宿命的な [iwaizumi hajime]

00:11:00

greetings

"What a relief! Hajime finally found his soulmate!"

"I know! And I was so worried [Name] would never find hers!"

"Oh, honey. You know everyone has one. It was only a matter of time until she experienced her Encounter."

"And, [Name] is a very beautiful young lady. Such a beautiful girl couldn't possibly be Unpaired forever!"

You stared at the adults before you, still feeling your heart quicken at the mere mention of your name. The way your syllables rolled off his parents' tongues somehow made everything seem so final; you stared at your hands, watching as they shook in front of you. Why does everything seem so much more frightening now that it had happened?

You stole a small glance at the raven-haired boy, meeting his green eyes as they studied your wavering complexion and tired eyes. Unlike you, he seemed perfectly calm; you gritted your teeth and turned away, fists clenching in anger. How could he accept this just like that? Didn't he want the freedom to choose? To freely love whoever he loved?

His father's laughter interrupted the splendid conversation, and to you, the room felt nothing but cold. The old man's eyes fell upon you, the lines that stretched his lips curving into a perfect arc. "My wife is right. We're delighted to add you to our family."

You swallowed. "Excuse me?"

His mother smiled softly, rising up and collecting you in her arms. "Oh, I can't wait until your wedding day! I'm finally going to have a daughter!"

"And us a son!" your mother chimed in, and the women laughed, as though these two strangers had always conversed this way, as though they had been best friends for years.

The room suddenly lacked the oxygen you needed to breathe, and, struggling free, you escaped his mother's grasp and shifted further away from the strangers that took up the small living room. You watched them all with horrified eyes, your body shaking from the chill that frosted the room. "Wedding day?"

Your father chuckled, reaching out to softly pat your head. His hand was familiarly warm, but right then, those were the hands of someone you wished you didn't know. "Why, Hajime is to marry you, of course. That's the thing about Soulmates, [Name]-chan. You marry them sooner or later."

Your mother nodded enthusiastically, smiling lovingly at your so-called lover. "You'll take care of my daughter for me, won't you, Iwaizumi-kun?"

Iwaizumi nodded. "Of course, [Surname]-san."

"Oh, please, call me Mom. And you can call [father's name] Dad."

You gaped appallingly at her. "Mom!"

Iwaizumi's mother smiled brightly. "And you can call us Mama and Papa! Oh, aren't we like a family now?"

You stared at all of them, your heart pounding faster still in your chest, somehow feeling as though the world was turning white with impossibilities. They can't possibly expect you, a mere child, to suddenly jump into marriage the moment you met your Soulmate. There was supposed to be the whole process of falling in love when you met someone, of getting to know their flaws, their strengths, their entire being. But the people in front of you seemed to have lost their minds, brainwashed with the ideals the world had planted itself onto them.

His mother stroked your hair, her fingers carefully weaving in and out of your [h/c] strands. "Oh, you'll look so beautiful in a wedding gown! We must have the wedding soon. How about we hold it two months from now?"

"What?" You snapped your head towards the green-eyed boy, frantically begging him to change his mother's mind, to reason with her.

Iwaizumi stared at you, still studying, before he turned to his mother, his voice calm. "Mama, why don't we give [Name]-san time? She looks disoriented."

"But Hajime," his father argued, eyes narrowing as they zoned in on his son, "your brother met his soulmate at sixteen and married her at eighteen."

"Niisan and [Name]-san are two different people, Papa."

"And we're kids!" you added, and Iwaizumi's eyes flickered towards you, mouth pressed in a thin line.

"Oh, honey." Your mother wrapped her arms around your shoulder, and you never thought you would be so disgusted by your own mother's touch. "You're almost eighteen, practically the same age as Iwaizumi-kun's older brother."

Your voice was quaking now, pushing her away harshly. Your feet pulled your body further away from the psychopathic aliens. "I still haven't even figured most of my life out!"

His father laughed. "Oh, you'll have plenty of time to do that." He smiled at you, and you wanted to run, you wanted to escape, you wanted to hide away in a bungalow so you'd never have to face the world again. "For now, why don't you just secure what is destined for you?"

[e/c] eyes were shaking as they surveyed the inhabitants of the room, all of these crazy people, and without a word, you turned around, stepping out into the cold air, wishing this world would somehow disappear. The breaths you inhaled were thick in your lungs, and the night continued to spiral as wedding bells rang across town.