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Soulmates.
Someone you’re tied to forever, someone you are destined to be with, someone who is meant to complete you.
A red string, one so faint and seemingly frail, ties itself around your pinky finger from birth. It connects you to your soulmate, potentially covering countries and continents. Only you and they can see it, and it can never be forcibly broken.
A constant reminder of the one you’re meant to find.
Many ignore it, many try to cut it in half but instead entangle and infuriate themselves. Finding your soulmate is a rarity, though all the stories of those who succeeded are positive.
It’s meant to be a dream, like a fairytale. It’s not meant to happen, you’re meant to dream of all the possibilities.
Yet, the girl on her phone screen was no dream.
Brigitte rubbed her eyes and looked down at her phone again, assuming it was a trick. Hana “D.Va” Song was rising in international popularity, being both a gaming pro and a member of the Korean army. After a recent close call with the Gwishin, where she charged in solo and destroyed them all with supposed ease, she had been all over the news and the internet. Initially, Brigitte didn’t pay attention. It wasn’t due to disinterest, as it now was all she could think of, but rather chasing Reinhardt and ensuring he wasn’t getting into trouble like he usually was. And, when not protecting him, she would be spending time with her siblings.
But the screen was no liar. It was a live news broadcast from Korea, which Brigitte was watching due to her younger brother’s spiked interest in the eSports scene. And, around D.Va’s pinky finger, was a red string.
“Oh my god… No, I seriously must be dreaming. There’s no way…” A sheepish laugh escaped her lips, morphing into excitement and then melting into anxiety. “This celebrity is… my soulmate. She’s my soulmate. She’s my soulmate… what the hell. D.VA IS MY SOULMATE?!” Skin fizzing and tingling, hands trembling and vision blurring… this was no dream, it was really happening. Brigitte Lindholm, a simple mechanic from Sweden, was destined to be with Korean celebrity Hana Song. Nothing was adding up and nothing was setting in, the touch of a shaky hand against her chest as her phone fell to the ground only made her feel floaty. If she didn’t stop shaking, she was going to faint, and if she fainted, she wouldn’t be able to come to terms with this, and all her nerves seemed to hit her at once, making the dizziness inevitable. On her phone, the news broadcast still echoed around her room, D.Va’s soft laugh and gentle banter flooding her ears. A reminder that should bring joy, yet all it brought was dread.
“Hey, Brig, you okay? You suddenly yelled, I could hear it from the other side of the house…” With almost perfect timing, her mother Ingrid walked in her room, absorbing the scene she was witnessing. “Oh, kära, what happened?” In an instant, she was holding Brigitte in one arm and patting her back with the other, making her reminiscent of childhood comfort. Brigitte instantly softened into the embrace, her shaking subsiding. Her mum had always been super supportive, bringing Brigitte up with the strength she’d grown proud of - she had cheered her on when she came out as trans, when she told them of her dream to be Reinhardt’s squire and protect people like he’d always done in his tales, so why would this be any different?
“Mama, how did you know Papa was… the one? Aside from the obvious…” Voice almost a mumble, Brigitte tucked her hair behind her ear and looked eagerly at her mum. She’d never heard how they got together, how they found each other; everytime Torbjorn tried to tell the tale, she tuned out.
“Well, you see… I met him just before his Overwatch days. I was with a friend, going to an engineering class. I noticed how the thread was growing shorter as we walked, and I grew so excited and so nervous… and, just before I reached the door, he burst out of it and screamed ‘YOU!’ at me. It was far from charming, yet it was so endearing. And as we spent more time together, I just realised how sweet he was… though I know you’d beg to differ!” She squeezed Brigitte’s shoulder, causing them both to giggle.
“Well, what if… I found my soulmate, but I’d never be able to reach them? Like, ever? Unless I was really lucky of course, but I’d be called a liar if I tried to reach them by normal means…”
“Who is it, älskling? I won’t call you a liar, I promise.”
“D.Va…. like, the Korean celebrity.”
“Really? Oh, sötnos, that’s so wonderful! She seems so sweet and cute, she’s perfect for you!” At that comment, Brigitte flushed at the cheeks and covered her face with her hands.
“I doubt that she’d ever like me back, but thank you Mama…”
“Jagi, come over here a minute! I can’t figure out where I’ve gone wrong with Tokki’s repairs…” Tying her hair up, Hana greeted her girlfriend with a kiss as she ran over.
“Seriously, Hana? I told you not to work on him without me, silly…” Kissing her back, Brigitte grinned.
“Yeah, I know, you’re just… so cute when you’re focused on your work!”
“Stop, you’ll make me blush!! I love you too.”
The red string had been tied into a little bow, for they were always so close now - it had served its purpose.