2075

He woke up bleary-eyed on Saturday, grunting sleepily. He really did hate waking up. His back was sore once again from the lumpy mattress but after months of sleeping on it, he had gotten a little bit used to the ache.

He sat up, his gaze catching on the mostly fixed AgeFinder. He had a little bit more work to do, having found extra problems while he was working on it, but he would have it done in about an hour if he got moving now.

He didn't want to, but he forced himself to move from the bed. He groaned, rubbing at his eyes and hissing at the feeling of his feet against the cold floorboards. He'd been awake for five minutes and he was already hating the day that was to come.

That being said, he was going to get the chance to talk to Jaden for the first time since his big screw up. He hoped that the man had calmed down and thought about everything, hoped that he was going to be forgiven for being a gigantic idiot. There was a part of him that doubted it, but after what Jaden said last time they saw each other, he was sure it would all be okay.

He got moving quickly, changing into nice clean clothes and grabbing a bowl of cereal for breakfast. Isaac ignored him as he ate, on the phone to the waitress from the restaurant. He'd finally gotten to guts to ask her out, but he still wasn't sure if they were soulmates.

Isaac had taken the news of Alexander's lie pretty well in comparison to Jaden. He hadn't cared all that much, told him it didn't make much difference to their friendship and thanked him for telling the truth. Lucy and Amelia hadn't taken it quite so well, growing angrier than even Jaden.

Isaac was convinced that they would come around eventually, but Alexander wasn't so sure. Maybe once he talked to Jaden everything would be okay. First things first though, he needed to get the AgeFinder fixed.

It had been strange, working on the device, especially now that he was used to the newer versions. Over the years, they had changed the way it worked so that it used facial recognition instead of a body sample. The people seemed to prefer it that way and Alexander had enjoyed producing it.

It had taken him longer than he would have liked to remember just how he had built the first AgeFinder, but eventually, he had gotten there and fixing it had been a quick and enjoyable job. He just needed to get back to it. He ate his food quickly, rinsing out the bowl and making his way back to his room.

The AgeFinder was sitting on his desk, mostly in one piece. He'd had to replace a few of the parts to get it to work again, but so far it was turning on once again. He sat at the desk, working away in silence and keeping a close eye on the time. Jaden had shot him a quick text the before, telling him to meet him at one in the afternoon.

Hours passed by quickly with nearly no disturbance. Isaac came in at one point to tell him that he would drive him down, but that was all. He'd put every minute of his free time into fixing the device so that Jaden would be happy with him again. Part of him thought it stupid that he was focusing so much on getting the other man not to be so upset with him, but they'd grown so close over the last six months. Alexander didn't want to lose that like he'd lost everything else.

His mind took him back to Sarah and Philip, his mother and father, all long dead. Eventually Jaden would be the same, but he wanted to spend as much time with the man as possible. He couldn't do that if there was still anger lying about between them.

He leaned back in his seat, staring at the completely fixed AgeFinder. It took him back to his younger years, when he had first made the thing. He'd had to test it multiple times, on multiple people just to make sure it worked. He'd been so happy when it accurately displayed the ages, thinking that maybe it would help him. Turned out it only ever made things worse for him.

He would have to test this one out too, just to make sure it worked properly. He couldn't give Jaden his parents AgeFinder if it didn't even work. With a sigh, he stood up, making his way from the room with the device in his hands. Isaac was in the kitchen, cooking up bacon and eggs for brunch.

"Hey, you okay?" he asked when he saw Alex come into the room.

"Yeah, I just need to test this thing out on you," Alexander replied, waving the AgeFinder at him. "I'll compare it with the newer ones."

"Is that what you've been working on all week?" Isaac questioned, raising an eyebrow at him. "That thing is ancient."

Alex shrugged. "Jaden wanted it fixed and-"

"And you're trying to get back into his good books."

Alex let out a huff of laughter. "Yeah," he said. "So would you be willing to test this thing for me?"

"Yeah, man, just tell me what to do."

Alex walked him through it, smiling it relief at the twenty-two years and eight months that flashed up on the screen. A quick comparison told him that it was as accurate as the old thing could get. He sighed, grateful that even after so long he could still fix the original device.

"You should test it out on yourself too," Isaac said.

"Yeah, and you should ask out that girl," Alexander replied, not really paying attention.

Isaac rolled his eyes. "I'm serious,'" he said. "Test it out on yourself, that way you know it works when people still aren't aging."

Alexander stopped, staring at the device. He was sick of seeing those words. The twenty-two years that seemed to haunt him. He hadn't used an AgeFinder in years and he didn't want to start now. But Isaac made a good point. He didn't know anyone else that wasn't aging except Jaden and he couldn't exactly get him to do it.

"Fine," he said, pressing his finger against the device. He felt the prick of his finger, felt the nervousness pool in his stomach, ready for the words.

Twenty-two years and six months.

He gasped, staring at the words in shock. Surely it was wrong, surely he'd screwed up repairing the device at some point. He grabbed the newer version of the AgeFinder, trying to keep his face calm as it was being read.

Twenty-two years, six months and three days.

He brought a hand up to his mouth, muffling a noise the meaning of which he couldn't even begin to decipher. He caught Isaac's eye, showing him the device with a shaking hand.

"Oh, my god. Holy crap," he exclaimed. "Are you sure?" All Alexander could do was nod, eyes widening as his brain finally caught up with what he was seeing.

He'd met his soulmate. He had a soulmate. As of six months ago, he started aging. After more than one hundred years he was finally aging. He had a soulmate. He was going to age and bleed and get sick for the first time since he'd turned twenty-two. He was going to be happy and loved.

"Who did you meet six months ago?" Isaac asked, pulling him from his thoughts. For a moment, he was stumped, brain empty of anything but the words 'I have a soulmate'. He wracked his mind, knowing the answer was obvious but not being able to catch among his wild and raging thoughts.

"Jaden," he eventually said. "I met Jaden."

"Are you completely sure?" Isaac asked. "There was no one else?"

Alexander shook his head. "I'd met everyone else before Jaden came back," he replied. "I can get him to check just in case though when I see him."

"What time are you meeting him?"

"One o'clock."

Isaac's eyes drifted towards the clock before darting back. "We had better get going then," he said, grabbing his keys out of his jeans pocket.

"Wait, I'm not even ready," Alexander said, looking down at his pyjama shirt and boxers. His hair was a mess too, not good enough for telling Jaden that they might be soulmates.

"Oh, for the love of- Move your butt, we gotta go if you're going to do this!" Isaac called, pushing Alex back towards his bedroom. He got moving as fast as he could, putting on his nicest set of casual clothes and fixing his messy hair as best he could. He didn't look great, but it would have to do.

He gave himself a brief once over, his brown hair had gotten a little bit too long and his blue eyes had bags underneath them. The mole that had once sat under his ear had been removed long ago, the only sign of it was a pale scar he barely noticed. He passed a hand over his chin, feeling the stubble that was growing there. He didn't look one hundred and seventeen, he barely even looked twenty-two.

"Alex! Come on!" Isaac called. He rushed out of the room, grabbing the AgeFinder that was still on the bench and making his way to the front door. "Do you want to do this or not?"

"Of course," he replied, ignoring the anxiety that was pooling in his stomach, threatening to expel the tiny amount of food he had eaten.

"Get in the damn car," Isaac ordered, shoving him towards the vehicle. Alex took deep breaths, the nervousness in his stomach only worsening as the engine started and they began to move down the driveway. He closed his eyes, images of the AgeFinder results imprinted on the backs of his eyelids.

He'd known his soulmate for six months and hadn't even realised because he was too stubborn to use the damn AgeFinders. They'd brought him so much pain, but now they might actually bring him something good, something that would make him happy.

He hadn't even realised they had made it to the cafe until the car stopped. He opened his eyes, staring at the small shop. "You okay?" he heard Isaac ask.

"Terrified," he replied.

"Now do you understand why I have asked her out yet?"

"Yeah," he said. "I really do." His stomach was hurting and part of him wanted to stay in the car. What if he was wrong? What if he just made a fool of himself? What if he'd met some random person six months ago and didn't even remember it? A part of him wanted it to be Jaden, but there was doubt in his mind, telling him that he could be wrong.

"If you do this, I will too," Isaac said, causing Alexander to look at him. "I'm actually feeling a little nervous for you, mate, but it's Jaden. Even if you're wrong, he'll take it well, he would never deliberately upset you over something like this, especially not after what you told all of us."

"I don't know if I can do this," he said, taking another deep breath. "What time is it?"

"You have fifteen minutes." Alex cursed, it was too long to wait, too long to sit there. "I'm going to leave you to it, actually. If I keep sitting here, you're going to make me drive you away. So, get out of the damn car."

Knowing the younger man was right, Alexander got out of the car without a fight, giving Isaac a weak wave as he drove away. A quick look told him that Jaden hadn't arrived yet. He was going to have to wait for the full fifteen minutes. His hands began to sweat at the idea. Fifteen minutes for his nervousness to get the better of him.

The minutes ticked by like hours, Alexander watching every single corner for Jaden. Five minutes passed, then ten, then Jaden was making his way around the corner on the other side of the road.

He stood up straight, feeling his hands grow even more sweaty. He'd run his hands through his hair so much during the last fifteen minutes that he had messed it up again. Jaden caught sight of him as he grew closer, waving cheerfully at him. A good sign that the man wasn't as angry as he had been. That meant telling him might go over better.

His hand dropped and a frown formed on his tanned face when he saw the nervous expression Alexander wore. All Alex wanted to do at that moment was scream at him, tell him everything he was thinking, tell him that they might be soulmates.

Jaden stepped onto the road, worry washing over his face, then Alex did scream.

The world seemed to spin, everything coming to him in flashes. He saw the car hit Jaden, heard the thud of his body against metal and then asphalt. He heard the screams, the roar of the engine as the car sped away, his feet against the road as they carried him towards Jaden's prone form. He saw the blood, Jaden's closed eyes and the crowd that had formed around them.

He screamed, he was sure there words hidden in there, but all he could hear with his anguish-filled cries.