Soul mate technology had been revolutionary. For a price one could have a countdown watch imbedded into their wrists that would announce not only when one would meet their soul mate but even their destined one's names once they met. In less than two decade this form of technology had become a standard, and it was harder and harder to find someone who had not paid the price for a guaranteed chance in true romantic love.

Ivan Bragisky had been one of those people seeking for this modification. Coming from a poorer and less fortunate background, he had very carefully saved his hard-earned money for a chance to find his one true love. When the time finally came for his appointment, Ivan had been trilled. The entire time he just couldn't wait to see the flashing number in his wrist. He had followed all the procedures correctly and done all that the doctors and technicians had recommended for the 24 hour adjustment time. He had slept that night dreaming of finally meeting someone who would love him and could spend the rest of their lives together. However, the following day, excitedly un-bandaging his wrist, Ivan was faced with horror. Instead of neat blue numbers, his wrist had a series of red zeros with a dotted line underneath them.

He had rushed back to the clinic and asked for an explanation. How could his watch be marking zero when he hadn't met his soul mate yet? And even if he had already met his true love, why wouldn't his name be shown below the zeros? Doctors where called for tests and examinations, and technicians were called to test the equipment once more. They suggested that it was a defective device, and had guaranteed Ivan that they would change the defective one for a new device with no charges. So the following day Ivan went thru the procedures again to get a new countdown watch, he repeated the same processes as before and followed the recommendations once more. Hoping that this time, he would have neat blue numbers telling him when he would meet his soul mate when he unwrapped his wrist the next day.

To Ivan's desperation, the numbers on his wrist were once again red zeros and no name was to be found below them. Ivan returned to the clinic filled with anger and frustration demanding an explanation for this. Once more doctors and technicians examined him and the new device. This time they called it an abnormality. Higher ups were called and an arrangement was made for a third try to fix the error. Ivan would spend two nights in the clinic while supervised by the staff to see what was causing the error and have it fixed, along with a small monetary compensation for Ivan's trouble. Ivan's first night at the clinic was filled with nightmares. Again and again he dreamed of being alone, being left behind by his soul mate and ignored by others. He dreamed that he would never find love.

In preparation for the procedure, a doctor would come by every half hour to check on Ivan and make sure everything was in order. They constantly reassured Ivan that everything would be fixed and that this abnormality did not mean that Ivan did not have a soul mate. They proclaimed to him again and again on how many successes they had, on how trust worthy were the devices and that he too would find his true love once they identified the glitch causing him this misfortune. Ivan wanted to believe them, but deep in his chest doubt and dread had already taken place. He feared he was not meant to have a soul mate.

The time had come to once again place a new device on his wrist. This time three doctors where there to observe the process and guarantee a perfect procedure. There were also three technicians constantly checking the device for errors. Ivan was sent back to the room after the instalment had been done with no problems. A technician would be spending the 24 hours adjustment time with him to guarantee the devices functionality and a Doctor would be accompanying him to see that the after cares where done correctly. Ivan hoped and prayed that the device would work. Both the technician and the doctor following him keep an optimistic opinion, telling him that everything was going smoothly and that they had not seen anything wrong so far. Their optimism did not help Ivan in his sleep, the nightmares of the night before following him when he closed his eyes.

When the time came to unwrap the bandages Ivan was too scared to look at his wrist and face disappointment once more. So as the doctor held his wrist telling him words of encouragement, Ivan closed his eyes. The sound of surprise followed by the doctor's call for aid with a badly hidden despair was all the evidence Ivan needed to know that he was destined to never have a soul mate.

A soul glitch they called it. One of its kind and never before seen. No one knew what it meant or what to do about it. But everyone feared what it could mean if Ivan ever showed it to anyone outside the company. Years of research and funding down the drain, doubt and anger from the general population, fortunes lost in a matter of hours. If the news outlets ever picked up on Ivan's very unique case the entire soul mate technology would be questioned. And that was why the company made a very large deal with Ivan in exchange for his silence.

That was how Ivan Braginsky had gone from a no one into a millionaire. His wrist would now remain always concealed, so that no one could see the red zeros with no name. The single condition from Ivan had been that the device would remain inside him and that doctors and technicians, in the hopes of fixing the problem, would regularly examine him. It was his opinion that life would not be worth it if he had to spend it alone.

"Mister Braginsky." Dr. Toris Laurinaitis called Ivan as he entered the clinic for his regular exams.

"Goog evening ." Ivan greeted the small brunet that had been his regular doctor for a few months now.

"Ivan we have some great news for you." The young doctor smiled and turned to the technician by his side. "Isn't that right Eduard?"

The taller young blond with glasses nodded. "Indeed. They are very promising news for you Mister Braginsky."

Ivan felt excitement, his right hand reaching to grab the large silver bracelet that covered his left wrist. "You mean you can fix it?"

Both the doctor and the technician looked at each other. They didn't look very confident. "Not exactly." Eduard finally said.

"Then what is it?" Ivan asked.

"Why don't we go inside the exam room? It is best we speak of this privately." Dr. Toris opened the door to the examination room and Ivan walked in followed by Eduard and the Doctor himself. Once Ivan had settled himself on the exam bed, Eduard and Toris shared their big news.

"We think we found someone else with a soul glitch." Eduard spoke quickly. "A man in France. We were told that he has repeatedly had problems with his device with a similar issue as your own."

"We are bringing him to Moscow for some exams and we hoped to compare both your data to try to fix the problem." Dr. Toris added. He hesitated before continuing. "There is also a chance, due to the circumstances with both your devices, that he might be your soul mate."

Ivan's heart skipped a beat. His right hand gripped his left wrist tightly. There was someone else like him. Someone who he could share this frustrating experience with. There was a chance, a chance that this someone was his soul mate. "Will I meet him?" Ivan asked, perhaps a bit more hopeful then he really wanted to seem.

Both Toris and Eduard nodded. "He will be here in a week."

The morning of their meeting Ivan was anxiously pacing incessantly. He had barely slept the previous night and had arrived much earlier than requested at the clinic. During the week, he had tried studying some basic French to be able to at least communicate with his possible soul mate but still felt nervous. What if they weren't soul mates, what if the other man was simply having some technical issues with his device and it would soon be fixed and sent back home? What if Ivan was meant to be alone but so was this man? Just because they both had problems with the devices on their wrist didn't actually mean that they were meant for each other.

There was a knock from the door and Dr. Toris peaked into the waiting room. "Mister Braginsky, are you ready to meet him?"

Ivan nodded. "Da."

The doctor fully opened the door letting a handsome blond men walk inside the room. The man was finely dressed, had blue eyes, a stubble and long shoulder length hair the flowed loosely besides his face. Yet he seemed just as nervous to be here as Ivan.

"Bonjour." He said extending his hand to Ivan. A fine rich voice coming from his throat.

Ivan held his hand a shook it. "Good morning." He replied in Russian, but quickly tried correcting himself. "Bonjour." His accent was terrible but the other man had smiled so the effort had not been in vain.

They both sat down opposite each other not knowing what to do. Until Dr. Toris sat along with them. "Ivan, would you please show him your device."

Ivan hesitated, but he lifted his left wrist and removed the silver bracelet that covered the red zeros. Ivan had childishly hoped that meeting this mysterious French man would have made his device work as it should. But there was no change in his wrist, it still showed the same amount of red zeros with no name below them. Disappointed he extended his wrist for the other man to see.

The French man gasped seeing his wrist. He himself then lifted his left wrist and removed a fashionable thick leather bracelet to show Ivan his own wrist. It was different from what Ivan expected. The French man's wrist had blue flashing numbers changing at random, increasing and decreasing the time on his wrist in a seemingly chaotic fashion.

Dr. Toris moved to speak to Ivan. "He also had his device exchanged three times with the same error occurring each time." He explained. "When the French doctors contacted the higher ups asking what to do they contacted us. In the billions of devices we have placed and succeeded you two were the only people where something like this has occurred."

Ivan grasped the implications. Only two people in billions. Their case wasn't even enough for a proper percentage. Maybe they really were soul mates. Perhaps this had been fate's way of bringing them together. Before, Ivan never had any interest of leaving Russia, he wouldn't even have had proper means to reach France in his previous financial situation. Perhaps it was the same for this other man. There was a chance, that before all this, they could have spent their entire life without meeting each other.

"Ivan Braginsky." Ivan said, gently reaching for the French man's wrist. "Mon nom est Ivan Braginsky." He tried again explaining in French regardless of his awful accent.

The French man looked up from Ivan's wrist and into his eyes. Perhaps with a glimpse of understanding of what their situation could mean. "Francis Bonnefoy. Je m'appelle Francis Bonnefoy." He replied his hand reaching to hold Ivan's wrist.