Stephew Oneshots.

The Red String Of Fate

There is an ancient Japanese legend that talks of a god, who creates connections between two individuals. This connection is seen as a red string attached to an individual's ankle that is linked to another person, anywhere in the world. Whoever you are linked to is deemed by the gods, to be your soulmate.

Some people never meet their soulmates. Others spend their time with people who aren't their soulmates. The lucky ones find one another early in life and grow old together in blissful happiness. This red thread cannot be seen by mortals though some people have claimed to be able to see them.

Those who can see these strings tend to struggle with their emotions, cursed to watch relationships shatter and soulmates miss out on one another. In the case of Matthew and Stephanie Patrick, their red string is one of the strongest the world has ever seen. It could never be severed. They knew their relationship could withstand the tests of time. Matthew could see the strings. He could see what drew them together and he had watched it strengthen over time.

This is the tale of two soulmates and how fate kept them together.

-*-*-*-

Red.

The constant colour of Matthew's life.

The strings were everywhere yet none of them seemed to connect. Hundreds of people were at this party, hundreds of bright red strings stretching out into the world. Matthew sighed and glanced down at his string, his eyes following the trail in hope that it would connect to one of the girls in the room. No such luck.

He hadn't wanted to come to this party. His roommate had dragged him out of their apartment, claiming that he needed to stop studying for five minutes and socialise. No such thing as an introvert according to him. Though, this was coming from the guy who almost burned down their apartment trying to cook popcorn. Matthew grabbed a beer from the side and weaved his way through the crowd, avoiding eye contact with everyone that he could.

Awkwardly skirting past a couple making out against the wall, Matthew noted that their strings didn't connect. When the girl made eye contact with him, he gave her a rueful smile before looking away – not wanting to intrude on their moment. The girl's string led across the room to another boy, who was staring longingly at her. Clearly, there was some history there. The other half of the fornicating couple, the boy, and his string led out of the party entirely – out into the wide world.

Taking a sip of his beer, Matthew looked for his friend. Where did he go? The room was filled with sweaty students, dancing and drinking, yet none of them were his friend. Groaning internally, Matthew debated his options. He could attempt to find his friend or he could leave early and go finish that essay he had been assigned. Taking another look around the room, Matthew decided to leave – he didn't want to accidentally tangle with his drunken classmates.

Striding out of the party, Matthew walked away from the pounding music and headed back to his apartment. Chucking his beer can into a nearby bin, he noticed something strange. He could see the end of his string. Afraid to get his hopes up, he walked cautiously towards where the string ended – seeing a group of girls also walking away from the party. His heart leapt into his throat as his mind raced, thinking of something witty to say to make a good first impression but only coming up with bad puns. She didn't know about the red strings. At least, he didn't think she did. That meant, he couldn't be creepy and go on about soulmates in fear of receiving a restraining order.

The string ended at the centre of the group of girls. His soulmate was there. She was right in front of him. He paused, trying to catch his breath as his chest tightened with anxiety. All he could see of her was that she had long brown hair and was wearing a dark blue dress. The rest was blocked out by her friends. Wiping his hands on his trousers, Matthew stepped forward to introduce himself.