Chapter Text
1989, Pittsburgh, USA
Michael Robinavitch, who was a tall lanky doe-eyed kid, was 17 going on 18 and he was pretty excited for that. It wasn’t everyday you turned 18, and the best part about being 18 was that he was going to meet his soulmate, his other half. He hoped meeting his soulmate would complete the one thing all of his previous relationships lacked, he wasn’t sure what it was yet, but he knew deep down something just didn't fit quite right with him and his exes.
It wasn’t that he didn’t have any feelings for his previous relationships, no, his dating life wasn’t just a filler for his eventual soulmate. Arguably it was perfectly normal for people to date people who aren’t their soulmates. A good portion of the population never meet their soulmates within their lifespan, so of course it’s normalized enough to date non-soulmates. It was just, for him, there was always a feeling in the depths of his heart that something didn't quite click, like a key that slotted within the lock, but couldn’t turn.
So to say he was excited for his birthday was an understatement. Michael woke up that morning already excited, while for most birthdays he would be counting down the months, days, and hours until the actual date, this time he was counting down the hours, minutes, and seconds to where it would be the evening of his birthday, where he would fall asleep and wake up in a dreamscape with his soulmate.
It was the evening now, moonlight shining through the apartment balcony, Michael had spent a full day with school friends and relatives. He was cleaning up now, wiping down the last remaining dishes that were left, reminiscing about the day. It had been a quiet morning, breakfast with his grandma, who was his beloved Bubbe, where he then spent the afternoon with his school friends along with the ones from his synagogue. They had lunch at the restaurant they always hang out at, but this time it was decorated in balloons, streamers and cake, all courtesy of the diner workers, who by now all know Michael personally, as well as his friends.
Finally, once he parted ways, saying bye to the last of his friends, he went home and had a small dinner and cake with his bubbe. Which brought him to now, washing dishes, listening to the soft song playing on the old record player in the living room. Michael could hear the familiar shuffle of his grandmother over the sound of the rushing sink water, she was approaching the kitchen.
“Happy birthday, Misha!” His Bubbe said as she came up from behind and gave him a soft gentle kiss on his temple.
“Thanks Bubbe,” Michael said as he placed the final plate on the rack, “I’m pretty, uh, pretty tired so I’m gonna head to sleep early.”
He dries his hand on the rag that was on the kitchen counter, and pushes the chairs in on his way out of the kitchen.
His Bubbe gave him a knowing smile, “Of course Misha, have a good sleep, yes?”
Michael bolts towards his room, his socks causing him to slip slightly as he hangs onto the frame of the bathroom door before rushing in. He goes through his night routine as quickly as possible before running into his bedroom that was right down the hall of the two bedroom apartment.
The lights were already off, so Michael swung his curtains closed and hopped right into bed. He gets comfortable under his covers and closes his eyes, but his restlessness and excitement at the idea of meeting his soulmate kept him from entering the realm of sleep.
After what felt like a century Michael peaks his eyes open at the digital clock which stood on his nightstand. The red lights beam back that it was nearly midnight and he took a deep breath in before letting out a huge exhale, an attempt to calm his mind. Shifting a bit in bed he finds himself a new position to try getting some rest in and finally he feels the soft pull of slumber.
He’ll wake up the next day, birds chirping through his slightly ajar window, no warm feeling in his chest, no dreams seen, and most of all, no soulmate to be found. It wouldn’t be late one night when he dozes off to an anatomy textbook in his university dorm for his Soul Dream to finally happen.
––-
1993, Oceanside, USA
Jack Abbot, an average height, curly-auburn haired kid with sharp hazel eyes was 17 going on 18, and he was pretty uninterested about the occasion. Even though it wasn’t everyday that you turn 18, Jack couldn’t care at all about meeting his soulmate. Especially when he knows that he’ll probably spend the rest of his life with Marisol, his current girlfriend. It would be to the surprise of no one if they actually were soulmates, but even if they weren’t, both of them had already agreed to the fact that they loved each other. Is that not enough basis for a loving relationship, why do they need some abnormal, fantastical phenomenon to tell them how to feel?
That’s why Jack woke up indifferent to the fact that tonight he may share a dream with his soulmate. Why spend the day thinking about that one thing when he could spend the day with his friends and family, celebrating another year on the blue orb known as the Earth?
“I guess you’ll be hoping to see each other tonight then?” Jack's mother asked softly.
Jack looks at her, he quickly thinks back to when Marisol’s 18th happened, it was earlier in the year and she had spent her night sleeping without a Soul Dream happening. That wasn’t too surprising, both soulmates have to be either just turned or have turned 18 for the phenomenon to work. He meets Marisol’s eyes who had just finished tying up her shoes, her parents having just arrived to drive her home, Jack quickly approaches her.
“Hey, even if we don't get the Soul Dream it doesn’t matter, yeah? I love you and you love me, that's all that matters,” Jack whispered to her, “I’m with you, alright? Through thick and thin.”
Marisol gave a soft smile, “Of course Jack. Have a good night alright?”
She goes on her toes and pecks a kiss on his cheek before waving one last goodbye before jogging to her fathers car. Jack watches the car leave his driveway, eyes following it until it turns the corner out of his sight. He turns around and goes back to help clean up after his party, putting presents away, throwing out the stray bits of wrapping paper, sweeping the confetti that was scattered all over the floor, and finally taking out the trash.
“It’s almost 10 Kiddo, you should probably wash up and get ready for bed,” his mom says, “your dad and I can clean up the rest of this mess, don't worry about it.”
Jack sighs, putting the broom he had in his hand rested against the wall of his living room, and turns towards the stairs to his room. He is halfway up the stairs when he stops, his mom calling his name.
“Don’t feel too bad if you and Marisol aren’t soulmates alright?”
“I know mom, but we both already agreed it doesn't matter. We love each other regardless of the fact if we’re soulmates or not.”
His mom gives a soft smile, “I know that, but sometimes even if you’re both fine with not being soulmates, you can’t help but be disappointed. I just want you to know that. Now go, it’s a school night today.”
Jack gives his mom a weak smile before continuing up the stairs to his room. He goes to the bathroom connected to his bed and takes a quick shower before brushing his teeth. Shutting the door to his room and turning the bedside lamp off Jack gazes upwards to the glow in the dark stars that stuck on his ceiling, how they glowed a soft green light, a gift from his mother when he was younger. Slowly he counted the stars; one, two, three… and he dozed off. The world darkened around him with little to no issue, his head lulls into his soft pillow.
–––
Jack’s vision clears up, a cool breeze as he’s taken out of the dark abyss of his sleep, and he finds himself on a rooftop of sorts, Jack sees a helicopter pad below him. The skyline isn’t recognizable, he doesn’t know where he is. So, this is where his Soul Dream brought him, some random rooftop in some random city. He notices he’s alone for a bit, just him on this random rooftop top, Jack starts believing maybe he’s just having a normal dream.
“I guess there are worse places to be dreaming about,” a voice randomly speaks up, “could’ve ended up being the chemistry lab halls for all I know.”
Jack jumped away from the figure that stood next to him, he looked at the other man, taking in his features, he had soft brown eyes and looked to be a pretty lanky guy, definitely not Marisol.
“Sorry…” The doe-eyed man said, “didn’t see you there.”
Jack notices the bags under his eyes, the hoodie he’s wearing, a college he didn’t recognize immediately, but sounded familiar. Jack thought he looked more like he was having a casual night than being asleep in bed.
“Didn’t see me there? I was standing next to you?” Jack then quickly added, “who are you?”
The other man ignores Jack as he seemingly glances down from the roof top, “Huh, dreaming about a hospital… I need to stop cramming for my exams or I’m gonna be dreaming about clinics next,” the man mutters, he's leaning against the railing now, observing some non-visible object below.
Jack, annoyed that he was ignored walks up and shakes the guy's shoulder.
“Hey I’m talking to you,” Jack stated, then he followed up, “who even are you?”
The guy tiredly looks at Jack, “Michael, but my friends call me Robby…” there’s a look of realization in his eyes that Jack recognizes, “Shit, this isn’t a normal dream is it?” Robby asked as he rubbed his face.
“Course not man, I just turned 18 today,” Jack explained, taking in the city view again, “guess I could do worse for meeting the soulmate… So, why do your friends call you Robby?”
“Robby’s quicker than saying my actual last name.”
“Why wouldn’t they just call you Michael?”
Robby pulls an annoyed face like he just ate a sour lemon, which amuses Jack greatly. Robby then groans dramatically, which grants him an actual laugh from Jack, it was as if the question personally insulted him.
“There’s at least five other Michaels in my dorm,” Robby finally explained with a pout.
“Yeah, can’t make that up unconsciously…” Jack muttered, “so, I guess this really is a Soul Dream then, where are we exactly?” Jack asks softly, leaning against the railing,
“Some hospital rooftop in Pittsburgh, I recognize the skyline,” Robby replied, then he glanced at Jack, “it’d be pretty bad if I didn’t since I grew up here.”
Jack chuckles at him, and takes a deep breath taking in the cool night breeze.
“You didn’t really say who you are, mysterious birthday boy,”
“I’m Jack.”
“Nice to meet you Jack,” Robby said with a grin, and Jack felt flutters inside him.
No, this can’t be right. Jack thinks about Marisol, he remembered the conversation they had about soulmates and even though they were both perfectly fine with not actually being each other's soulmates Jack knows how disappointed Marisol will be when the sun rises and a new day starts. She was always a romantic at heart, and despite saying she never cared for the expectations of soulmates, Jack knew somewhere deep down she cared. He would be hypocritical to not admit that deep down he cared just a bit as well.
Jack glances over at Robby and can’t help, but feel a sense of calm around Robby. Something just felt right being around him, a new type of calm he never had with Marisol, but Jack didn’t love Robby.
He doesn’t.
His heart still calls out for Marisol, but it's also starting to poke holes, tearing down and making more room for the addition of Robby. It felt like a betrayal, and Jack sharply inhales, trying to ignore the complicated feelings bubbling to the surface.
Just get through this dream, and he can wake up to the thought of seeing Marisol at school again. Maybe he’ll take her out for ice cream, a silent apology to something he really wasn't at fault for because of course he felt flustered around Robby, this was the universe’s gift to the two of them, their other half and as they joked with each other, their conversation flowing smoothly like a river, the overwhelming warmth Jack was feeling in his chest never seems to quite leave.
Another gust of wind blows and Jack shudders instinctively even though he knows this is a dream. He glances at Robby who’s looking at him with amusement.
“Don’t know how these dreams work, but if you’re cold surely you can dream up something warmer than that,” Robby points at his pajamas.
Jack’s face heats up, “What’s wrong with my pjs?”
“Nothing, nothing, just they don’t look very warm.”
“Well, I’ll have you know my room gets very warm at night,” Jack pauses, "I would kill for a scarf though.”
“A scarf?”
“Yea, I like scarves, man. Something about them feels nice… like a hug keeping you warm during the colder seasons,” Jack pauses, “though, it doesn't get too cold where I’m from. I usually have a scarf on when my mom takes me up north though.”
Robby looks at him curiously, “I guess they’re nice… scarves…”
“Why? You got something against scarves?”
“No, they're just not the best piece of clothing… I’m partial to hoodies and sweaters.”
Jack isn’t surprised somehow, Robby was wearing a hoodie right now even in this dreamscape. He wonders if this is what he’s actually wearing in the real world right now and that’s why he’s wearing it. The pjs Jack wore are exactly the ones he’s wearing in bed right now, so he guesses it’s not outside the realm of reality.
“So, what do you wanna do after you graduate Jack?” Robby eventually asks after the lull of comfortable silence had formed, he’s gazing up at the stars which stood atop the two of them, the moon was also shining above them, like a parent watching over their kid. He glances over momentarily and sees Jack's confused face and continues, “I’m assuming since you just turned 18, you probably got college applications and all that.”
“A doctor maybe,” Jack replied quietly.
That seemed to make Robby perk up in interest.
“I’m going to be a med student soon,” he explains, “Just gotta finish this year and I get to learn more about medical jargon and healthcare, hopefully if it all works out I'll be doing hands-on work at hospitals in a year or two."
Jack looks at him, admiring the way Robby looked excited. His eyes lit up and Jack was sure the moon brightened the already shining expression.
“Anyways, you should totally be a doctor! We could be doctors together,” Robby says, “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised though, that my soulmate’s got the same interests as me.”
Soulmate, the thought reminded Jack of his actual life, the one beyond this dreamscape. He looked at Robby, a mixed feeling in his eyes, and quickly looked away to avoid his soft questioning eyes. He takes a breath, this is fine. In a few moments, hopefully, Jack will wake up with barely a memory of his interaction with Robby, he won’t remember most of it.
People in Soul Dreams never do, that’s the beauty of it, to be given a glimpse of love, the chance to fall in love again with someone they met previously. It makes Jack shutter, he knows what it’s like to be in love, he’s in love with Marisol, he’s sure of it, but he also finds his thoughts drifting to what life would be like with Robby.
Would Robby like watching football with him, or would he rather watch hockey given he's from Pittsburgh and they’ve got the Penguins. Jack finds himself entertaining the idea of learning the rules to hockey for Robby. He’s realizing he’s willing to do a lot of things for the man he only just met, it scares him slightly. The thought that he’d be willing to move mountains for Robby, he’d be willing to move mountains for Marisol as well, but doing it for Robby felt effortless, the idea of it felt right.
“Are you alright?” Robby asks, snapping Jack out of his thoughts.
“Just thinking… I’m not really much of a talker.”
Robby grinned, “That’s alright, I like the quiet.”
Jack’s stomach churns with guilt as he turns to face Robby properly.
“I have to tell you something,” Jack starts, “I… I’m actually–”
He doesn’t get to finish that sentence, his alarm blares him awake and he finds himself back in his bed. The sun was glaring at his eyes as if it was casting judgment on him at the idea of having a Soul Dream that didn't have Marisol.
Jack groans, flopping back into bed, one of his spare pillows thrown onto his face. He heard his mom calling for him from the hall. He had half an hour before school started, so reluctantly he got up and went on with his day. His mother could tell quickly the outcome of his Soul Dream and she gives him an apologetic grin.
“So, tell me about them,” she says as she sets a plate of pancakes in front of Jack.
“Mom, you know you don’t usually remember dreams after they happen,” Jack replies, he pauses at the look his mom gave him and sighs before taking a bite out of his pancakes.
“Oh come on kiddo, surely you remember something, you spent a whole 8 hours with them.”
“It didn’t feel like 8 hours though… felt like less,” Jack hesitates for a second, “ I think we both want to be doctors.”
His mom grins, “That’s great. It means you both–”
“Mom, it doesn't matter,” Jack snaps, “I have Marisol, it doesn’t matter who my soulmate is, she’s the love of my life and that’s all that matters… Plus, it’s not like I’ll ever meet them.”
“Oh don’t say that sweetheart. You’ll never know with life,” She ruffles his hair before going to the other room.
Jack's left to eat in silence, trying to recall details about his dream, but comes up with fuzzy blurs like the radio when the signal wasn’t clear. He groans with annoyance and decides to ignore it, thinking about what he said earlier because he was right, 45% of soulmates never end up together purely because they never meet. Knowing his odds, Jack wouldn’t be surprised if he never meets his soulmate, the world is huge.
It’s one of the reasons why he and Marisol worked so well, they both knew the odds and decided that instead of waiting for someone they may never meet they have each other, and that was enough, they were enough for each other. He quickly finishes up his breakfast, grabbing the paperbag with his lunch and his bag before rushing out the door, he had a bus to catch and a girl to spend the day with after all.
–––
Robby wakes up with a textbook smushed up against his face. He reorients himself, taking in where he was. He’s at his desk in his dorm room and it’s an hour till noon. He knows it’s only Sunday, which means he isn’t late for any classes. Robby tries wiping off the drool which caught on the pages of his textbook, but ultimately pushes the textbook away from him as he fails to dry the pages.
Getting up he stretches, groaning at the sound his back makes as he stretches out his arms. Only after that does he let himself get giddy with the fact he’s finally met his soulmate. He doesn’t remember anything clearly, only the redness of his hair, the determination in his eyes, his kind voice. Butterflies erupt from Robby’s stomach as he thinks about his soulmate.
He tries hard to recall any details from his dream that he could use to find his soulmate, he nearly spills the milk to his cereal because of how unfocused he was to what was around him. His roommate comes back, having gone for morning breakfast with his soulmate.
“What up Robby?” his roommate, Reynolds says, he notices Robby’s expression and stops by the kitchen entrance, “you alright man?”
“Yea… just uh, woke up from my Soul Dream that’s all.”
Reynolds’ face lit up, “That’s cool man! I remember when I had my Soul Dream, Sophie and I were at this coffee shop. What was sick about it was at the time I couldn't really figure out where the coffee shop was, but I know what it was now.”
“Oh really?”
“It was the coffee shop where we first realized our feelings for each other, it also ended up being where we realized who we were to each other,” Reynolds explained, he quickly grabs a seat across from Robby at their shared kitchen table, “the Soul Dream showed us exactly where we would be when we truly realize we were each others soulmates, I remember looking around and something just… just clicking. It was like everything in the world made sense.”
That drew Robby’s attention, so he leaned forward pushing his cereal to the side, a focused face when he met Reynolds’ eyes.
“Is the location in your Soul Dreams always the place where you realize your connection?” Robby asked.
He watched Ryan intently as the other man thought about it.
“Guess so, but it could also just be a place of significance to both parties. Why? Where was your dream?”
Robby thought back to the slowly fading image of the rooftop from his dreams, of the railing on the edge, the cool wind blowing between Robby and Jack.
“We were on top of a hospital roof,” Robby finally said softly, “We were back in Pittsburgh.”
“Oh yea? Guess that means you can see yourself returning home then.”
Robby smiled, “Yea seems like it,” he quickly returns to his cereal as he grabs one of his medical textbooks from under the table, “enough soulmate talk though alright? Can’t have that distracting me from my exams.”
Ryan laughs, “Alright man. I’m happy for you though alright? I remember getting my Soul Dream, real bonkers man. Really, the last few years being with Sophie has been the greatest ever. I hope you meet them one day.”
“I hope so too.”