Chapter Text
When Apollo woke up on the morning of his 18th birthday, he found that it wasn’t morning at all. A clock against the other wall told him that it was about three in the afternoon. He panicked for a brief second before he realised that he wasn’t even in his own body.
Apollo knew that he would likely have a soulmate. Almost everyone did, even if they weren’t always interested in being together romantically. On a person’s 18th birthday there was a chance you could switch with your soulmate and if you didn’t, you were likely the older one in the relationship. Or you didn’t have one at all. Apollo had been firmly in the camp of ‘I don’t really want a soulmate’.
But it seemed that fate had other plans. And now, instead of waking up in Clay’s room to his loud snores, he found himself sitting on a stranger’s couch in their apartment.
Apollo let out a sigh and stood up. He looked around and saw that it was a fairly nice apartment. There was a pair of couches in the living area, a dining table against one wall, a kitchen, and a hallway probably leading down to some bedrooms. There was likely a bathroom down the hall as well.
“Might as well see what this guy looks like,” Apollo said.
He walked on unsteady legs down the hallway, noting that he was taller, and down to the bathroom. He walked inside and leant against the sink before looking at his reflection. His soulmate was blond, tanned, and had blue eyes. There was a niggling feeling in the back of his mind that he’d seen this face somewhere before but after frowning at it for a few more moments, he couldn’t place it. So he shrugged his shoulders and walked back out to the living area.
On the coffee table in between the couches, there was a phone. He sat down before picking it up and checking the lock screen. There were a couple messages, some in a foreign language (German, maybe?) but the others in English. They seemed to call this guy, ‘Piano’.
“What the hell kinda name is Piano?” Apollo asked.
He tried to unlock the phone, perhaps to call himself, but there was a password. So he put the phone down and leant back. Maybe he should write a note to his supposed soulmate? An apology? His details seemed to be most logical.
So Apollo stood up and searched the apartment briefly for something to write on. He finally found a notepad and a pen and wrote down his name and phone number. After that, he sat back down. He wasn’t sure how much longer the switch would last for, but he hoped it wouldn’t be for too much longer. Clay was probably interrogating the poor guy-
Apollo blinked. He heard loud snores in one ear and he was staring up at the ceiling in Clay’s room. He sat up and looked around the room. On the wall, there were a couple space posters and some of a stupid band Clay liked. He looked to the desk and bedside table, hoping that there might be some kind of note, but there wasn’t anything there.
He frowned around the room for a few more seconds before lying down and going back to sleep.
** **
“Oh God,” Clay said through a mouthful of cereal, “I can’t believe I slept through the whole thing like some kind of noob.”
“Don’t blame yourself too much,” Apollo replied. “I think they slept through it as well. They didn’t leave a note or anything.”
“Well, you at least gave them your details. Tell me what they looked like.”
Apollo took a bite of his toast and chewed it on. Once he swallowed, he said, “They were taller than me, blond, had blue eyes, was tanned.”
“Sounds kinda high-maintenance,” Clay said with a slight frown. “Male or female?”
“Male. I think I might’ve seen them before but I can’t put my finger on where.”
“Maybe they went to our school? I’m sure they’ll contact you soon enough.”
** **
Apollo thought his soulmate would have contacted him soon after their first switch, as well. But as weeks turned into months, he started to think that maybe his soulmate held a similar attitude to him and that he just didn’t care. He didn’t mind at all. It meant he could get on with his life. Clay thought it was blasphemous that he had such a blasé attitude towards the whole event. He couldn’t force himself to care, though. Especially since his soulmate didn’t either.
But mid-September, in the middle of Math class, while Apollo was trying his best pay attention, he suddenly found himself sitting on the couch in the same apartment he’d been on when he’d first switched with his soulmate. This time, he wasn’t alone. There were a tonne of people squeezed into the apartment, and he was surrounded by several women along with a couple men.
“Oh fuck,” he muttered, as a lady to his left chatted away.
He’d already written off the soulmate idea so he’d completely forgotten that he’d switch again on his soulmate’s next birthday. And if he remembered correctly, they’d both continue switching on their birthdays until they actually met. What a pain.
Well, if his soulmate didn’t care about being with him, then it would be best if they organised some time to meet in the near future to stop the switching. So Apollo excused himself from the crowd of people hoping to see someone that looked like they knew him well. Soon enough, he heard a voice calling out, “Hey, Piano, du verlässt deine groupies schon?”
Apollo walked over to the man with the, frankly ridiculous, pompadour and said, “I’m not Piano.”
The man frowned at him for a moment before giving a loud laugh and saying, “Of course you’re not! He hates us calling him that!”
“I’m his soulmate, who are you?”
“Daryan. I didn’t know Piano switched with his soulmate before.”
“He was probably asleep during that time. I left a note but he never called.”
“If he was asleep then he probably thought the note was from some groupie.”
Apollo sighed. Groupie?
“Well,” he said, “if I give you my number, can you give it to him so we can organise some time to meet up to stop this whole switching thing?”
“Sure thing.” Daryan then reached forward into one of Apollo’s pockets and pulled out a phone. He unlocked it then brought up the ‘add new contact’ screen. When Apollo was keying in his phone number, Daryan asked, “So where are you from?”
“America.”
“Do you speak German at all?”
Apollo looked up at Daryan slowly. “No?”
“Your idiot soulmate is German, that’s all. We’re currently in Berlin.”
Apollo resisted the urge to sigh. Maybe the universe had somehow made a mistake? Why on Earth would his perfect match be with someone who had groupies and was German? He shook his head and finished typing in his details then handed the phone back to Daryan.
“Please tell him to call me sometime. I don’t want to deal with this much longer.”
“I will, I will,” Daryan said with a laugh. “Until you switch back, why don’t you hang with me and have a couple drinks? I’ll make sure nobody bothers you.”
Apollo had never tasted alcohol before, seeing as he was underage, but since it wasn’t his body, why the hell not?
** **
“They didn’t tell you anything?” Apollo asked Clay as they sat on the school’s rooftop and ate lunch.
“Nope,” Clay said. He took a bite of his sandwich and said, “They yelped after the switch, probably surprised, but otherwise they were pretty quiet. Did they leave a note this time?”
“Yeah. An apology. They took notes for me, though.”
“That was nice of them. What did the apology say?”
“It said, ‘Sorry, but I’m not interested in a soulmate right now’. Not a big surprise, to be honest.”
“Total bummer, though. Please tell me you found out more.”
“He’s German and has groupies. He also has a friend called Darian or something.”
“Huh. Wonder if he’s famous over there.”
"Who cares. Once we meet up I’ll never have to switch with him again.”
** **
Piano didn’t call this time, either. Apollo knew he should have asked for the guy’s phone number from his friend that night, but he didn’t think his soulmate would be too busy to call. Even if he was over in Germany, he should be able to make a trip over to the states to stop them from switching.
But he never called and Apollo had set an alarm at six am on his birthday to make sure he was awake for the switch. Clay was up as well this time and had promised to get some info about Piano from the guy himself.
The switch happened just after seven am and this time, Apollo found himself in the middle of what seemed to be a recording studio. There was music blaring and he was standing in front of a microphone, a guitar in his hands. He stepped back and looked around. There were a few other people there, one of them being the pompadour from last time.
The music cut and a voice said something in German over the speaker. Apollo looked at the glass, where he saw some people standing on other the side, and said, “I don’t speak German. I’m not Piano, I’m his soulmate.”
Apollo heard some laughter coming from behind him and he frowned at the people. The pompadour from last time put his guitar down and walked over to Apollo. He clapped him on the back and said, “It’s good to see you again. Sorry Piano never got around to calling you, we’ve been busy.”
Apollo carefully placed down the guitar he was holding and asked, “Doing what? If he wants nothing to do with me, then we should just meet up already. I’m getting kinda sick of switching.”
“We’ve been on tour,” one of the other people said. “Just around Europe. After we finished recording the new album we’ll be heading to Asia then Australia.”
“Listen, I’ll definitely get Piano to call you this time, alright?” Daryan, Apollo remembered, said. “But we really are busy. You two might not get to meet before his birthday.”
“Well, fantastic.”
Daryan laughed. “C’mon, we’ll take a break. Even if you’re in Piano’s body, you’re not going to be able to sing any of the new songs.”
“I don’t even know who this guy is,” Apollo said as he followed Daryan out of the studio.
“That’s probably for the best. Dude gets a big head easily.”
Apollo sighed. Was this guy really his soulmate?
** **
“He’s definitely German alright,” Clay said once Apollo was back in his own body. “You, or he, looked totally freaked out when the switch happened then he didn’t say anything I could understand.”
Apollo eyed the band posters on the wall, which were ever growing. “I think anyone would be freaked out by all those posters on your wall.”
“Hey, my posters are cool.”
Apollo rolled his eyes.
“Anyway, did you find out anything more on your end? Is Piano actually gonna call this time?”
“He was in the middle of recording for his band when we switched. I spoke to that pompadour guy again. He said he’d make sure Piano actually called me but they may not have time to meet up since they’re busy.”
“I think it’s pretty cool that your soulmate is in a band.”
“He has groupies, gets a big head easily, and can’t speak English. I don’t understand how someone like that can be my soulmate.”
“C’mon, you haven’t even met the guy.”
“I don’t think I’m that interested. The only reason I do want to meet him is to stop all this stupid switching.”
Clay pouted. “You’re no fun, you know that, right?”
Apollo rolled his eyes. Fun or not, he really didn’t care that much for the guy who supposed to be his soulmate.
** **
To Apollo’s surprise, Piano did actually contact him this time. He sent a simple message that had probably been run through Google translate that said they wouldn’t be able to meet up to stop the switching but he’d make sure to be alone when it did occur next. Or, that’s what Apollo understood. Clay wanted to be there during the next switch, but they both had separate classes when it was scheduled to happen.
So mid-September, during the middle of one of Apollo’s lectures, he left a note in his notepad and waited patiently for the switch. It happened soon enough and he found himself in an unfamiliar bedroom. He looked down to a digital clock that sat on the bedside table and saw that it was about four in the morning. He stood up and walked over to the window.
Though Apollo wasn’t very familiar with a lot of foreign cities, he knew exactly where he was this time. Though it was still mostly dark, he could see the Sydney Opera House standing next to the river. Just a little ways from it was the Harbour Bridge.
It was a sight he never expected to see in his lifetime and even if he felt like he might not get along with his soulmate, he was glad he could experience that view at least once.
** **
“You stared out the window?” Clay asked later that night.
“Piano and I have both accepted that we’re not interested in each other. There’s no need to get to know each other.”
“I guess. I’m kinda jealous, though. I’d love to go Australia and see the Sydney Opera House.”
Apollo grinned. “Well, the view was pretty great.”
** **
Apollo’s 20th birthday passed uneventfully. He switched with Piano as usual but he was alone in the library from a late-night study session at the time and Piano had been writing some new music. He’d tried writing another note so they could meet up and stop the switching but Piano never got back to him.
It was on Piano’s next birthday that he ran into a small problem. He’d started an internship with Kristoph Gavin earlier that year and he was due to switch with Piano again while he was at work. It took him until an hour before he was meant to switch with Piano to work up the courage to tell Mr Gavin. While he was sitting at his desk, he cleared his throat and said, “Uh, Mr Gavin, can I talk to you for a moment?”
Mr Gavin looked up at Apollo and asked, “What is it, Justice?”
“Um, I, uh, don’t mean to alarm you but I’m going to be switching bodies with my soulmate in about an hour. It won’t last for that long and I’ll make sure to leave a note asking him not to disturb you.”
“Your soulmate, hmm? You haven’t met up with them to stop the switch from occurring?”
“I wanted to, but he’s been busy. He’s in a band apparently.”
“How interesting.” Mr Gavin smiled. “As long as you leave a note, Justice, that should be fine. I’ll make sure not to bother the boy.”
“Thanks, Mr Gavin.”
So Apollo wrote a note, hoping that his soulmate could understand it, and continued working until he switched. When he did, he found himself in the middle of a party and immediately looked around for Piano’s pompadour friend.
** **
“I spoke to your soulmate while he was here,” Mr Gavin said once Apollo had switched back. “You didn’t say that he was German.”
“Oh, sorry, I forgot you were German as well.”
“It’s no matter. He’s a very interesting fellow. I’m surprised that you’ve been matched up with someone like that.”
“Me too,” Apollo said, his horns drooping. “Everything I know about him tells me that I’m not going to like him much.”
“Indeed. Such a coincidence as well.”
Apollo frowned. “Coincidence?”
Mr Gavin smirked. “Don’t worry about it, Justice. Just get back to work.”
** **
When Apollo next switched with Piano, he was surprised to see that he wasn’t in Piano’s apartment. He was sitting at a table with a plate of pancakes in front of him. A clock on the other wall told him that it was about 10 am. He stood up and walked out onto a balcony.
New York. He hadn’t changed countries this time. It was the closest he’d ever been to his soulmate and the thought of that made his heart race slightly. Did Piano come to America because he wanted to finally meet him? Compared to Berlin and Sydney, it would be a lot easier for him to jump on a plane to Los Angeles from New York. And though Apollo didn’t know if they would actually get along when they finally met up, he couldn’t deny that he was still excited.
Apollo looked around the room for a notepad and wrote a note saying he was in Los Angeles and he still wanted to meet with him. Just in case, he added both his phone number and email. He really did hope that he would finally meet up with Piano this time.
** **
“New York’s the closest he’s been,” Clay said.
It was the evening after the switch and they were both eating dinner while watching the latest episode of Doctor Who.
“Yeah. He could be here for his band,” Apollo said, “but even if he is, hopefully, he’ll have enough time to finally meet with me.”
“I’m totally gonna be there when you two finally do meet up. I can’t wait to meet someone who’s called ‘Piano’.”
“I just can’t wait to meet him in person. See who the universe thinks I’m destined to be with.”
“You’ve been so against this whole soulmate thing, I’m gonna laugh my ass off if you actually fall in love with him.”
Apollo’s horns drooped. “We’ll see about that.”
** **
Apollo almost couldn’t believe that Piano didn’t contact him after his birthday. He’d been just one flight away from finally meeting him to stop the switching but he’d remained stubbornly silent. By this point, he was convinced that Piano was doing this on purpose. Maybe he secretly enjoyed switching? Maybe he did want a soulmate, but only when he was ready? If that was the case, Apollo was going to have some strong words with him when they eventually did meet up. Very strong words.
But time passed and once again Apollo was at work on his soulmate’s birthday. Before he could even think about bringing it up, though, Mr Gavin said, “It’s your soulmates birthday today, correct? Will you be switching soon?”
Apollo looked up from his work and at Mr Gavin. He nodded and said, “Yeah, probably around 11.”
Mr Gavin leant back in his chair and crossed his arms. “I must admit, I’m looking forward to speaking with them again. They were very… interesting last time.”
“Uh, alright.” Maybe they got along well because they were both German? But if Mr Gavin was going to be talking to his soulmate, maybe he could use that to his advantage. “Actually, Mr Gavin, can I ask a small favour?”
Mr Gavin raised an eyebrow. “Yes?”
“When my soulmate and I switch, can you ask them why they don’t want to meet with me? It’s just, I’ve been trying for years now to organise some time to meet to stop the switching but they keep avoiding me.”
Mr Gavin’s smile was playful as he replied, “I think I can do that, Justice. I can’t guarantee you’ll like the answer, though.”
“I just need a reason.”
Even if he didn’t like the reason, he needed to know. They were meant to be soulmates, after all.
** **
“He said he was busy,” Mr Gavin said.
Apollo had just switched back from his soulmate’s body and he’d immediately asked Mr Gavin what Piano said.
“Busy?” Apollo asked. “He didn’t say anything else?”
“Busy and it would be out of the way for him to visit you. He said he’d have to take a few days off but he can’t afford that.”
Apollo couldn’t believe that. No, he wouldn’t believe that. His soulmate was in a band. He’d literally been in the country earlier that year. There was no way he was too busy to fly across the same damn country if it meant stopping the damn switching which was, frankly, getting on his nerves. He never wanted a soulmate in the first place and everything he’d learnt about his so far had just been to point to the fact that they wouldn’t get along.
“Thanks, Mr Gavin,” Apollo said, crossing his arms.
“It’s no problem, Justice. I’m sure you two will meet eventually.”
** **
Apollo’s 22nd birthday came and went. He’d been alone with Callie, his cat, when he switched and Piano had been alone, still in Berlin, as well. He left another note, this time borderline begging him to meet up sometime but, as expected, he didn’t hear a response back.
April soon came to pass and with it, Mr Gavin’s arrest. Apollo effectively fired himself and went unemployed for months until he became desperate enough to accept a job from Mr Wright. Aside from the babysitting and errand running, it wasn’t all that bad. He still had a few cases, after all.
Klavier Gavin, though, was a surprise. Apollo didn’t even know Mr Gavin had a brother, let alone one that looked so much like him. It was nice to know, though, that the two were very different from each other. And, even though they had their differences, they weren’t enemies. In fact, even after helping to get Klavier’s best friend arrested, it seemed like he didn’t hate him.
Eventually, though, September came round once more. With everything that happened in the past few months, Apollo almost forgot about the whole switching thing. But he did remember. And this time, he was going to find Piano himself to stop the damn switching. The one problem he faced was letting Mr Wright and Trucy know that they’d have a German in their office for a few minutes.
He arrived to work on the morning of his soulmate’s birthday and said hi to Mr Wright and Trucy. Mr Wright went out soon after and he began work on some paperwork. About an hour later, he cleared his throat and said to Trucy, “I’m going to be switching with my soulmate soon. It’s their birthday today.”
Trucy’s face lit up. “Ooo~ so I’ll get to meet them? You’re such a frowny face all the time, I can’t wait to see who they are.”
“They’re German so I don’t know how much talking you two are going to do. From past experience, I think they’ll probably just keep to themselves.”
“That’s boring. I’ll keep them entertained with some of my magic tricks while you two are switched. Magic transcends language, after all.”
“Alright. You might get along better with them than I would.”
“They’re your soulmate, Polly. You should have more faith in who the universe chose for you.”
“Well, I think in my instance, the universe chose wrong.”
Apollo continued work right up until he was meant to switch with his soulmate. He started checking the time every few seconds while Trucy kept asking if he’d switched yet. With each passing minute, Apollo’s heart beat faster and faster. Any minute now and he’d be in Berlin. Any second now. He’ll definitely switch soon. Definitely.
By the time it was 11.15 by Apollo’s phone, he knew that something was wrong. Trucy kept asking if he was going to switch soon but he couldn’t answer her. There were only two reasons for why he hadn’t switched with his soulmate yet. Either he’d met them and hadn’t noticed or something had happened to them. Was it possible that he’d missed something like that? Even if he didn’t like Piano, he would have had to felt if something happened to them. They were soulmates.
So if he thought it out logically, then that meant he must’ve met them. But even if he’d been busy or distracted, he would’ve remembered meeting some stupid, blond, German rock star…
“I’m gonna kill him,” Apollo said. “I’m actually going to kill him.”
“What’s going on, Polly? I thought you were meant to be switching soon.”
Apollo stood up and grabbed his phone and wallet before walking to the door. “I have to go out. You’ll be fine on your own for a bit, right?”
“Aren’t you meant to be switching soon? And can’t I come with you?”
“No, something’s come up. I have to go by myself.”
Trucy pouted. “Daddy won’t be happy you left me alone.”
“I’ll face him when I get back. I have to go.”
Apollo walked out of the office and onto the street. He walked for a couple blocks before hailing a cab to drive him towards the District Prosecutor’s Office.
Once there, he paid the driver then headed up to the 12th floor. He didn’t even bother to knock before barging into Klavier’s office and asking, “Why the fuck didn’t you tell me you were my soulmate?”
Klavier, who was reclining in his black massage chair, sat up and said, “Ah, Herr Forehead. I wondering when you’d figure it out.”
“Why didn’t you saying anything?”
“I didn’t think I needed to. We’re soulmates, after all. You should’ve recognised me.”
“I never even wanted a soulmate.” Apollo frowned and crossed his arms. “I’ve said that over and over and I’ve tried so many times to get us to meet but you never contacted me or kept putting it off because you were ‘busy’.”
Klavier’s face fell slightly. “I really was busy, though. And… I do want a soulmate.”
“You could’ve fooled me.”
“I’d… like to try this out, Herr Forehead.”
“I’m not interested. Especially since you’ve shown that you’re not willing to put effort into it.”
“Apollo, please.”
“No.”
Without another word, Apollo left the office.
** **
“I can’t believe Klavier freaking Gavin is your soulmate,” Clay said just after Apollo finished telling him what happened that day. “The lead singer of my favourite band is your soulmate. How the hell didn’t I pick that sooner?”
“We didn’t exactly know that much about him even with all the times I switched with him,” Apollo replied. “I mean, I thought his name was Piano this whole time.”
“But that’s the giveaway!” Clay threw his hands up in the air. “Klavier means piano in German! I knew this. I found that out years ago and I still didn’t put it together.”
“Klavier means what in German?”
“Piano. God, I’m so stupid. And jealous.”
“Why the hell are you jealous?”
Clay turned to face Apollo and grabbed his lapels. “Klavier Gavin is the lead singer of literally my favourite band. Not only are you on good terms with him, you went to one of his goddamn concerts without me. And now you’re telling me that he’s the future love of your life.”
Apollo pried Clay off him. “He’s not the love of my life. I’ve never wanted to be with him, especially not now I know he’s my soulmate.”
“Well, if you don’t want him, I’ll take him.”
"Go right ahead.”
Clay let out a sigh and collapsed back onto the couch. He stared up at the ceiling and said, “I hate you so much, you know that, right?”
“Yeah, I know.”