!"  The coworker said, sprinting off to probably plan to travel.  The manager chuckled and walked off, leaving Matthew alone to his thoughts once more.

'Another country... It could be possible that that's why I haven't met my soulmate yet either,'  Matthew thought to himself.  He paused for a moment, glancing around, before opening a new tab in his computer and began searching for images of birds.

'I think this is it,'  Matthew thought to himself, finding a picture of a bird, similar to the one on his shoulder.   'It says that this is the bird that was on the flag of Prussia... but wasn't that country dissolved?'

Matthew quietly noted this down and began his search, feeling like he had found a lead as to where his soulmate could be.

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Gilbert was fine.

Better than fine actually.

He had a good job, great friends, a warm house, and a bright future, even if he had not found his soulmate yet.

But this didn't bother him too much.  He was too busy enjoying life to be hung up on that.  Plus, he was pretty popular so it wasn't like he had a shortage of nighttime partners.

He only ever searched lightly, always sure his soulmate would appear to him, one way or another.  When he felt he had searched the bare minimum, he would continue to enjoy his time doing whatever he pleased.  It was not often he would think of the Maple leaf over his heart.

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'I'm here and still nothing,'  Matthew thought as he walked the dark streets of Berlin.

All his research on the bird led to Germany, as Prussia was indeed dissolved, yet its people still remained.  One of these people must be Matthew's soulmate.

With not much else to do, Matthew wandered into a random bar, filled with people.  Some talked with friends, some flirted with lovers, some drank quietly in the corners.  It was filled with people who were there for all reasons.

Matthew took a seat at the end of that bar top, sliding his coat off to reveal just his simple tank top, and quietly turned to the barkeep.

"Got any Maple Liquor?"  Matthew asked the barkeep.  The man nodded wordlessly and slid him a glass, Matthew downing it as he just sat there quietly.

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Gilbert was enjoying himself as he drank with his friends, enjoying the touches of one of his regular one-night stands.

"'ey Gilbert,"  His french friend Francis said, coming back from the bar with more wine.

"Vhat's up?"  Gilbert asked, a bit tipsy, enough to get a bit handsy with this girl.

"Just saw a cute guy order some of zhat Maple Liquor,"  Francis said, sitting down.

"So?"  Gilbert asked, making Francis roll his eyes.

"And I saw 'is tattoo,"  Francis said, leaning forward with a smirk.  "It's zhat same bird you always brag about.  Zhat Black Eagle, no?"

Instantly Gilbert felt sober as he gave Francis a hard stare, taking his hand off the chest of the girl whose name he could not remember.

"Jou sure?"

"Absolutely mon ami~"  Francis said, giving him a wink.  "The guy's sitting in the back~"

Without another word, Gilbert got up and walked slowly towards the bar which was now swarmed with people and turned to the barkeep.

"Vho ordered Maple Liquor?"  He asked.  The barkeep raised an eyebrow and motioned all the way to the end of the bar top, where Gilbert spotted a mop of golden hair.  Wordlessly, Gilbert placed a 5 euro note on the bar top and walked towards the young man sitting there with his shoulder exposed, revealing the tattoo of the bird.

'Zhat bird is mein awezome eagle,'  Gilbert told himself as he walked over, starting to unbutton the first few buttons of his shirt to reveal the Maple leaf tattoo on his chest.

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'What am I doing here?'  Matthew wondered as the bar kept getting more and more crowded.  With another sigh, Matthew drank more of his liquor.

"Hey zhere,"  A raspy voice said in a thick German accent.  Matthew glanced over to see a tall albino man with ruby eyes staring at him, a Cheshire grin on his face.

"Yes?"

"Jou vouldn't happen to like Maple leaves, vould jou?"  The stranger asked, pulling his shirt down a bit to reveal the Maple leaf on his chest.  Matthew's eyes widened as he glanced at the tattoo on his arm and back to the man.

"Kessse, I'll take zhat as a ja,"  The man said.  He then extended his hand.  "I'm Gilbert."

"I'm M-Matthew,"  Matthew stammered out, taking the other's hand.

"Kessse, I zhink zhis is going to zhe start of an awezome relationship,"  Gilbert said, tightening his grip.

"Y-yeah, I think so too."  Matthew said, his heart fluttering a bit as hope filled his heart.

With this, Matthew would no longer lie to himself, for now, when he said he was fine, he really meant it.

~Fin~